Look, fuckers, the statement "everything is an illusion, nothing exists" is a self-contradictory statement, because the illusion, at least, would still exist.
Therefore, it's BULLSHIT. QED.
And if anyone doesn't like that, write me a PM and I'll sic the Jesuits and maybe a few Rabbis on you.
Everything is illusion except this barstool, coming straight at your skull.
:barstool:
I always thought that was a load of bunk.
"What if everything is just an illusion?! No reality, just turtles all the way down?!"
Then it's not an illusion anymore, it's reality all over again. The cheeseburger tastes just as good either way.
Quote from: Cainad on December 21, 2012, 04:47:43 PM
I always thought that was a load of bunk.
"What if everything is just an illusion?! No reality, just turtles all the way down?!"
Then it's not an illusion anymore, it's reality all over again. The cheeseburger tastes just as good either way.
Yep. If someone was able to PROVE that we live in some Matrix-like reality, I would shoot them before they finished proving it. And then call them crazy.
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
The 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
The chief problem is that some humans get lulled into thinking that the world around them is permanent and doesn't change. Our ancient oriental thinker friends however, posited the opposite that, it is impermanent and does nothing else but change. Because it changes ALL THE FUCKING TIME, we should not place too much emotional stock in things 'staying the same' or having our all desires successfully fulfilled.
Believing in the permanence of the apparent world creates attachments (I want reality to be this way!) and aversions (I don't want reality to be this way!) which produce 'dukka' or dissatisfaction.
Having been delving into Buddhist and Vedantic thought a lot over the past couple of years, I've found that many of the things that we brought up here with regards to BIPs & barstools had already been covered thousands of years ago.
Authentic Buddhist or Vedic scholars do not deny the reality of being hit with the barstool. The hippy dippy interpretation comes about from cherry picking quotes and ideas without having understood the terminology, methods or context in which they should be used. The problem that arises from that is that so called 'teachers' throw out phrases that people either misinterpret and then extrapolate stupid ideas or they simply ignore the import. (Reality is the Matrix? Big deal!)
As one Swami explained, telling someone 'we are all one!' or 'enlightenment is NOW!' without building an appropriate context often does more harm than good. He said it's like a really poor person who learns that a rich, distant relative has died and left them a vast fortune......if only they can pay the exorbitant legal fees first. That person was acutely aware of their poverty and all they are left with is a frustrating 'if only' story. Bottom line is - you're still poor and now you have to be poor knowing that there was a chance to be filthy rich.
Thus, the world is real it's just that there's a disparity between how it IS and what we wish it to BE.
Hippies are fucking dilettantes. Never accept Sanskrit terminology from hippies.
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
YUO CANNOT KILL TEH QUANTUM KITTEHZ!!!!!!
Wait, wait.
If this isn't an illusion then this is actually happening.
Even... oh God.
Oh god!.
Quote from: Demolition_Squid on December 21, 2012, 05:42:06 PM
Wait, wait.
If this isn't an illusion then this is actually happening.
Even... oh God.
Oh god!.
Yeah, that guy crying about the geese?
Happened. For real.
Okay.
Can we stop the world now please? I'd like to get off.
Wait. No. Damn. Ten minutes and then back into the Happiest Goddamn Place On Earth.
We must be happy. We all smile so much.
Quote from: Demolition_Squid on December 21, 2012, 05:48:24 PM
Okay.
Can we stop the world now please? I'd like to get off.
Look at your calendar. That's already in progress.
QuoteWait. No. Damn. Ten minutes and then back into the Happiest Goddamn Place On Earth.
We must be happy. We all smile so much.
Yes. This is the Happy Place.
I'm fine with "all is illusion" I actually kind of like it but then, surely - fuck it, there's nowt else to do - is the logical conclusion, no?
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Except when it isn't yet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_suicide) Statistic probability verging on certainty, but you'd have to ask the cat, and that thing's been in the box so long I don't think it's coming out.
Quote from: Aidian on December 22, 2012, 04:59:43 AM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Except when it isn't yet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_suicide) Statistic probability verging on certainty, but you'd have to ask the cat, and that thing's been in the box so long I don't think it's coming out.
Nope. One dead fucking cat.
Dead or this:
(http://brianro27.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/schroumldingercatisaliveandangry.jpg)
I posted a long, dreary response to this thread on the walls of my cave. Feel free to skip.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
New-age bullshit > Science.
Fact is, there hasn't been a lot of actual science fiction in at least 15 years.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:13:20 PM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
New-age bullshit > Science.
Fact is, there hasn't been a lot of actual science fiction in at least 15 years.
Hmmm, you could be right about that. I suspect that it tells us more about the current state of science than about the current state of literature though.
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 11:27:22 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:13:20 PM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
New-age bullshit > Science.
Fact is, there hasn't been a lot of actual science fiction in at least 15 years.
Hmmm, you could be right about that. I suspect that it tells us more about the current state of science than about the current state of literature though.
Science is doing just fine. Popular science, not so much.
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 11:27:22 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:13:20 PM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
New-age bullshit > Science.
Fact is, there hasn't been a lot of actual science fiction in at least 15 years.
Hmmm, you could be right about that. I suspect that it tells us more about the current state of science than about the current state of literature though.
No, it really doesn't. Science is proceeding apace.
Not a lot of Science Fiction? Surely you jest.
Jennifer Pelland - Machine Discusses androids, society's response to them, what rights they should have and what the emotional impact would be of having your conscience put in one, even if it is only temporary. The least of the list, but still an interesting read.
T.C. McCarthy - Exogene What really happens when you create supersoldiers.
Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin - The Unincorporated Man/War/Woman Trilogy Where people are corporations and everybody owns shares of everybody around them. Only those that manage to buy up enough of their own shares get to decide for themselves what they do with their lives, the rest needs to answer to their shareholders. Creepy and well worked out.
Daniel Suarez - Daemon/Freedom OK, not technically Sci Fi because most of it can be done with current technology. A very rich man with a lot of time on his hands uses thousands upon thousands of little if>then programs to change the face of society. After he died. These are sticky books, you mean to only read a chapter and end of forgoing sleep altogether that night.
Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - The Long Earth What easy access to parallel Earths very similar to our own except without people would do to the economy.
Eric Brown - Helix About a crashlanding on something i would describe as a Dyson Helix. Fun if you like adventures on alternative world-types.
Charless Stross - Accelerando About three generations living through the singularity, and some encounters with truly alien yet frighteningly familiar aliens. This one actually does justice to the singularity concept. I recommend it highly.
Quote from: :regret: on December 25, 2012, 08:11:05 AM
Not a lot of Science Fiction? Surely you jest.
Jennifer Pelland - Machine Discusses androids, society's response to them, what rights they should have and what the emotional impact would be of having your conscience put in one, even if it is only temporary. The least of the list, but still an interesting read.
T.C. McCarthy - Exogene What really happens when you create supersoldiers.
Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin - The Unincorporated Man/War/Woman Trilogy Where people are corporations and everybody owns shares of everybody around them. Only those that manage to buy up enough of their own shares get to decide for themselves what they do with their lives, the rest needs to answer to their shareholders. Creepy and well worked out.
Daniel Suarez - Daemon/Freedom OK, not technically Sci Fi because most of it can be done with current technology. A very rich man with a lot of time on his hands uses thousands upon thousands of little if>then programs to change the face of society. After he died. These are sticky books, you mean to only read a chapter and end of forgoing sleep altogether that night.
Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - The Long Earth What easy access to parallel Earths very similar to our own except without people would do to the economy.
Eric Brown - Helix About a crashlanding on something i would describe as a Dyson Helix. Fun if you like adventures on alternative world-types.
Charless Stross - Accelerando About three generations living through the singularity, and some encounters with truly alien yet frighteningly familiar aliens. This one actually does justice to the singularity concept. I recommend it highly.
So, you've got eight books for 15 years. I think that qualifies as "not a lot". I think that even if you upped it to 30, 2 books a year wouldn't qualify as "a lot" given the volume of books published as sci-fi/fantasy in a given year.
I can add a few more because David Marusek is awesome and definitely science fiction.
However, I found this interesting: http://rosieoliver.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/science-fiction-trick-or-treat/
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on December 25, 2012, 04:10:59 AM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 11:27:22 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:13:20 PM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
New-age bullshit > Science.
Fact is, there hasn't been a lot of actual science fiction in at least 15 years.
Hmmm, you could be right about that. I suspect that it tells us more about the current state of science than about the current state of literature though.
No, it really doesn't. Science is proceeding apace.
I'm suggesting that it has nothing to do with Science per se and more to do with the public understanding of science. You know, the thing that people like Prof Dawkins are supposed to mediate. And this is, after all, a time when there can still be serious debate about the validity of Intelligent Design as a suitable thing to be taught in school SCIENCE classes.
Quote from: MMIX on December 25, 2012, 10:36:23 AM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on December 25, 2012, 04:10:59 AM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 11:27:22 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:13:20 PM
Quote from: MMIX on December 24, 2012, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 24, 2012, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: Pergamos on December 24, 2012, 06:25:47 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on December 21, 2012, 05:27:41 PM
Quote from: Mangrove on December 21, 2012, 05:25:08 PM
Hippies should be leaving the Sanskrit alone.
Maya is the term used in Hindu and Buddhist schools of thought to describe 'the illusion of permanence' not that 'nothing exists'.
Yeah, just look what they did to the "singularity" concept. It went from "the point in the future about which and after which you can no longer make accurate predictions", to "AI Jesus".
QuoteThe 'illusion' is that the physical world appears on the surface (to our very limited physical perceptions) to appear one way. However, we know from SCIENCE that, indeed, there's lots of shit going on that is very different to how it seems.
Never listen to physicists. They're just making that shit up. Fucking cat is DEAD, do you hear me?
Is that Hippies? I thought it was Sci Fi writers. (the singularity that is)
99% of "sci fi" writers these days are in fact hippies.
How do you define "hippies"?
New-age bullshit > Science.
Fact is, there hasn't been a lot of actual science fiction in at least 15 years.
Hmmm, you could be right about that. I suspect that it tells us more about the current state of science than about the current state of literature though.
No, it really doesn't. Science is proceeding apace.
I'm suggesting that it has nothing to do with Science per se and more to do with the public understanding of science. You know, the thing that people like Prof Dawkins are supposed to mediate. And this is, after all, a time when there can still be serious debate about the validity of Intelligent Design as a suitable thing to be taught in school SCIENCE classes.
OK. That's a different thing from the current state of science though.
Yeah, sorry, I was working off Roger's Science / Fiction dyad and I should have made my meaning clearer. Actually though I think the current state of science would make a great thread - though possibly not here, we have enough hot button topics to play with already :wink:
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on December 25, 2012, 09:56:31 AM
Quote from: :regret: on December 25, 2012, 08:11:05 AM
Not a lot of Science Fiction? Surely you jest.
Jennifer Pelland - Machine Discusses androids, society's response to them, what rights they should have and what the emotional impact would be of having your conscience put in one, even if it is only temporary. The least of the list, but still an interesting read.
T.C. McCarthy - Exogene What really happens when you create supersoldiers.
Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin - The Unincorporated Man/War/Woman Trilogy Where people are corporations and everybody owns shares of everybody around them. Only those that manage to buy up enough of their own shares get to decide for themselves what they do with their lives, the rest needs to answer to their shareholders. Creepy and well worked out.
Daniel Suarez - Daemon/Freedom OK, not technically Sci Fi because most of it can be done with current technology. A very rich man with a lot of time on his hands uses thousands upon thousands of little if>then programs to change the face of society. After he died. These are sticky books, you mean to only read a chapter and end of forgoing sleep altogether that night.
Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - The Long Earth What easy access to parallel Earths very similar to our own except without people would do to the economy.
Eric Brown - Helix About a crashlanding on something i would describe as a Dyson Helix. Fun if you like adventures on alternative world-types.
Charless Stross - Accelerando About three generations living through the singularity, and some encounters with truly alien yet frighteningly familiar aliens. This one actually does justice to the singularity concept. I recommend it highly.
So, you've got eight books for 15 years. I think that qualifies as "not a lot". I think that even if you upped it to 30, 2 books a year wouldn't qualify as "a lot" given the volume of books published as sci-fi/fantasy in a given year.
I can add a few more because David Marusek is awesome and definitely science fiction.
However, I found this interesting: http://rosieoliver.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/science-fiction-trick-or-treat/
No, i've got eight books within reach. Those are just the ones that i happened to own AND were recent AND i considered them good scifi. I follow no blogs, magazines or other forms of scifi related meta-data. I just go to a bookstore every other month or so and buy 2-5 books.
I should have been clearer on what my sampling technique was.
I will concede that much of what is published as scifi does not explore any form of sci. But that does not make being sad about the lack of good scifi a useful worldview.
I will look up David Marusek, thanks for the tip :)
Quote from: :regret: on December 25, 2012, 10:59:21 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on December 25, 2012, 09:56:31 AM
Quote from: :regret: on December 25, 2012, 08:11:05 AM
Not a lot of Science Fiction? Surely you jest.
Jennifer Pelland - Machine Discusses androids, society's response to them, what rights they should have and what the emotional impact would be of having your conscience put in one, even if it is only temporary. The least of the list, but still an interesting read.
T.C. McCarthy - Exogene What really happens when you create supersoldiers.
Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin - The Unincorporated Man/War/Woman Trilogy Where people are corporations and everybody owns shares of everybody around them. Only those that manage to buy up enough of their own shares get to decide for themselves what they do with their lives, the rest needs to answer to their shareholders. Creepy and well worked out.
Daniel Suarez - Daemon/Freedom OK, not technically Sci Fi because most of it can be done with current technology. A very rich man with a lot of time on his hands uses thousands upon thousands of little if>then programs to change the face of society. After he died. These are sticky books, you mean to only read a chapter and end of forgoing sleep altogether that night.
Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter - The Long Earth What easy access to parallel Earths very similar to our own except without people would do to the economy.
Eric Brown - Helix About a crashlanding on something i would describe as a Dyson Helix. Fun if you like adventures on alternative world-types.
Charless Stross - Accelerando About three generations living through the singularity, and some encounters with truly alien yet frighteningly familiar aliens. This one actually does justice to the singularity concept. I recommend it highly.
So, you've got eight books for 15 years. I think that qualifies as "not a lot". I think that even if you upped it to 30, 2 books a year wouldn't qualify as "a lot" given the volume of books published as sci-fi/fantasy in a given year.
I can add a few more because David Marusek is awesome and definitely science fiction.
However, I found this interesting: http://rosieoliver.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/science-fiction-trick-or-treat/
No, i've got eight books within reach. Those are just the ones that i happened to own AND were recent AND i considered them good scifi. I follow no blogs, magazines or other forms of scifi related meta-data. I just go to a bookstore every other month or so and buy 2-5 books.
I should have been clearer on what my sampling technique was.
I will concede that much of what is published as scifi does not explore any form of sci. But that does not make being sad about the lack of good scifi a useful worldview.
I will look up David Marusek, thanks for the tip :)
The only point you're proving is that you buy science fiction... I'm not saying that I think Roger's point is necessarily accurate, which is why I posted the link I did (because it actually offers some data, which may or may not be useful) but I am saying that the fact that you buy science fiction is not really any kind of refutation of his point at all. It's a lot like if he said "Most cars are not blue" and I tried to refute it by saying "My car is blue".