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#1
18-05-2007, 03:52 PM
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going on a 'soma' holiday
anyone here read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley?
if so what did you think?  i also read 1984 by George Orwell... interesting ideas...at least this story wasn't just like a long discription... 
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#2
18-05-2007, 03:57 PM
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If you liked those, read 'We' by Evgenii Zamyatin which was the inspiration for both Huxley (though he denied) and Orwell (who did admit reading Zamyatin).
I think the most interesting idea in BNW is Mustapha Mond's affirmation that given the choice, mankind would choose happiness over freedom. Good book but not as good as 1984 which in turn isn't as good as We.
__________________
'The only thing I know is that I know nothing' - Socrates
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#3
18-05-2007, 04:04 PM
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thanks i will look into that.
that is an interesting point to make about mustapha mond. soma sounds like an interesting drug, but i'm not sure it would do the world a whole lot of good if something like that were to come into effect!
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#4
18-05-2007, 04:05 PM
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Was the only reason you posted to talk about a mythical drug with no addictive qualities and no side-effects?
How about some Cake?
__________________
'The only thing I know is that I know nothing' - Socrates
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#6
18-05-2007, 04:40 PM
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Yeah, i've read BNW and 1984. I prefer BNW, 1984 sort of got under my skin a little.
However, of that genre, i have to say i prefer 'A Handmaid's Tale' or 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood. Both def. worth a read.
__________________
'the beauty of the kiss, the reason for its allure, for its strangeness, is that it is at the same time the most innocent and the filthiest form of human contact: the first thing a mother does to her baby, the one thing a prostitute will never do. No subsequent erotic experience ever matches the intensity of the first kiss, so perfect because it sketches for you vast horizons, limitless spaces, endless possibilites. Whatever faliures and flops follow, the kiss is never held responsible. The kiss never promises satisfaction, so it can never disappoint.'
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#7
18-05-2007, 05:08 PM
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Read them both, but definitely preferred 1984. More interesting story, more applicable to present day. BNW was interesting in its own way, but I found it a bit convoluted. The main character was annoying, and definitely shouldn't've been a beta (?).
__________________
Going once! Going twice! Gone! Sold to the lady with the poodle...
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#8
18-05-2007, 05:25 PM
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Quote:
haha too true
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#9
18-05-2007, 06:27 PM
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I liked Brave New World more. It was a far better commentary on current societ, which is why I liked it. 1984 was very much a commentary on the way the USSR was headed - and isn't anymore. BNW is the way our society is headed - you can see the start of it now.
I'll look into the other books mentioned here, ta.
__________________
Running my rig in a mighty high gear, I don't care where I go, so long as it ain't here, If something gets in my way, you know I'm gonna ram her, Nobody fools around with this gear jammer.
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#11
18-05-2007, 07:02 PM
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Quote:
In my own opinion, I reckon BNW is way removed from what we experience today. It's more class-based commentary on life, which I don't think exists in exactly the same mould today. Also, the desire to return to the 'basic world' and the 'savage gentleman' doesn't really have any modern day parallels. 1984 is far more applicable to today (even though it was based on a Cold Wa/USSR fear). Survilance, mind-control, over-bearing government, lies and deceit from the government, pacification of the masses through common entertainment. I could go on.
__________________
Going once! Going twice! Gone! Sold to the lady with the poodle...
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#12
18-05-2007, 09:20 PM
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BNW is similar to today through the genetic engineering, but 1984 is about that mind control stuff (adverts, etc), about watching us (cctv) and all that jazz... so I do think that 1984 is more realistically associated with the present day.
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#14
19-05-2007, 12:56 AM
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Quote:
As for classed based - not relevant today? HA! Yeah, RIGHT. Tell that to the working class. There are loads of upper-class "elites" instead of the average joe. It's more prevelant than ever tbqh. The rich, the middle class, the poor. They are apparent divides - can't you see them? I see them everywhere. As for those folk that don't work and don't try to get a job - well, I'd burn them but lets not go there. Also - as for the genetic engeniering - designer babies are being touted as an option now. The ability to "choose" your baby is not far off - if it gets allowed (I hope not, personally, apart from preventing mental problems and mutations and abnormalities) - and this will lead to even more division - those than can afford the "perfect child" and those that can't. We shouldn't do these sort of things - anti depressants shouldn't be necessary - the real issues causing this should be addressed - and as for choosing your childs attributes - no. Not at all. I think this is elitist and wrong - the child should only have intervention to prevent mental illnesses nad other such things. Really, BNW is the commentary on capitalist society and 1984 on communism. And we all know how bad Facism is. Anyway. I'll present a better argument when not drunk , I dareasy.
__________________
Running my rig in a mighty high gear, I don't care where I go, so long as it ain't here, If something gets in my way, you know I'm gonna ram her, Nobody fools around with this gear jammer.
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#15
19-05-2007, 12:57 AM
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Quote:
 Orwell was a visionary...
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