[ExI] Wrestling with Embodiment

[Ben Zaiboc]

Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org> declared:

> On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 11:49:04PM +0100, Stefano Vaj
> wrote:
> 
> > One Egan's novel where intelligence seems actually
> disembodied is
> > Permutation City.
> 
> Unfortunately, most of Egan's scenarios are incompatible
> with current knowledge of physics, with some having even
> more serious problems (e.g. dust).
> 
> Hence most of Egan fills me with disappointment, since
> I cannot engage sufficient suspension of disbelief.


To be fair, though, this is fiction.  The function of fiction is to inspire, not to thrash out the nitty-gritty of real-world problems.  I'm sure there are practical problems with his vision of a galactic network of routers, where people travel as gamma ray laser beams over thousands of years.  But isn't it *inspiring*?

Ben Zaiboc