Quote:
Originally Posted by ardeegee
I found him to be profoundly and consistently anti-science and anti-scientist, and all of his books (from JP on at the least) followed the same simplistic action-adventure formula.
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Thank you for the discussion.
I agree with you that the literary value is quite limited. To my taste, though, his books have always been quite pleasant to read.
I never (big word not to be taken literally, split infinite is mandatory here) found in the books of Crichton anything anti-science, or anti-scientist as such. Maybe there were these elements in the polemics or the interviews or whatever happened
outside the books. Take f.i. Jurassic Park. The good guys
are scientists and the villain is a business man. The science is not in discussion there, but the improper use of a certain imaginary technology.
Of State of Fear and of the loading of the so-called scientific data by a part (faction?) of the community I already gave in my previous post.
A common metaphor in Crichton is the dilemma of progress, that hits all of us with unexpected turns. The only way to absorb it is through time so that we have a chance to get used to it. But Crichton villains are always in a hurry, usually out of greed or ambition, so that disasters have to step in. It is not so much man playing God, but not waiting for the things to settle a little. This happens in real life all the time.
We got the cellphones with cameras. In Italy all the kids have them, even children. Per se this is neutral, but they use it to document abuses of every kind. More, they commit abuses so that they can document them and share with their peers and this has become a serious problem.
The development of the technology of transplants has generated a new trade. The trade of organs, with horrible manifestations. Like in the novel by Robin Cook, made into a movie by our M.C. In time it will reach a viable equilibrium. But I hear of people having a second child to protect the first.
It is the old myth of Pandora's jar. The violent impact, the jolt of progress. Not much to do with science. But with greed.