IT Conversations: David Brin – Evaluating Horizons

http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail358.html

Via the IT Conversations RSS feed came news of this talk by one of my all-time favourite Science Fiction writers, David Brin. Many people are unfortunately only familiar with Brin through the film adaption of one of his novels, The Postman (remember Kevin Costner as post-apocalyptic delivery guy on horseback). I’m with Stephen in thinking it actually was pretty good, but if that’s your only exposure to this writer you are missing out. Far more relevant to the fans of the net/blogosphere is his novel ‘Earth‘ which presaged both Usenet and presents one of the more inspiring visions (to me at least) of network-based democracies. In many ways this talk is a continuation of some of the thinking laid out in that book, looking at our ability to respond collectively to global challenges, especially in light of accelerating change. Perfect listening for humanists feeling left out of the season’s festivities. – SWL