These symmetriads and asymmetriads are signs of thinking. These are material representations of extremely complex mathematical equations that the Solaris ocean performs. Mathematical equations can be presented as a three-dimensional object (if we add time, we have four dimensions). And the ocean does just that - it performs some very complex calculations using the matter of its own body as a computing machine.
The section you did not like is to me one of the best in the book. It is very much how scientists would try to categorise Solaris (have a look at any taxonomy). As an over 100 year effort, all this knowledge of the details and forms of the ocean is worthless, if one does not know what the purpose of them is. It is like describing all the cells in a human body in excruciating detail, without knowing what a body is.
This is the best book review I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe ever. 👍 Solaris certainly deserves it, it’s one of my all time favorites. Top 5 with Fire Upon the Deep, House of Suns, Hyperion and Children of Time.
Wow, thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Haha we love all those books too, have covered all of them on the channel as well. Sounds like we might have similar taste - let us know if there are other books you love that we haven't covered yet, at this point its such a rush to find something good and new that we haven't read yet!
Sweet I’ll put it on the list. I wasn’t really into Blindsight. I Liked Annihilation. I’m finding my taste is more prose and story and your higher rankings are more for ideas. Give me Stephen King talking about walking down a path for ten pages and I’m happy.
Oh good. I don’t feel as bad for skimming that one chapter in the middle describing things. I think you gleaned more than I did as it was putting me to sleep. Overall, I loved the beginning and thought the end was good, but the middle section suffered a bit in pacing.
Lem was notoriously bad at naming his characters. He would just make up those random, vaguely English sounding names which pretty much always were *almost* right but always on the wrong side of being "real".
This was a problem for many writers of the time. They wanted the characters to have distinctive and "international" names, so they often had names that sounded similar to real names from other languages, but slightly changed. I read an apt summary that Polish and Russian SF writers were afraid to use common names and often chose monosyllabic names with strange spellings. Nix, Bit, Rex, Pirx...
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Brent is looking so dapper! Huge congrats to Cody! You can officially make dad jokes now!
These symmetriads and asymmetriads are signs of thinking. These are material representations of extremely complex mathematical equations that the Solaris ocean performs. Mathematical equations can be presented as a three-dimensional object (if we add time, we have four dimensions). And the ocean does just that - it performs some very complex calculations using the matter of its own body as a computing machine.
My favorite book of all time. I have a tattoo of one of the older book covers
Oh that's way cool - which cover?
The section you did not like is to me one of the best in the book. It is very much how scientists would try to categorise Solaris (have a look at any taxonomy). As an over 100 year effort, all this knowledge of the details and forms of the ocean is worthless, if one does not know what the purpose of them is. It is like describing all the cells in a human body in excruciating detail, without knowing what a body is.
That's a really interesting take! That definitely makes me rethink that portion.
This is the best book review I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe ever. 👍
Solaris certainly deserves it, it’s one of my all time favorites. Top 5 with Fire Upon the Deep, House of Suns, Hyperion and Children of Time.
Wow, thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Haha we love all those books too, have covered all of them on the channel as well. Sounds like we might have similar taste - let us know if there are other books you love that we haven't covered yet, at this point its such a rush to find something good and new that we haven't read yet!
Great review guys :) picked it up today
Yay! Baby! Congratulations!
Thanks!!
If you like the psychological thriller vibes of solaris I'd really recommend reading some Ian Reid
Sweet I’ll put it on the list. I wasn’t really into Blindsight. I Liked Annihilation. I’m finding my taste is more prose and story and your higher rankings are more for ideas. Give me Stephen King talking about walking down a path for ten pages and I’m happy.
I swear to god I was thinking the whole time that you'd switch from a 4 to a 5
Hahaha got 'em!
Oh good. I don’t feel as bad for skimming that one chapter in the middle describing things. I think you gleaned more than I did as it was putting me to sleep. Overall, I loved the beginning and thought the end was good, but the middle section suffered a bit in pacing.
Totally agreed on all fronts - glad you liked!
Lem was notoriously bad at naming his characters. He would just make up those random, vaguely English sounding names which pretty much always were *almost* right but always on the wrong side of being "real".
Haha well you can definitely tell!
This was a problem for many writers of the time. They wanted the characters to have distinctive and "international" names, so they often had names that sounded similar to real names from other languages, but slightly changed. I read an apt summary that Polish and Russian SF writers were afraid to use common names and often chose monosyllabic names with strange spellings. Nix, Bit, Rex, Pirx...
Am I the only one who couldn’t get passed the racist bit in the beginning?
Yeah they go the Snaut way when they don't refer to it at all. The movies did the same.