I guess it's true that human choice might not be something that causes a split - our decisions may be determined by which world we end up in, rather than the other way around. Though that doesn't bode well for free will...

My problem with the MWI on a philosophical level is that it eliminates any moral consequences from decisions. Let's say I have to choose between action A and B. If there's always going to be a universe where I choose A and a universe where I choose B, the only thing that is affected by my decision is which universe my…

They're not really "the humble people", the faction is called Abnegation - they're supposed to be selfless ascetics. Makes sense to put them in charge if you're wary of people abusing power. But yeah, the real answer is that they never seized power - how could they? - they were assigned the job of running things by…

The thing is, the fact that brains made out of living cells exist doesn't mean it'll be possible to build a brain out of metal. Materials matter. Just because you can build a skyscraper out of steel doesn't mean it's possible to build one out of bamboo.

I'm a computer programmer, and I think the most surprising thing about my job is how little it has changed over the decades. At my old job I wrote code in a 40 year old language, using a 20 year old source control system. This was considered mildly outdated. My new job uses mostly the latest and greatest - our…

Considering aspirin, ibuprofen, etc weren't invented yet, this was actually pretty reasonable. Cocaine is an effective topical anesthetic.

My mother did this with me starting around middle school - as long as my grades were good, she never paid attention to my homework. If my grades started slipping, she'd step in and start setting study schedules and helping out. Which of course drove me crazy! So I was very strongly motivated to get good grades. Plus…

paradoxymoron44@yahoo.com

Yeah, it's kind of Butcher's thing to take cliches square on and just... do them really well.

Sounds interesting. I'll take a look at it, if you'd like.

So if you already got the original Gardasil vaccine, are you still supposed to get this new one as well?

Considering how risky this is, I can't see it being used except in the most extreme of cases (quadriplegics, ALS). Basically those whose current body has given up on them. I mean, the best case scenario is three to four weeks in a coma and then a year just to learn to walk again. But I know if I were stuck with a…

"More sophisticated", really? It does look good though.

Yeah, it's interesting how long it takes it to figure out that it should just swat at its face.

Isn't it pretty normal for a variant cover to feature side characters? I'm not sure what the big deal is here.

I see Hyperion as more a collection of short stories than a novel - the framing narrative is pretty thin, and it doesn't really add up to anything. But they're excellent short stories. It's also more effective as horror than science fiction, personally.

"The well-educated: between 25 and 35 years old, first job, single, the world at their feet."

But is *is* Rednecks Lost in Time! That's the whole charm of it.

I don't normally care much about typefaces/fonts, but that's really beautiful.

This sounds... unlikely. It takes a lot of time and effort to train an animal to kill someone on command, but not kill you. Look at all the effort dog fighters have to put in to actually get the dogs to attack each other. This is exactly the kind of thing that you pass around as a story "And then he got crushed by an…