Sfdebris.net

Having mixed feelings about the world-building. One of the important, if not central bits is, how the Empire always thinks in a grand scale, solves problems by brute power, while the Foundation goes for efficient, slick and applying just enough power to get things done. It's one of the central bits for why the Empire is failing and can't be saved as their very mentality is unbreakably tied to having all the time and all the resources and being in control over everything. For all intents and purposes, the design of ships, buildings and technology of the Empire should be positively 40k Empire-of-Mankind-inspired, while this looks more like generic present-day humanity-extrapolated, miniaturized instead of bombastic. The exact opposite of what it should be.

Madner Kami wrote: ↑Fri Sep 10, 2021 11:17 am Having mixed feelings about the world-building. One of the important, if not central bits is, how the Empire always thinks in a grand scale, solves problems by brute power, while the Foundation goes for efficient, slick and applying just enough power to get things done. It's one of the central bits for why the Empire is failing and can't be saved as their very mentality is unbreakably tied to having all the time and all the resources and being in control over everything. For all intents and purposes, the design of ships, buildings and technology of the Empire should be positively 40k Empire-of-Mankind-inspired, while this looks more like generic present-day humanity-extrapolated, miniaturized instead of bombastic. The exact opposite of what it should be.

Then I move to ask what you think of the idea that the scope of the modern world has shrunk in the information age. By terms of what the common man can see, control factors between corporations and state governments have a lot less shroud of being basic arbiters of society subject to mounds of market friction creating industries in itself. Media itself has become one vital artery in the form an amalgamation of phone service and cable providers. It's all very streamlined.

BridgeConsoleMasher wrote: ↑Fri Sep 10, 2021 2:08 pmThen I move to ask what you think of the idea that the scope of the modern world has shrunk in the information age.

Note quite sure what you are aiming at or trying to say or read, but at first glance I disagree with this statement. The scope of the modern world has exponentially grown, which in consequence tends to overwhelm everyone. The scope of the modern world just 50 years ago was mostly your family and your city first, then your state and, at most, your nation, a scope that is thoroughly dysfunctional for today's application and necessities. Societies or rather mentalities haven't yet quite adopted to this new reality and due to the overwhelming nature of the scope, the flood of important details, people tend to "think" in the opposite direction, shutting themselves off, narrowing their scope, trying to keep things smaller, I dare to say almost tribal (we're human and that's our basic natural scope after all and it served us well for houndreds of thousands of years).
Media tend to serve this narrow(ing) view due to their capitalistic nature. To sell copies, to sell movies, to sell anything at all, you need to cater to your customer's wishes and needs, after all. So I agree in so far as, if you look at things from outside, there's this "layer of media" over society at large, displaying a narrowed view, but that's all there is. Appearances. Holographic displays of neat and small things on a canvas of tough-to-understand chaos. Tiny shadows on the wall of an expanding cave.

In essence, what you see happening is the counter-revolution to the revolution of our modern world and while I find the Hegelian view of history a little bit too simplistic, there's truth in there.

I think the idea of the city, state, nation limited scope just kind of lying on top of family like a salad dressing seems illusionary and thus the premise of my point. The nature of financial conglomeration has always been in motion since the 1800’s. The degree of connectivity within the last 15 years has opened flood gates for everybody to participate and have view of the societal operating table. Power is not so shrouded and complex.

And that has what to do with what I originally wrote? You really shouldn't smoke weed before posting.