The Light of Other Days
From Arthur C. Clarke, the brilliant mind that brought us 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Stephen Baxter, one of the most cogent SF writers of his generation, comes a novel of a day, not so far in the future, when the barriers of time and distance have suddenly turned to glass. When a brilliant, driven industrialist harnesses cutting-edge physics to enable people everywhere, at trivial cost, to see one another at all times—around every corner, through every wall—the result is the sudden and complete abolition of human privacy, forever. Then the same technology proves able to look backward in time as well. The Light of Other Days is a story that will change your view of what it is to be human.
Stats for nerds
23recommend
68mentions
50people
2011–2026years
40% recommend59% neutral1% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Stephen Baxter, I loved his "The Light of Other Days". I need to read more of him.
- > Permutation City[2] by Greg Egan
That was a good mindbender indeed. I'd add "The Light of Other Days" by Arthur C. Clarke and Steven Baxter. Beware of spoilers high up the wikipedia page [0]. Tells a good tale of unexpected externalities of disruptive technology introduction.
- You'll be interested in Clarke's "The Light of Other Days". Basically a wormhole where people can look back at any point in time, ending all notion of privacy.
God is different though. People like God because they believe God is fair and infallible. That is not true for machines nor men. Similarly I do not think people will like this idea. I'm sure there will be some but look at people today and their religious fever. Or look in the past. They'll want it, but it is fleeting. Cults don't last forever, even when they're governments. Sounds like a great way to start wars. Every one will be easily justified
- Agree - basically tech that can see what people do, is creepy. and as you suggest - others can engage, but we don't control that.
Currently, it's somewhat obvious, but what happens when the tech is totally invisible?
That day is coming very soon, within a decade, max, and you have to imagine every thing you ever do, in any place - even in the dark, is recorded.
Arthur C Clarke, and Stephen Baxter wrote a book about this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Other_Days
Well worth reading, imho, but it does explicitely ignore the concept of a higher presence, which is noteworthy
- The light of other days, by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Really cool book.
- It's not at all the same idea but it reminds me of Slow Glass in Bob Shaw's heartbreaking Light of Other Days.
