{"id":4372,"date":"2017-11-17T05:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4372"},"modified":"2017-11-12T09:38:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T17:38:40","slug":"mark-reads-the-science-of-discworld-chapters-41-43","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2017\/11\/mark-reads-the-science-of-discworld-chapters-41-43\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Science of Discworld’: Chapters 41 – 43"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the forty-first through forty-third chapters of The Science of Discworld<\/i>, humans evolve and the wizards deal with disappointment. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Discworld<\/b><\/p>\n

You know, I actually got a little sad<\/i> when the wizards decided that they would shut down the project. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re quite at the end of this, however, and given what happens in chapter forty-three, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got to be a surprise left in this story. The Science of Discworld<\/i> is a strange book, one that has been a challenge to write about, but the biggest shock has been how much I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve enjoyed the narrative. Probably as much as the science! Watching the wizards bumble through the creation of a roundworld and all the little twists and turns has been entertaining, and now, I find myself feeling a little wistful for the Project and all the things it has gone through. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the cleverness behind the narrative, though: we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten to experience millions upon millions of years of evolution in a much more consumable form, so I feel invested<\/i> in the Project.<\/p>\n

So does the Librarian, at least in an indirect sense. Obviously, the Librarian feels a kinship with the apes of the roundworld, so much so that he becomes the first character to intervene in a significant way. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that I count the Dean because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exactly succeed<\/i> at intervening with his rock lesson, did he? HE TRIED. But you could also use that as an example of how people misunderstand evolution and<\/i> human intelligence, which is precisely what the authors do. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK ABOUT THAT.<\/p>\n

Roundworld<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to note that while much of the science here addresses a majority of humans, it still falls short of covering everyone<\/i>. People who under the ace don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always experience sexual desire or romantic desire in the ways described here. As a gay man, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel an imperative need to form a family and have a child, though\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 how much of that is due to cultural influences and how much is due to biology? I ask that because I grew up in an age where marriage between gay or queer folks was impossible. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even an option in any significant way, so I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t grow up with that desire either.<\/p>\n

So where do some of us fit in this? Admittedly, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really care. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never felt the need to explain the science behind sexuality, and to take that a step further, I worry about its application in a society as deeply homophobic and queerphobic as ours. For the purposes of explaining human intelligence and our general desire for companionship, I did<\/i> understand why the authors wrote what they did. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about sexuality MANY grandparents ago. (Thank you for that measure of time, btw.)<\/p>\n

As for the concept of intelligence\u00e2\u20ac\u201din reference to the idea of being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153smart\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153knowledgable\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad the authors didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go down the disaster of a path that often comes from discussing intelligence and biology. I was totally fascinated by the talk of consciousness and how unique humans appear to be, though I do wonder if there are other animals that possess the same or a similar way of thinking of the world and themselves. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discovered quite a few species with more advanced consciousnesses than we previously thought, right? AH, THIS IS ALL SO INTERESTING. I am guessing that these last few Roundworld chapters will address how humans ended up in their present form, and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for it.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/P1HKNwGMHH8<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"