Harrison Bergeron

The year is 2053. The Second American Revolution has been won and equality has finally been achieved-- by making the entire population middle-of-the-road! Everybody is average-- except for Harrison Bergeron. A hopelessly bright young man, he is destined for brain surgery to correct his superior intellect-- until he concocts a plan to liberate the people through a Third American Revolution. But there's always one problem with changing the world... it may not want to be changed.

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lelanthranJan 2026

> s intended to have everyone eventually so discombobulated and "interfered with" that they can't even tell they're experiencing exploitation that should cause discomfort and radicalization (and quickly dispatch the few stragglers who can).

It sounds like you have not read Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.

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tsumniaOct 2024

Tons, but there are notable standouts.

- The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adam - Spent all of senior year in HS reading the entire series

- Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut - Maybe it was because I mentally compared Harrison to Crow Sting from professional wrestling or because it was a short story, but I always think about this story

- Have a Nice Day! by Mick Foley - Pro wrestling is my guilty pleasure and like many fans, Foley's life resonated with me about friendship, giving 110%, all the while keeping a positive outlook on life

- Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson - A comic is a book with pictures. Out of all the comics about superheros, webcomics, and old newspaper comics, if I had to only read one of them for the rest of my life it'd be C&H

- Honorable Mention is Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I'm started reading them during COVID, but I'm thoroughly enjoying that dry English sense of humor, modern society cynism, and fantasy setting. I'm currently on my tenth book (out of ~40)

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0xbadc0de5Apr 2024

The short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut is worth a read. https://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

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knicholesJul 2023

You need to read this short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut. https://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

It paints a picture of how intelligence equality might look, especially with governmental interference.

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Turing_MachineMay 2023

It's not "fair" that I'm only slightly above average height and will therefor never be an NBA star. It's not "fair" that I'm a competent musician at best -- far, far below professional level.

Are you arguing that no one should be allowed to be a pro basketball player or musician?

You should go read a story called Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.

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travisgriggsNov 2022

Having been a huge fan of the ABC's of SciFi (Asimov, Bradbury, Clark) in my teen/young adult years, it just amazes me how prescient some of these early stories from sci-fi are. Asimov's "The Naked Sun" just seems more and more applicable as we move "forward." As does Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron".

I miss these days of SciFi.

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