Hacker News Reader

Comment by bloopernova | Hacker News Reader

These plants remind me of the Cheshires from the book "The Windup Girl". Despite being scientifically impossible, the Cheshires illustrate unforeseen consequences very well. They are genetically engineered cats that can blend exceptionally well into their surroundings, like an octopus. They were made as party favours for an young girl's birthday party, but escaped and out-bred/out-hunted domestic cats to become dominant across the world.

There's a great critique of the lack of scientific rigour in Paolo Bacigalupi's novel, well worth a read if you like poor science being excoriated:

https://www.nyrsf.com/2015/10/eric-schaller-the-problem-with...

View on HN

Did himself no favors if the leading argument was that "20 years is too fast to replace a species." Like, fine? Call it a hundred and move onto a more damning critique. Only skimmed the rest, but several of them also seem to be making a lot of some off-hand flavor text.

Is it perfect? No, but I enjoyed the novel quite a bit.

As I remember it in the book, the genes were crispr-driven. Meaning ALL offspring got the new genes. So a modified cat having any offspring with a non-modified cat got these genes. So it's not really out-competing that determines the spread speed, it's outcompeting AND any and all interbreeding.

I remember that book; I think someone on HN suggested it when I asked for "biopunk" recommendations. It's definitely less bio than "Change Agent" by Daniel Suarez (which incidentally, IIRC, had more of genetically engineered animals for kids too) - but what I remember most about "The Windup Girl" is spring power. The book made me interested in mechanical energy storage and mechanical energy-based systems in general.

You might enjoy reading about the spring drive watch movements Seiko makes.

Meanwhile in real world we go completely opposite direction - degenerate munchkin cats

im not sure I want a lithe hunter stalking through my house, marking every surface and attacking everything that breathes. I much prefer my dopey dander machines that sleep on my chest, flop around on the ground chasing the pocket lint they dug out of my trashcan, and superhero-leaping off their tree onto the couch to wake the other one with a screech.

If I owned a farm and needed a ratter, I'd likely feel different.

The best kind of cat is mentally disabled. Just sits purrs and chases random things

I don’t look for scientific rigour in sci fi myself.

And yet it can be fun, if you find it.

There's a whole subgenre of maximally scientifically rigorous sci-fi, it's great fun.

Sounds interesting, do you have some recommendations?

Dragons Egg by Robert Forward had always been one of my favorites. Asks the question "what would like be like if it evolved on a neutron star," and has 20 pages of his notes on working out the physics at the end of the book.

I remember one wit on Usenet saying that the strangest aliens ever portrayed in science fiction were the people in Robert Forward books....

Certainly the physics in the couple books of his I read was interesting but the writing left a lot to be desired.

I read Dragon's Egg and the sequel, Starquake, as a teenager. I remembered them being deeply engrossing.

I revisited the first one 20-ish years later in an attempt to get my partner interested. I only made it a few chapters before I decided to abandon the attempt. There are some really good parts (the science stuff), but the way the human characters' interactions were described I just could not get past.

The Martian, is the most accessible and interesting “hard sci fi” I’ve read. The RC Bray narrated version is excellent (and I think delisted). Otherwise, that’s your search term. I’m interested in more recommendations too some times the story is lacking in this genre.

Side note: very interesting writing process for the Martian, as I remember it, he developed it chapter by chapter with his readers who would critique it on his blog. Later books were not as good (after he was famous) but project Hail Mary was a turn around.

But doesn't The Martian have a well-known scientific inaccuracy around the actual physical effects of winds on Mars - which is kind of vital to the plot?

NB I really like The Martian (and like SF in general).

I was like...mkay the wind was one time plot device. Bigger issue is that he seemed to grow potatoes inside with no mention of lighting at all? That was major omission for me, grow lights require plenty of energy and thus waste heat.

Sunlight on Mars is about 40% of what it is on Earth - and given that potatoes seem to grow quite well in the less sunny parts of this planet (such as here in Scotland) then I'm willing to not get too critical on that particular point.

Less sunny parts, yes. But inside?

More damning would be the perchlorates found in Martian soil, toxic to most Earth-plants, not to mention Earth-humans.

Yes. The atmosphere is completely wrong. Ignore that and the rest is pretty good.

As for recommendations, I'd say loads of the books by Arthur C. Clarke. Try "A fall of moondust".

Reply on news.ycombinator.com