Look No Further

I guess I liked Look to Windward, for the same reason I liked Caprica: I am really fond of the idea of being able leave a little bit of me after I die. And when I say "die," I mean experiencing a physical death not a spiritual / mental death. However, I have to agree with Phil that, soulkeepers are not holding the authentic copy. Back in high school when I was preparing for my art exam, one of the exercises I had to go through was "repetition & variation." I remember drawing a number of apples, from different angles, different techniques and etc. Ultimately what I was drawing was the same apple but in each trial I was capturing a small nuance. So I think, I agree with Phil that the soulkeepers are exposed to some form of variation with every form they come to contain.

I have been hooked on this mind/body split since the Sparrow and I read a chapter in Krista Tippet's new book Einstein's God over this weekend where Dr. Mehmet Oz was talking about healing process being a mental and a physical process, and how one's close relatives can play just as an important role in the healing process as science/medication itself. He proposes that the mind and body need to be healed simultaneously, and in different ways. Only then a patient can achive the "maximum healing," he says.

I also found amazing how in Look to Windward, humans are capable of creating planets. I think the universe that we were introduced to in this book was ultimately the most fast-paced and dynamic one. I am quite settled with the existence of Hub though, I do not know what to make of it. I do not know if I should feel more bad about its existence or its destruction. The system in The Culture has become so self-sustained, and so self-centered, and so ever lasting that the inhabitants of the Culture are doing all sorts of wacky things with their lives--because they can. Though book does not say anything, the only reason why Culture works so well is because every inhabitant of the Culture has an endless faith in the system and they put their trust in the mighty Culture. Is it possible that the Hub would like to harm its components?  How does it work for assasins? Do we need to think as if they are sacrificing their bodies for the sake of their minds (i.e. ideologies)? Would mind want to kill its body, then? Perhaps with every near death experience of its inhabitants, the hub might be dying a hundread time.

Funny, that's probably how my Mac feels everytime I run 50 different apps simultaneously on it.