the Focus

Wei Dai (weidai@eskimo.com)
Mon, 12 Apr 1999 12:51:28 -0700

I have to agree with Robin on the Matrix. It's ok as an action flick, but there really isn't much to talk about, except to develop patches for the plot. Hopefully we'll have open-source movies soon so these kinds of bugs can be fixed before release.

I recently read Vernor Vinge's _A Deepness in the Sky_. Everyone here probably already knows about this book so I won't bother to recommend it except to say go read it now if you haven't already.

(Spoiler warning)

I would love to see some more discussion of the book here. So to start it off, how plausible do you think the Focus is? In the book, the Focus is near the upper limit of technology in the Slow Zone, and was only discovered by accident. But I can't tell if Vinge really believes it would be difficult to invent or if that is just a plot device. If such technology can be developed, is it something extropians should support?