Absence of Mind

Marilynne Robinson is one of the most erudite writers I have ever encountered. She defines what it means to be an original thinker. If you have been bothered, as I have been, by the tone that some writers who write about science and bioethics take, read this book. She identifies a whole range of "parascientific" writers who employ a "hermeneutic of condescension" to bully people into thinking that all religion is quackery. As usual, Robinson's sentences are all gems. This book is worth owning.

The Echo Maker

I cannot think of a fiction writer who writes more effectively about the implications of science and technology than Richard Powers. I finally read his novel The Echo Maker, and while not perfect, it is certainly worth reading. He understands the implications of research by Oliver Sacks and the like: that humanity may be more about our neurons than we would like to believe. But he never reduces the self to neurons; he understands that narratives of the self are complex. The stories we tell ourselves, the stories we tell others, the stories we live by: it is not always about whether they are true or not, but how true they ring to us. We are formed by our experiences and how they form and re-form our brains. This is true, and Powers understands that this doesn't necessarily mean that there is no God or no such thing as love.

The Lathe of Heaven

I have just finished Ursula Le Guin's interesting novel, The Lathe of Heaven. It is as curious an exploration of free will that you will ever find--sort of. What if your dreams really could change reality? Would some people try to control your dreams and control the world? Le Guin clearly sees such people as humanity's biggest danger. Le Guin's heroes end up being the non-heroes, the everymen, in this case: George Orr. He represents the either/or of being: we are all either this or that, but don't try to force anything. Just let it be. Life is full of change and miraculous variety, and this comes with suffering and evil. It's a part of the package.