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# 2019-11-22 - The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
A friend recommended Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon. The
local library did not have that book, but they had The Speed of Dark.
The premise sounded fascinating. The protagonist is an autistic man
who is employed for his superior skills working with mathematical
patterns. He then has to make a decision whether to undergo an
experimental treatment to cure his autism.
The book reminded me a little of Flowers for Algernon, a similar
story that i read in high school.
I really liked how easy it was to identify with Lou, the protagonist.
He handles his life challenges with incredible dignity and grace.
The toxic relationships and office politics were a little difficult
for me to read because they brought to mind personal memories. This
book was a little too realistic in this regard.
Below are some passages that caught my attention.
If i want to understand what this treatment can do that will make Mr.
Crenshaw rich, then i need to know how the brain works. Not the
vague terms people use, but how it really works as a machine.
[Personally, i assume the attitude that the brain is not a computer.
We don't know enough about the brain yet to call it a computer.]
My questions were wrong questions because no one else asked them.
Maybe no one thought of them. Maybe darkness got there first. Maybe
i am the first light touching a gulf of ignorance. Maybe my
questions matter.
[I feel inspired by this paragraph. It is the essence of the whole
book. Lou could reasonably be considered the most important person
on the planet, but nobody recognizes it. He is treated like crap and
he goes through a period of time believing that something is wrong
with him. Gradually it dawns on him that nothing is wrong with him,
and that he has been actively lied to. Lou learns that he matters.]
"Recidivism," Mr. Stacy says, pawing through a pile of hard copies.
"They do it again. It's been proved. Just like you can't stop being
you, the person who is autistic, he can't stop being him, the person
who is jealous and violent."
[This would seem to be a static mindset, saying that some people are
effectively born jealous and violent and they cannot change. I
realize that i am arguing with a fictional society set in a
speculative future, but i believe people can change.]
author: Moon, Elizabeth |