»Futurological Congress«

Anyone else read 'The Futurological Congress'. by Stanislaw Lem?

Even more than Orwell's '1984', this book definately has some ties to 'The Matrix', in various ways.

I connected the first 'Matrix' movie to this book immediately upon watching it, but haven't seen a post on it.

any thoughts?


(Here's a link to an article that refers to some of the salient points of the book, but in no way explains the work in its entirety..
transparencynow.com....

Barkode

Interesting link Bark0de.

Some quotes from it...

‘portrayal of a society lost in illusion...’

‘...Today, we have the ability to interact with -- and place ourselves inside -- our own simulations of reality.’

‘...and at the way TV advertising weaves phony images of its products into 20-second depictions of consumer paradises in which life is portrayed as an endless celebration.’

‘...it isn't only outward appearances that end up being counterfeited. These changes are also giving many people a false view of life, which is making its way from our entertainment-based popular culture to the deeper culture embodied in our values and character.’

‘...By interpreting them, we gain insight into the forces that are reshaping society.’

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We live in a day when technological advancements are unprecedented. A little more than a hundred years ago things the human race now takes for granted and are dependent upon didn’t even exist: Electricity. Gas. The motorcar. Aeroplanes ect. Telecommunications, internet. etc etc etc. Life was very different.

And yet for all of our increased technology and science, we still lack the common sense to live in peace together.

Mankind has always been faced with an inescapable issue of meaning, trying to create a reality in which he can justify his existence and find happiness. Unfortunately the result throughout history has usually left the masses trying to escape these many attempted versions and vanities of human 'empire’.

Today, no closer to the truth, we indulge in more materialistic pleasures than ever in an attempt to try and fill the emptiness we feel inside.

thanks for the reply,
I'd post more if i wasn't on the way to work, to
fund my habitual dependence on technology.
.. and tuition.

There is a bit in the same book that sort of makes one realize
just how strong the illusions are that are believed.

I can't remember them exactly, and at the moment can't look for them,
but I will later.

However,

when watching people drive down the street , the vision fades into
people walking, with arms in front of them as if driving a car...
stopping, shouting... the cars are gone. they're just walking.

and, as far as the dwellings they percieve,
they are actaully simply stacked in small boxes, or shelves,
believing they are in houses or apartments...

laying in pods...?

anyway, I'll re-read the book again shortly.

It's got some interestng stuff that, while different from the false reality of the matrix, has some good comparative ideas and theories.

Barkode

Wonderful,
I also thought about some similarities ... however, it is a long time since I read that book. But I liked that (Lem wrote a lot of good books - like Solaris, Fiasko, The Diary Found in the Bath, Golem XVI -this was also about AIs- and Invincible; I am not sure about the title translation either)

In Futurological Congress, it a kind of drug-based virtual reality. No pods, no, plugs, but drugs that change your perception. People live in a very poor and destroyed reality, but due to the omnipresent drugs, they did not perceive it - they thinks they live in luxurious palaces and so on. Also the reality is layered somehow. Even when reading, its like a drug trip and I was quite confused by the book.

People physically move and live in 'the desert of the real' but mentally, they live just in their hallucinations. Nothing is as it seems to be.