13 January 2009

Orson Scott Card and technology

I had some more thoughts about Ender’s Game that thematically deserved a separate post.

I read some science fiction as a teenager (not any Orson Scott Card as I admitted previously) and perhaps I knew too little to realize some of the foresight the authors had. Reading Ender’s Game however I am amazed at the technical aspects that we are beginning to see today that Card wrote about in the 1970’s.

It may be that I view the 1970’s as long ago because of my age, but as I understand things this was before the personal computer was a part of even the most tech savvy home. Ender’s Game is full of things that are just now becoming a part of everyday use. They studied on personal, laptop computers connected together in a giant network. They played simulation and computer games, some of which they interacted directly with.

Perhaps we haven't come as far as I think since the late 1970's and we have been this close for a long time. Even if there were visionaries then talking about these things I am impressed with Card’s ability to understand how technology can be used in our lives and how it will affect our lives.

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