RIP Greg Lake

1 Response to RIP Greg Lake

1. Joe Wheeler says:

   December 13, 2016 at 10:16 am

   RIP I guess the show really does end, 2 of 3 now gone.

   Thought you might like the analysis below about the Foundation trilogy:

   There are eerie parallels between some of the ignorant politicians in Foundation and those currently serving in the U.S. government. It seems that Asimov was almost doing a bit of psychohistory himself. For instance, consider this dialogue between Seldon and skeptical officials of the Empire, after he explains his prediction of the fall:

   Q: You do not consider your statement a disloyal one?

   A: No, sir. Scientific truth is beyond loyalty and disloyalty.

   Q: You are sure that your statement represents scientific truth?

   A: I am.

   Q: On what basis?

   A: On the basis of the mathematics of psychohistory.

   Q: Can you prove that this mathematics is valid?

   A: Only to another mathematician.

   Q: (with a smile) Your claim then is that your truth is of so esoteric a nature that it is beyond the understanding of a plain man. It seems to me that truth should be clearer than that, less mysterious, more open to the mind.

   Replace “the fall” with “climate change” and “psychohistory” with “climate science,” and this might be a conversation between a scientist and a Republican congressman. This is a common tactic of people who denigrate science politically: imply that any “true” statement should be so simple and obvious as to be understood by anyone. It is such a strategy that led Senator James Inhofe to bring a snowball onto the Senate floor in 2015 as an argument against global warming.

   Or consider this other question asked by a nobleman, after visiting the Foundation’s extensive encyclopedia-building operation:

   “This is all very interesting,” he said, “but it seems a strange occupation for grown men. What good is it?”

   GOP congressmen have made it a regular hobby to cherry-pick research projects, seeking out those that look frivolous, and make an example of them. You may recall the “shrimp on a treadmill” scandal that turned out to not be a scandal at all, at least from the science point of view. Very recently, Representative Lamar Smith has been targeting climate scientists for harassment, an even more sinister tactic that shows deep disrespect for science.

   But, oddly enough in these dark political times, Asimov’s Foundation gives me hope, too. Its paean to foresight and long-term planning suggests that, even in the direst circumstances, things can be turned around. In the short-term, we may lose rights and freedoms, and we may not personally see it return in our own lifetimes, but it can be regained. It will take much collective effort to fix what has been broken, but Asimov makes me think that it can be done — and he even shows somewhat how to do it.

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