Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site hp-pcd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!hao!hplabs!hp-pcd!orstcs!hakanson
From: hakanson@orstcs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Re: The Library! -- Possible Future - (nf)
Message-ID: <2629@hp-pcd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 1-Dec-83 03:31:56 EST
Article-I.D.: hp-pcd.2629
Posted: Thu Dec  1 03:31:56 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Dec-83 12:34:01 EST
Sender: notes_gateway@hp-pcd.UUCP
Organization: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Lines: 18

#R:ucf-cs:-109500:orstcs:11600021:000:777
orstcs!hakanson    Nov 29 20:58:00 1983

The other disadvantage of "The Library" is that dependence on it can lead
to the kind of Big Brother censorship evidenced in Startide Rising, when
they keep trying to find info about the mummy they retrieved, and they
keep getting "I never heard of it."  Obviously (as stated in the book),
the progenitor-races that gave them the thing fiddled with the circuits
so it wouldn't help them too much.

As a counter-future-history, notice that the Terrans don't rely totally
on the Library -- in fact, they make a point of diverging from known
technology whenever possible, sometimes just in order to be perverse.
The defense against such stagnation/dependency/censorship? -- Skepticism.

Marion Hakanson			CSnet:  hakanson@oregon-state
				UUCP :  {hp-pcd,teklabs}!orstcs!hakanson