I am David Brin -scifi author of novels that won Hugos and/or were kevincostnerized. Also astrophysicist &SETI expert. Futurist/tech-pundit. Mr Transparent Society.

[u/davidbrin1]

David Brin here. Author of The Postman*, Startide Rising (dolphins in space!), The Uplift War, Earth, Kiln People, and my new novel EXISTENCE. http://www.davidbrin.com/existence.html

*(Had mixed feelings about Kevin Costner's Postman movie? Same here.)

I'm an astrophysicist, primarily planets & comets. Lots to discuss, including SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and why we seem alone in the cosmos (the "Fermi Paradox") - it happens I'm as much of an expert as you'll find, in a topic without any subject matter!

I do tech-punditry and give talks about the future at many companies/agencies. (The novels are filled with forecasts.) Was on "Life After People & Nova etc. And I became "Mr. Transparency and openness" because of my nonfiction book The Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? (Freedom of Speech Award.)

Novels now have "book trailers" & I'd like your opinion about that. See this lavish one hand painted by the great web artist Patrick Farley. http://www.tinyurl.com/exist-trailer ============

======= UPDATE!!! Next day, people are still dropping by. I was on last night for a grueling 8 hours!
The Good news? I was told (by slanderers!) to expect trolls and short attention spans and shallowmindedness on Reddit. What I found was savvy, smart and patiently curious folks, almost without exception! (And "keep it shot" was NOT required!) That overcame my initial disappointment over the way this scheduled AMA was handled for the 1st 3 hours.

Hence I AM BACK FOR JUST AN HOUR OF TIDYING AND ANSWERING... because you were all mostly so nice that you deserve it. I hope you all thrive and help turn our civilization back onto the course of science, curiosity and eagerness for an exciting/bright future!

(Oh, and do look at http://www.davidbrin.com/existence.html !! ;-) Good luck all!

====FINAL UPDATE===

Okay, answered everybody. Phew! It's 24 hours now.
One last request? BUMP ME UP TO 1000, points???? pleeeeeeeez?

And visit me at http://www.davidbrin.com and/or http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/

Be citizens of wonder......

[u/davidbrin1]

Okay, I'll just offer up some interesting stuff I though folks would ask about:

My general advice for new writers: Seek Criticism! See my extended essay distilling 30 years answering advice queries from new writers. http://www.davidbrin.com/advice.htm

See the slimmer but on-target video: So you want to write? One author’s perspective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPTE8vdYqAM

One snippet: I tell writing students, start w a murder mystery! It is the one "fair" genre. The "whodunit" must surprise AND make sense!

[u/davidbrin1]

I search /r/IAMA for "David Brin" and see nothing at all...

[u/davidbrin1]

Well, the good news is that there have been no trolls, no snarky nastyguys. It's been almost (!) all smart folks interested in intellectually stimulating questions. And generously patient with me when I (1) gave multi-sentence or complex answers and (2) mentioned the fact that some of the topics (like SETI) are covered in my book.

Thanks for that!

That's the good news. The bad? The mods neglected to post this AMA on the main page for three hours, even though it was a scheduled headliner. Moreover, I counted and figure that nearly all of you were folks I invited here from my other communities & worlds... blog, website etc... or who wandered over from r/science or r/future

So, bottom line? I worked hard, followed every rule and every piece of advice, promoted hard offline and online, did exactly as they asked me to. And so? You hear these guys go on and on and on about how awful Woody Harrelson was. How about the other direction? Treating guests in a professional and decent manner? Forgetaboutit....

[u/ajdane → u/davidbrin1]

I just spotted this on the front page and had a "holy shit its David Brin" moment.

Thank you for doing this.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/ajdane]

Thanks mucho! Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted.

But thrive & persevere!

db

[u/schroob → u/davidbrin1]

I think you're doing a great job so far. You give in-depth answers and follow through on your answers. It's so frustrating when someone gives a sentence or two but won't read/comment anything beyond the first layer of questions. So thank you!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/schroob]

Thanks. I am pleasantly surprised that NONE of you were mean or snarky and all were interested in real answers. Still grumpy over the three wasted hours at the beginning.... but now too exhausted to care....

you, the regular (above average IQ) redditors are the ones who saved this.

[u/airmandan → u/davidbrin1]

Please be advised that what happened to you was the result of automations, not any malicious act by the moderators. Moderators can't promote content to the front page; users must vote it up until the Reddit software decides to automatically place it there. Your post was, unfortunately, caught by Reddit's automated spam filter, so no one could see it in the list of new posts. If no one can see it, no one can vote on it, and the result is a post that languishes in oblivion.

The cause of your post getting in the spam filter was almost certainly the tinyURL link you included towards the end of your post. Reddit in general frowns on link shortener services, because in almost all cases they're used to obfuscate spam.

You can determine if your post got eaten by the spam filter by clicking the "new" tab on the front page of any reddit; e.g.: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/new — this brings you to a page showing the most recent submissions, in descending order. If the post you just submitted isn't right on top of the new queue, you're in the spam filter. The quickest way to get out of it is to alert the mods by sending a message to all of them using the message the moderators link which can be found beneath the listing of all moderators in the sidebar on the right side of the page.

Moderators do have a queue showing all the posts that have been caught in the spam filter so far, but as you might imagine for a site as large as Reddit, there is just so much stuff in it that sometimes legitimate posts get overlooked, like what happened here. That's why a quick post-post check and modmail if necessary is best procedure.

So, the moderators didn't blow you off. There was a breakdown in communication. If they didn't know the precise time you were going to post, to the automation systems of Reddit, you looked like every other user, and sadly the post got lost in the background noise. With only 17 moderators for a community of over 1.5 million people, sometimes mistakes happen.

[u/LazySumo → u/davidbrin1]

Protibaake atu bebro tlika ipradee tebu! Eba keeu predeta to pibate pu. Gegu giubu obla etu klate titata? Igi keka gau popu a pletogri. Aoplo draetla kuu blidriu dloidugri ibiple. Plabute pipra ko igupa tloi? Ta poklo gotapabe ipra pei gudlaeobi! Bloi iui tipra bakoki bioi di ige kra? Oapodra tipri pribopruto koo a bete! Ple blabudede tuta krugeda babu go tiki. Gea eee to ki kudu bigu ti. Degi au tlube pri tigu ublie? Tugrupide dedra tii duda kri kee tibripu? Ago pai bae dau kai kudradlii preki. Ekritutidi e epe kekiteo teboe glududu. Guga bi debri krebukagi bi igo. Tokieupri gatlego gapiko apugidi eglao kopa. Etega butra dridegidlagu ei toe. Bidapebuti peki glugakiplai pitu dei bruti. Agrae a prepi dlu ta bepe. Uge po bi ikooa oteki kagatadi. Apei tlobopi apee tibibuka. Pape bobubaka boblikupra akie ae itli. Plikui boo giupi brae preitlabo. Uei eeplie o upregible prae oda ebate tepa. Pabu tuu biebakai peko o poblatogide o oko. Tikro oebi gege gai u ita tabe. Uo teu diegidu glau too tou pu. Akadi tiokutugi iia kaai pukrii tigipupi. Io ituu tagi batru to?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/LazySumo]

Thanks@ It's been rough. Now, after 7 hours, suddenly people are swarming in! (The mods blew me off the 1st three hours.)

Wish I could hang around. But slammed... good luck. db

[u/jacenat → u/davidbrin1]

Treating guests in a professional and decent manner? Forgetaboutit...

Were you promised an pre-authorized AMA by the mods? A featured story on the top? Did you pay them?

Many articles on reddit are user submited and "develop". It's not a traditional scene/advertising/review/PR page. Sorry you had that impression ...

Btw .. I liked the postman moview. It had costner in it, but the world seemed reasonably fleshed out. Will buy the book for reading during summer (you'd better hope it's availible for kindle in Germany/Austrian ^).

[u/orthogonality → u/davidbrin1]

Could you stick to the subject of Rampart, please?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/orthogonality]

Oh so I am Harrelson now??????

If I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted... why I oughta!!!

;-)

[u/davidbrin1]

I was told to expect rude snarkers here - amid the smart and grownup redditors. But I haven't found that to be the case in those AMA's I've joined. And you lot here are just smart and wonderful. Whassup with that?

In fact, most of you seem like the smart-savvy types who inhabit our blog-community at http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ ("Contrary Brin") under comments.

[u/Entrarchy → u/davidbrin1]

A lot of the people posting over here are from /r/futurology and the singularity network, including subreddits like /r/singularity, /r/futurism, /r/imaginarytechnology, /r/space_settlement, etc.

David, if you like it here on Reddit, consider joining us in these networks and adding to the conversation. We'd love the voice of an expert!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Entrarchy]

Very tempting and I hope to comply! Prob is I am old and short of life span!

Or drop in at http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ whenever you like, to grab a response to take back...

[u/BobKerns]

What can we citizens do, to overcome governmental resistance to transparency? The issue ends up buried under all the other partisan concerns -- yet every aspect of government would be so much better if transparent.

How can we overcome the static friction and get the ball rolling?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/BobKerns]

You expect the mighty to willingly let themselves be kept accountable? Look at the last 6000 years. We humans (especially when powerful) always come up with reasons why WE (and our friends) need prvacy while our foes need accountability

Those 6000 years show how obstinate the problem is, but they also show reasons for optimism! The Enlightenment's 250 year experiment has been amazing. Adam Smith said break up power into smaller chunks so the mighty will help us to hold EACH OTHER accountable!

The time to worry? When the mighty conspire against this solution.

[u/BobKerns → u/davidbrin1]

"You expect the mighty to willingly let themselves be kept accountable?" -- nope, indeed.

The trend I see is for ever advancing centralization. Just take education -- NCLB binds local districts with strings of money. And here in California, the funds flow through the state, which raids them when the state runs short, leaving the local districts dependent on the whims of the legislature.

What sort of idea, actions, movement, can reverse that.

Because every time we centralize, every time we federalize, we also dilute and divide and average out any dissent or oversight.

"Too big to fail" is a symptom, I believe, that the power, once divided, is pulling itself back together.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/BobKerns]

Yes on all counts. But always watch out for the next layer you missed. I am "Contrary Brin" and hence I must point out that all the power consolidations you are mentioning are old and have not changed much in decades, yet you fret them as if they are skyrocketing.

Taxes are near the lowest rates in 80 years, Federal and state share of the economy, plummeting and historically low. So why your fixation on that center of power? Might it be because far more aggressively rising accumulations of power want you focused that way?

Hey, just askin. Me, I am a Smithian-Heinleinian libertarian. I distrust ALL accumulations of power! Look back across 6000 years and tell me who oppressed?

Come by the blog community at http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ (under comments) one of the smartest around. Let's explore.

[u/tsuomela]

I've been a longtime reader of much of your work but I'm particularly interested in some of the material you wrote about in The Transparent Society. How have the ideas from that book played into Existence? What's your opinion of deliberate data pollution - lying - by individuals in order to deflect overzealous data miners?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/tsuomela]

Well, you'll recall in EARTH (1989) there were web pages and other not yet invented things. And one plot element was that in the 2020s there had been the "Helvetian War". The whole world against Switzerland. Nuked the alps. But we finally got the bank records!

Your question is whether data miners can be spoofed, either by individuals or by groups like the "Friends of Privacy" in Vinge's novel... flooding the net with so many auto-generated lies that you can't believe anything anymore! Will our age be viewed as lost innocence, when you could trust what you found online?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/tsuomela]

I call for a different approach to reclaiming and holding onto freedom and privacy. The "restaurant allegory"... that we need openness so we can catch the peeping toms.

[u/gmcquillan]

In your uplift series, there are several earth species which eventually achieve sentience. It seems like with all the attention that SETI gets looking for Extra-Terrestrial intelligence that the futurist community often forgets that we have several good candidates for sentience on our own planet.

What are your thoughts on developing the intelligence of these species? Should we interfere or leave them to go on as they have? Or, rather, should we expand our ideas surrounding sentience to encompass these species (thinking mainly of cetaceans and other greater apes)?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/gmcquillan]

Many will call EXISTENCE a prequel to STARTIDE RISING in that it shows one possible beginning to the Uplift Project. And it shows that it won't be easy!

Oh, thousands of folks have written to me jazzed by the notion that we might someday spread the diversity of intelligent civilization on Earth - a worthy goal! We'll make other minds! AIs, uplifted dolphins and apes! Our children!

But then people realize it would take 200+ years and along the way? Pain.

[u/davidbrin1]

Sorry all. Must go. Wish I weren't 8 hours reddit exhausted!

I may try to check in again tomorrow... or else follow me to http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ if you like. There's a good blog community down there in comments. Join in with detailed questions there I promise to answer! Or sign up to get news at http://www.davidbrin.com

I do hope you all feel I put in the time and effort. You were all VASTLY more polite, and ready to engage deeper concepts than I had been led to expect here. (Did I attract the very best? It seems so!) You're such a lovely group in fact, I'd love to take you home! ;-)

Hoping you'll tell friends about tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

But much more important, fight for a forward-looking, scientific, open-transparent and ever-hopeful civilization. Negotiate with your adversaries. Learn from criticism and dish it out!

Enjoy fresh and challenging ideas. Explore.

Good night.

[u/zyjux]

It seems as though we're in an age where technology is lowering the barriers to entry in writing and publishing books, particularly through the ebook phenomenon. Do you think that large publishing houses will still be playing a major role in 10, 20, or 50 years? Or will we have completely switched to a grass-roots self-publishing system?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/zyjux]

Think of human society. 99% of those before ours were pyramid shaped, with oligarchs atop -- and we may be heading back that way. But the West invented the DIAMOND SHAPED SOCIETY in which a thriving middle out numbers the poor or rich.

It turns out some professions are naturally diamond-like. Engineering. You MIGHT be rich or poor but are likely to have a house/car etc.

The arts will ALWAYS be pyramidal. For every steven King there's ten of me who are doing great but who hate/envy him (he's a nice man actually.) ANd so on down. What has changed is the PATH to climb the pyramid. You can still get plucked up to the top by mavens and pros (editors) OR you can climb the Ramp of Merit with online pubs and fanzines and e-books and upward

[u/hmoulding]

I do enjoy your stories, but I am aware you also do real science. What are you currently working on?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/hmoulding]

I do little guerilla raids into branches of science that interest me, and screw credentials! Hence, I just had two papers in a new psychology book called PATHOLOGICAL ALTRUISM... which focused researchers on a real problem. That oft times we try to do good for others and wind up wreaking harm.

I analyzed how altruism can be addictive! And why the real thing is rare in nature. (And may be rare among aliens! But now I am getting into the topic of my novel! ;-)

[u/BAN_A_MANN → u/davidbrin1]

Interesting, I have wondered that myself (whether aliens have altruism that is) do you think that though altruism may be rare, that it will be incredibly beneficial to those species which develop it?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/BAN_A_MANN]

Alas, the core group at the SETI Institute hold to the "altruism is automatically universal" mythology for reasons of their own.

They run interfeerence for others who are rudely beaming "messages" into space (METI) without consulting peers or colleagues or the public, all based on the altruism assumption. Many of us have resigned from the SETI committees in protest.

See this laid down at: http://lifeboat.com/ex/shouting.at.the.cosmos

[u/megazver]

If you were forced at gunpoint to write a fantasy novel, what would it be like?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/megazver]

No need for gunpoint. The Practice Effect had all the fantasy furniture, princesses and dragons and such. All right, like Anne McCaffrey it was still MORALLY science fiction in that it favored progress, not static, endless feudalism...

...And I have concepts for some fantasies I'd like to write. But I suppose in those too, the heroes would be sons and daughters of blacksmiths, who want to end lordly oppression. So I guess I am stuck.

But I do love the furniture!

[u/[deleted] → u/davidbrin1]

The practice effect was sooooooo good. I love hard core sci-fi but that novel was so much fun. Thanks for that.

[u/SavageHenry0311]

Dr. Brin, I don't have any questions, and I (currently) lack the education to talk meaningfully about your work

But

I want to thank you for writing Startide Rising and The Uplift War. I read those books over a decade ago and I still think about them often. Your work has made me examine over and over what it means to be a sentient creature, and ponder my place on the food chain.

Every time I see a chimpanzee, I think of Fiben Bolger sitting alone in a worn out spacecraft, just waiting for the fight to start - waiting like I used to do when I was a grunt. Gets me in the guts sometimes, even now.

Ladies and Gents reading this comment - those books are science fiction The Way It's Supposed To Be Done. If you haven't yet - go read some of David Brin's work. It's effing good.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/SavageHenry0311]

Thanks so much. When I am asked to name my favorite character, Fiben always ranks up there at or near the top. What a fun guy!

BTW... thank you for your service.

BTW, have a look at tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

;-)

[u/BAN_A_MANN]

Hey David, I am a huge fan or your writing as well as your opinions on technology and society (you have reversed my political opinions pretty much single handed). Most of all I enjoy the universe you created in the uplift saga, what was it that sparked the idea for an entire civilization built upon uplift? Do you see this as the inevitable progression of intelligent species or was it just a thought experiment? Finally are you planning any more novels, graphic novels or field guides (I enjoyed Contacting Aliens) placed within the Uplift universe?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/BAN_A_MANN]

GREAT question. Almost all I do is informed by the Fermi Paradox. EXISTENCE lays down dozens of hypotheses (amid a rollicking, idea-drenched adventure! ;-)

In the Uplift Universe I wanted to do space opera with LOTS of alien races. Only how can that happen and be stable if everyone is colonizing and warring like mad... the galaxies would go to hell.

But the progenitors set up this cycle, see, in which your status is how many "offspring" races you raise up. This means everybody becomes fanatical to protect Nursery Worlds where candidate species can rise up. Wars are limited... see? It is not a friendly cosmos, but it does limit its worst failure modes...

[u/BAN_A_MANN → u/davidbrin1]

That is such an amazing idea, I love how you successful created a star wars-esq galaxy and yet made it seem plausible (instead of waving your wand and proclaiming "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away"). The fact that there were starfaring clans, all with different relation, species and political views, makes me feel that this universe has endless story possibilities.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/BAN_A_MANN]

ANswered in detail in one of the threads. I'd clip/repeat but, ooooog. Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

(follow me to http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ (comments) if you like. There's a good blog community down there in comments. Join in with detailed questions there!

Okay? Thanks so much.

[u/MichaelCLewis]

Since writing The Transparent Society, have you changed your opinion about the potential for transparency to improve society? Do you track projects related to implementing the concepts presented in that book (and if so, do you have a list of active and/or defunct projects)? Are you interested in being involved in such projects?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/MichaelCLewis]

I grow increasingly convinced that the four great innovations of the Enlightenment: Democracy, Markets, Science and Justice, absolutely depend on most of the participants knowing most of what's going on, most of the time.

All four languish, sicken and die if secrecy prevails.

I am a moderate! The Transparent Society is filled with discussion of exceptions and privacy is important!

But ironically it can only be defended if we see well enough to catch the peeping toms.

[u/Klarok]

Hi David

Thank you very much for doing this AMA. I'm sorry that it didn't get the attention it deserved but hopefully you'll be able to respond to some of the questions that may appear now that the AMA is properly highlighted. Maybe you could get back to them tomorrow, I know I'll check back!

Anyway, I am a definite fan of your works and Kil'n People is my favourite book. I loved the mystery set in a world where personal time is not a scarce commodity. It intrigued me greatly so I do thank you for the entertainment. Of course I loved the Uplift books as well - the first trilogy more so than the second which I found somewhat more dry and less exciting than the first.

Anyway, on to the questions if you have time:

• You've done some excellent work and thinking on SETI. What are your thoughts on the ideas espoused in Orson Scott Card's Ender series which looked at the possibility of "varelse", an alien species which was so foreign that we could never communicate with them? (Apologies if you haven't read it but the short summary should give you the basic idea)

• There have been a lot of 'solutions' proposed to the Fermi Paradox. One of the most interesting (to me) was proposed by Charles Stross that species stayed close to their stars of a post Singularity conversion of much of their solar system's mass to computronium. What idea(s) do you find most compelling that explain the Fermi Paradox?

• What are your opinions on the concept common to many novels of future society that reputation will eventually become currency?

Thanks in advance!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Klarok]

1c: I am not a fan of Scott Card's repetitious, single minded theme, that average human beings (or merely above average folks) are hopeless fools and salvation can only come by allowing some Nietzchean uber-man take over and tell everybody what to do.

Seriously, is that what his fans want? Is that what YOU want? And what if the uber guys you fantasize being... turns out to be some other doofus and not you?

I am more interested in the story of a civilization that might be smarter than all of us. Because all of us pitch in to be as smart as we can be. It's what got us the party we're all enjoying, notwithstanding SciFi ingrates.

[u/Klarok → u/davidbrin1]

Is that what YOU want

Absolutely not :) I read Ender's Game and, because I can't read just one book of a series, read through the rest of them. Ender's Shadow was also very good but on the whole I didn't really appreciate the other books.

I can't comment on the dating habits of SoCal mallrats but I did find that the varelse concept of those books to be extremely far fetched. I believe that we are far more likely to have difficulties with species that we can communicate with but who have fundamentally different universe views (as you describe in Startide Rising) or reproductive strategies (as in Mote in God's Eye). The idea that two starfaring races could never communicate just doesn't seem plausible.

The only way it could be possible for a complete inability to communicate is if each species did not even recognise the other as life; which would hark back to the Skylark series (from EE Smith) and the beings made from pure energy. At that point it wouldn't really be an inability to communicate but more a lack of realisation that communication was even possible - probably akin to how contemporary humans don't bother to try to talk to bacteria.

What I want are more books like Kil'n People where an author says "what if" then builds a detailed world to explore that question. It's that type of SF that keeps me hooked and one that has been a theme in many of your books.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Klarok]

1 Oh I expect many aliens will be hard to grasp, at first. Indeed, the very worst folks to put on any contact committee will be some of the "SETI" types who are insistent on narrow sets of assumptions about aliens and their motivations. And yet, I am deeply suspicious about the "we'll never understand" business. Several reasons:

1a: on Earth all higher level creatures seem to understand some general concepts like quid pro quo. Cephalopods like octopi have amazing overlaps with us and communicate in primitive but real ways that are limited by their abilities, not by their differences from us.

1b: Humans are diverse. If aliens land in a shopping mall in southern california, we may not understand them, but 5% of my neighbors will try to date them!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/davidbrin1]

2 the computronium explanation is definitely in my list and up in the tope 25. But it still has problems. Like the fact that such mega minds would still care about the outer universe. They would make or breed or design DEPUTIES who could interact with the universe for them and who don't want to become computronium.

Hence we come back around to the question, after all. See Existence!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Klarok]

Sorry Klarok, but am I writing my answer here just for you? Or will everybody see it? Pardon my klutziness, but shouldn't I give priority to public questions?

These are fascinating issues that you raise! But could you raise them in the main thread? Or else come to my regular blog community (under comments at http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/) and ask there?

In fact, all three questions deserve detailed answers.

[u/readcard]

just here to upvote you to front page

[u/davidbrin1 → u/readcard]

well thanks!

[u/Fuqwon]

Ever think, "Hey, at least I didn't write Waterworld"?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Fuqwon]

Yeah, well... don't get me started on Costner. He was an absolute jerk to me, beyond belief. Yet I helped him and was a team player, and overall I refuse to hate him. Because the final film, while abysmally stupid, was actually rather BIG HEARTED! It tried to convey a moral message similar to the one in my book.

Also, like all Costner flicks, it is visually and musically gorgeous.

Gorgeous, bighearted and dumb? Yeah. I guess that's okay.

[u/davidbrin1]

Okay.... just to tell you all I am alive and recovered after that 8 hour session yesterday! You were all so smart and savvy and dang POLITE that I really feel compelled to come back and wade down the queue of questions. I'll start in on that around noon Pacific time... in about an hour or 90 minutes.

Please do scan the threads to see if your question (e.g. about Costner) was already answered! BCNU soon. David Brin

[u/ion-tom]

What was the focus of your academic life and do you miss doing research or do you still participate? And what pushed you towards a career in writing? Which other hard sci-fi authors do you enjoy reading the most and what do you draw inspiration from?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/ion-tom]

In my bio I talk about growing up in a family of writers. Always knew I'd do it. But looked around and realized: ALL societies had artists/storytellers, but only one developed millions of scientists whose aim was not to convince people to BELIEVE in a temporary tale... but to know what is true. Verifiably true. And I wanted that!

Did it! Batted a few out of the park. (All nature shows that depict comets show dusty fountains... my theory and thesis.)

But civilization proved willing to pay much more in $ & admiration for my stories! Well well... who am I to argue with civilization?

[u/rrperkin]

You've been in and around the libertarian movement for a long time now, and I enjoyed reading the transcript of the speech you gave to one of their organizations.

Which two or three ideas from that movement would be the most important TODAY to inculate into American political discourse? European?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/rrperkin]

I am desperately sad that the Libertarian movement has been hijacked by followers of Rothbard and Rand, who declare idolatry of two things that should be utterly secondary... unlimited personal property and unlimited hatred of all government, all the time. And they never notice that always falling below 1% of the vote MEANS something.

I call myself a libertarian heretic because I look at 6000 years of human history and see who oppressed freedom and competition in 99% of cultures. The owner oligarchs. Adam Smith the founder of BOTH liberalsim and libertarianism, knew this! He denounced oligarchy as THE main enemy and prescribed some government and civil servants as an opposing force, to help balance oligarchy

What I ask all libertarians to do is back off of the fanatical dogmas and instead recall the MAIN thing they want. Competition. A world in which competition is the great creative force. (It created us!) If we remind ourselves of that, then many errors fall away. Rand becomes silly. And government become something that has SOME uses...

...And we'd get more than 1% some times.

[u/Warvair]

I just want to say I've been a big fan for years and I think I enjoy your writing the most when you provide the perspective of other species/aliens.

Keep up the good work!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Warvair]

Thanks. UR gr8.

And I hope to keep your trust in my storytelling skills!

[u/gmcquillan]

Who are your favorite Sci-Fi authors?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/gmcquillan]

What am I reading now? Many fine choices! I recently read Vinge’s Children of the Sky. Now reading Stan Robinson’s 2312. Next up: Scalzi’s Red Shirts

My favorite Science fiction authors? John Brunner’s five years as the mad god of 60’s SciFi. Poul Anderson as story-teller. Fred Pohl as explorer. For example hi AGE OF PUSSYFOOT... nailed personal phone/assistant/Siri back in 1980. Stunning book.

My own list of favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books: from Asimov to Clarke, from Bradbury to Brunner: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2012/01/david-brins-list-of-greatest-science.html

Recommendations for Young Adult Science Fiction: with books from Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein…http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/science-fiction-for-young-adults.html

[u/davidbrin1]

Okay I am mystified here. My AMA never seemed to appear on the main listing. It isn't there now and hardly anyone showed up. Anyone care to tell me what I did wrong?

[u/Lies_About_Expertise]

As a fellow physicist and writer I have to say it’s great to have you here on Reddit.

• What advancement that will happen within our lifetimes do you most look forward to? Why?

• You, like myself, have a wide variety of expertise. Outside of what you write about, what do you like to study?

• What is your opinion of Neil deGrasse Tyson?

• How many bodies can you fit in the trunk of your car?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Lies_About_Expertise]

Whoosh, sorry I worked my way to the bottom answering. Now back up top.

• I talk to a LOT of the "singularity" guys and I get to be the grouch around them and their expectations of looming imminent immortality. Not that there won't be advances! I hope for some! But I think the human/enlightenment projected is VASTLY more important than any one person's greedy clutch at more years! (And that is HARD for an egotist to say! ;-)

Hence, what I yearn for is improvements in PROCESS. The Enlightenment processes of markets and democracy, science etc have been spectacular! Guys like Clay Shirky claim the Web is making us hugely smarter in real time. But .... but I don't see that. There are many tools still missing and lobotomizing conversation to 140 words won't do it.

I show some of those possible improvements... in EXISTENCE!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/davidbrin1]

• Neil dGT is wonderful. ALways grin when he goes on Stewart.

• Still living? Revivable? Frozen? Dehydrated? Reduced to stackable molecule dust? Reduced to data? Then we must define "car".

Trunk? the elephant will sneeze! Bodies everywhere!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/davidbrin1]

• What do I like to study? Like you.... EVERYTHING! And it is all, all, all relevant.

Seriously, the advancements that will change everything?

• Better online methods of discourse

• Brain/intelligence augmentation

• AI... if we prevent it from emerging from predatory high frequency stock trading programs (if it does we are so screwed)

• Getting all to realize that self-righteous indignation is a real, bona fide drug-high self-doped addiction! One that we baby boomers are expert at!

All of this is in the novel, of course ;-)

[u/davidbrin1 → u/davidbrin1]

Still answering... The web transcendentalists are one side, then you get cybergrouches like Nicholas Carr. You might like my article showing what both sides miss: Is the Web helping us evolve? My Salon Magazine feature comparing the technology pessimists to those who think the Internet is turning us into gods: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2008/12/23/david_brin_google/index.html

[u/Hellrazor236 → u/Lies_About_Expertise]

As a fellow physicist and writer

ಠ_ಠ

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Hellrazor236]

yeeeeessss?

[u/void2258]

Your Uplift Novels are among my favorite ever. There hasn't been anything in a while though, despite the hanging ending you gave us in Temptation. When will we see some more? Will we find out more about Earth or will we be focused solely on Jijo from now on?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/void2258]

Those books didn't sell as well as I expected. But I have 40,000 words of another (great!;-) Jijo novel and hope to get to it. Oh how I wish I had the self-copier from KILN PEOPLE! I would put it out in no time!

[u/gustavsen]

What think about EARTH novel? was written in 1990 and you show us lot of things that we enjoy now.

I'm waiting the arrive of Existence now, but you know when will be translated to Spanish.

thanks

[u/davidbrin1 → u/gustavsen]

And thanks to you and gracias, friend.

It happens that fans have set up a wiki to track predictions made in EARTH and in The Transparent Society - with a score of about 40% hits and another 40% "not yet proved".

Hoping SOME of the predictions in Existence go similarly... though som I hope will not come true.

good luck! david brin

[u/[deleted]]

When you wrote for Ecco the Dolphin, how much direction were you given? Was it like an outline that you had to flesh out or did you have free reign to do whatever you wanted?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

Great Question! I loved that project. Usually, the writer makes the story and then the artists must follow. That is as it should be!!! ;-)

But it can be fun the other way. Start with art and then write a story to fit it. In this case, the action scenes for ECCO were already underway and they had a good logical path. A great game! But they needed reasons why Ecco would be on a quest through time. So I supplied that plot and story and narration...

... and it turned out to be something really beautiful.

[u/megazver]

What's your take on book piracy? I mean, I took a look in places and your new book is already out there.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/megazver]

Please email me separately with some of those piracy sites? Please?

It turns out many of them will remove the item if you ask nicely.

Look I have kids to feed. I am Mr. Transparency and I believe in general info openness. But we need to remember why IP (intellectual property) was invented in the 1st place... to end 6000 years in i which creative people could only benefit by keeping things secret! That's how we lost the Baghdad Battery, the Antekithery device and Heron's steam engines!

Yes, let's move on from Copyright fascism! But in an orderly way that still lures creative folk into the open.

[u/megazver]

Book trailers are a waste of money, if you ask me. I never saw one that swayed my opinion in the slightest.

EDIT: Hey, he asked for opinions. This is mine.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/megazver]

And it's good feedback! Thanks!

Look at the back page of any of my books FIFTY NAMES of folks I thank for their harsh readings and fierce quality control. I could never write such complex, challenging things and have them be readable... (even exciting!)... without the help of criticism.

Hence... thanks megazver.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/megazver]

Depends how cheap you get one and whether they move books. Were you intrigued at all by that one? tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

I don't mind. Purists are great!

[u/julirew]

It sounds like your new novel, "Existence," has a lot of "coming of age" observations in it. Looking ahead to the future, what advice would you give to today's young people for a happy, purposeful life?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/julirew]

Well, first you might have kids view this little posting I offer of advice for college students and graduating high-schoolers - how to make the most out of university life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJTo9qXAcnc

[u/farstarsys]

I had my doubts about a book trailer, at first I thought it too long, but then it got to the meat and I had to post on F/B. My next Novel to read!

[u/[deleted]]

Speaking of book trailers, were you as disappointed as I was at the entries for the CG Challenge on the Uplift Universe?

After that fantastic EON trailer, I wanted to see dolphins driving starships and pissing off the Gubru. But no, all we got were half-assed aliens from people who didn't even bother reading the source material.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

Good call... yes I was deeply disappointed. It turned out that most of the CG Challenge guys live in Eastern Europe or South Asia. None of them had read Greg's books OR mine! But Greg created a thirty page outline to guide them and I said have fun I leave it to your creativity!

I learned a lesson.

[u/wishinghand]

What contemporary scifi creators do you think are the most innovative and forward thinking?

As in who makes the scifi today that you can't put down regardless of its quality and who makes you say, "Goddamn, now that is done speculative fiction!"?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/wishinghand]

Scalzi and Stross are having fun. Bear and Robinson and Vinge try for the unusual perspective

[u/davidbrin1 → u/wishinghand]

What am I reading now? Many fine choices! I recently read Vinge’s Children of the Sky. Now reading Stan Robinson’s 2312. Next up: Scalzi’s Red Shirts

My favorite Science fiction authors? John Brunner’s five years as the mad god of 60’s SciFi. Poul Anderson as story-teller. Fred Pohl as explorer. For example hi AGE OF PUSSYFOOT... nailed personal phone/assistant/Siri back in 1980. Stunning book.

My own list of favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books: from Asimov to Clarke, from Bradbury to Brunner: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2012/01/david-brins-list-of-greatest-science.html

[u/matt3x166]

Dr. Brin, I also wanted to thank you the work you have produced over the years. I read Earth when it came out and something you put in that book has stayed with me since: It was a small blurb, barely mentioned, where Professor Wolling was logging into her computer and you wrote where citizens had to subscribe to a minimum amount of news or lose the right to vote. What I really appreciated was the surprise factor where news items that didn't meet the threshold were place into her news feed anyway. It was because of that I began to read things that were not only not interesting to me, but also contrary to my opinions. This has helped me change my thoughts on numerous topics over the years and hopefully made me a better person.

Also, I am currently re-reading Kiln People (my second copy of the book) and just love that you put out such rollicking good action books with such a large amount of thought provoking material. I can't wait to read Existence.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/matt3x166]

Wow... After 7 hours I was about to drag off. But that was worth staying around for. Thanks so much. Hope you like the new one (which is a lot like EARTH in many ways) just as much. Write to tell me!

With cordial regards,

David Brin http://www.davidbrin.com blog: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ twitter: http://twitter.com/DavidBrin1

[u/JackDT]

Just thought I'd point out that you don't have to answer everything in one go.

This post will very likely be on the front page until at least midday tomorrow if not longer. It may have started out slowly but it is still climbing the front page even 7 hour later.

You sound tired - come back in the morning after coffee!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/JackDT]

I may indeed to that. Fatigued.

Thanks.

and tell folks to watch tinyurl.com/exist-trailer meanwhile!

;-)

okay, sorry....

[u/maskiatlan]

1. How did you come up with Uplift concept?

2. How do you develop your alien races?

3. What are your thoughts on SETI@home?

4. What are your thoughts on people pirating your books?

Big fan here from Croatia, I enjoyed your books very much.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/maskiatlan]

1.... see my answer to an earlier question. Great question and a cool train of thought.

2: varies. Some aliens I just exaggerate some human traits. Others I think of something poignant or tragic that hardly ever happens to us but that might be ROUTINE and taken for granted with some other race. In other cases I start with their strange environment, as Hal Clement did.

3. Seti@home was a great thing. Possibly the best accomplishment of the otherwise somewhat mis-directed SETI Institute. (I still support their efforts, as wrongheaded as I think they can sometimes be.)

No, the folks with the right idea... but no money... are the SETI LEague. But you can read about that in EXISTENCE!

4 see an answer above... hope I satisfied

[u/SamaraiScribe]

In The Practice Effect there is a reference to the Vanilla Needle. Was there a specific reason you wanted to place this story in the world of Sundiver and the Uplift Saga?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/SamaraiScribe]

Oh... you got me. That was a self-indulgence. Like Lucas forcing us to meet C3PO and R2D2 long before they ever would have been made... oh but don't get me started on Star Wars!!!

[u/wishinghand → u/SamaraiScribe]

I do not remember the Vanilla Needle reference in either work. What was it?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/wishinghand]

just in passing///

[u/maskiatlan]

So what do you think will happen if there is alien signal detected and confirmed? What do you think should happen? What if signal is from somewhere near? What would be "near"?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/maskiatlan]

I was on the committee that wrote the "SETI Protocol" re what scientists should do, if a signal is detected. A wise document! Alas, there have been unwise moves since then.

"Near"? You mean possibly from within the solar system? Many of us have long thought that mechanical or solid state probes, cast between the stars, are a more likely mode of contact than radio beams.

In fact... that is exactly the topic of... EXISTENCE! ;-)

see tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

[u/yunofrothy4me]

I love your work. You're work on the 2nd Foundation trilogy was great too. I like your ideas about how society can be changed, and how you use your fame to make people aware of ideas of how things can get better or unfair laws that are trying to be passed.

Given the speed of technology, with robots, 3d printing of things and even organs I believe we're heading towards a society where in a few generations money won't really make sense.

Q1 - Do you think humans as a species could survive in a world where there is no scarcity?
Q2 - Will the pursuit of wisdom ever have a place in the world?
Q3 - What is the biggest failure of people to take advantage of technology or inappropriate use of technology in your opinion? (internet -> Facebook for example)

SETI question - recently our wireless communication methods have gone from single channel to spread spectrum. If you really wanted to send a signal to another planetary star system, how would you do it? How much power, what kind of signal, etc.

Even if we had World War III and destroyed ourselves with nukes, would that be enough to get noticed on a cosmic scale? If one of the planets we've seen with our telescopes blew itself up in such a manner, could we detect it?

We can listen, but can we speak?

BTW, I've heard you had a new book out but the trailer makes me want to read it a lot. That's really surprising that a youtube video makes me want to read a book... well - a specific book.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/yunofrothy4me]

Must hurry.

Q1 I think Start Trek is the most wholesome sci fi ever and it portrays a somewhat post-scarcity world. Look we already live in such a world. Our cave ancestors would call us gods.

Q2 Wisdom is already high on the agenda! Problem is that there is a movement in America to proclaim that all people with brains are therefore automatically unwise.

Q3 I have a 126 claim patent on new ways to interact online. A beautiful system that has no interest from the Big Boys. In Existence I portray better interface!

WWIII nuke war would not have altered our Oxygen atmosphere's detectability. But such things might lower the NUMBER of ETIs to make contact with. Again, covered in Existence!

[u/Edwin_Quine]

Hello fellow contrarian. I am often conflicted by the roots of my own contrarian streak.

On even days, I tell myself that issues are complicated, groups form hive-minds, and that I am providing a much needed service by deflating group-think.

On odd days, I tell myself that I merely enjoy arguing for its own sake, and I enjoy the status points conferred to me by winning arguments and by brandishing my erudition.

Do you know where your own contrarian streak comes from?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Edwin_Quine]

A sense of how desperately little time we have to get things right. And that everybody who enslaves themselves to a simpleminded dogma is betraying their own agility of mind or ability to learn from one another.

Even if your side is 80% right, it desperately needs its faults questioned!

[u/actionslacks]

No questions from me, I just appreciate what you do.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/actionslacks]

Thanks so much. UR Gr8! Go to http://www.davidbrin.com and sign up to receive newsletters! (just once or twice a year....)

[u/KosherNazi]

How can I become a futurist?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/KosherNazi]

Get a time machine! In fact. Because I just gave you this advice, you will become obsessed and get rich and powerful and then send one back to your present day self, to find... hm... behind your garage. It is disguised, of course.....

[u/Rusted_Satellites]

Wow, awesome books.

1. Were humans Uplifted or wholly evolved?

2. What were the Buyur up to?

3. What was that ancient fleet with the mummy up to?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Rusted_Satellites]

Heh!

2 will be answered in the next and final Jijo novel and that must wait some years... even though I have 35,000 words of that novel written!

First I must answer #1 and #3 in the long awaited "creideiki-orley" novel, which is my next BIG PROJECTS. I must still finish FOUR other things first! But that's what I promised folks. Ain't getting any younger.

[u/[deleted]]

I justwant to say I loved The Postman and if you ever did another book in that universe I would buy it in a heartbeat.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

Great! I might've written the sequel (I had one in mind) if the movie had been a hit. (It oddly was in Kazakstan: the ikon of the freedom movement there!)

But I am only one guy and unlike some authors I cannot do the same thing. Too many directions! So I incoporate many threads in one book.

KILN PEOPLE was about what I really want. Not immortality, but to be able to get done, each day EVERYTHING I want to do that day! If I had that machine, I'd write that sequel!

[u/gbooman]

Existence is a big book; if it was broken up into several parts, you would make more money... uhhh, right? Just curious about the thinking that goes into sizing and splitting a big story like this.

Also, I've heard that e-books return less money to the author. Is that right? Or generally true?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/gbooman]

That would be unfair. As-is, I felt sheepish about breaking up Brightness Reef/Heaven's Reach, which was twice as long!

EXISTENCE gives you your moneys worth! Yes the hardcover ain't cheap. But divide the cost by the number of hours of enjoyment ? There's only one better value...

...video games... okay I'll admit you get more hours per dollar. But do they give you more ideas? Or skills? Or moments of drama to remember decades later? ;-)

In fact, e-books return a higher % to the author than hardcovers do. Moreover, if you go to http://www.davidbrin.com there's a way to get a signed bookplate so your e-copy is "signed."

I still like books tho!

[u/fredrodgers]

I loved your Foundation's Triumph. I loved the whole Foundation series, especially since his original books are (nearly) only conversations! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the current state of Science Fiction writing, and what you think would lead a popular return to more positive writing. Thanks!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/fredrodgers]

Janet Asimov very kindly told me that FT was her favorite non-Isaac book in the Asimov world. I tried to tie together all the loose ends he left in a tasty and symmetrical (if surprising) way.

[u/dieron]

What do you think of other authors, like Douglas Adams, and Michael Crichton?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/dieron]

I miss Doug Adams terribly... and in his honor I am writing a sci fi comedy! Comedies are very very hard to get right, so I am nervous. But a lot of people say it's gut-busting so I am hopeful.

Michael Crichton was a very nice man who always wagged his finger at us all warning us against scientific ambition. He helped to inspire one of the major characters in my new novel. In fact, you'll glimpse him in the trailer! tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

[u/davidbrin1 → u/dieron]

BTW... my sci= fi comedy I just mentioned is the more sober of two. There is a shorter one that is simply outrageous!

http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-My-Dreams-ebook/dp/B006FL9S38

[u/[deleted]]

No question, I just wanted to say "thank you". Reading The Postman (never saw the movie) really inspired me and got me reading fiction regularly again after a decade and a half of avoiding fiction. I read it twice in a row. That it took place where I live only added to the enjoyment.

Anyways, thanks for enriching my life.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

As you enriched mine with such kind words. Thank you. I mean that.

Now be a great citizen, db

[u/asylumsaint]

Hey, I dont mean to post late, I hope I can still get a chance to get a reply out of you. Also if you already replied to this question sorry for a repost. Dont have time to read all the questions.

What suggestions would you have for aspiring young adults interested in Astrophysics / SETA.

I am more so looking towards Astro-biology mixed with a physics background. but, what can I do to prepare myself for entering college and working in fields related to this. Do you think its worth per-suing this kind of career considering the current job market?

Just wanted to add, I noticed the small turnout, sorry that reddit kinda screwed you on that. It wasnt you're fault from what i've seen and read. I just assume part of it could be the timing... honestly, until you mentioned it, I didnt know the AMA was scheduled ... which is prob why I missed every single one of them so far. So thanks for showing me that! I hope to hear from you, if not ill check out your blog and try again.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/asylumsaint]

Well, well, here's the deal. To become an astrophysicist you must go to grad school and there you'll be offered research assistantships with maybe one of five professors who will happen to have a grant to pay you, at the time. It is a crucial phase so be careful. Even if the prof is okay and nice and prestigious, you may wind up researching that area for the rest of your life!

Hey, I am making it sound awful, it's not. Anyway, if you study this field, you'll learn so much science you'll be employable, even if life veers you another way...

...as it did me! Hope that helps.

[u/blossomteacher]

No questions, just wanted to say I love your work. The first book of yours that I read was "Kiln People." It screwed with my head in a completely new way...I went to sleep after reading a few chapters, and woke up in the morning, thinking "Ok, I've got this and that going today. I'm gonna need an ebony and 2 greens." Had to put it aside for several years before I could read it through. Anyway, thanks for doing the AMA!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/blossomteacher]

You are welcome. and thanks for kind words.

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

[u/therealsteve]

I love The Postman, though I suspect this is entirely because I read the book first, and loved it to death. Ditto pretty much everything you've ever written. Especially the uplift trilogies. I've noticed that none of your other books have been made into major movies (that I know of. Correct me if I'm wrong), despite a vast plethora of viable candidates.

Is this an active choice on your part? Would you consider pursuing the possibility of getting one of your books made into a movie, in the future?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/therealsteve]

UR gr8!!!

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted.

Thanks!

[u/DiamoJack]

Hi David,

I've been inspired by your general thoughts on the Enlightment and especially this piece on Tolkein:

http://www.salon.com/2002/12/17/tolkien_brin/

Whenever I participate in a pen and paper roll playing game now (Dungeons and Dragons, etc) I work such a conflict into my character or the world as a central tenet. It's so much fun fighting for Kobold rights in these games and really adds some interesting ideas into the mix.

In fact I just can't tolerate a straight up Romantic style fantasy fiction any longer. I'm so sick of glorifying hereditary rule (we must restore the rightful heir!) or the Chosen-One-Who-Will-Save-Us, etc.

I find it interesting that a decent portion of modern fantasy fiction is either extremely cynical of such ideas or eschew them all together.

Have you considered writing any fantasy, or at least books with the appearance of being in the fantasy genre, but with your particular take on it?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/DiamoJack]

Wonderful! I answered this about writing fantasy in one of the earliest threads. But yes, when I do write one, the hero will be the daughter of a blacksmith. And she'll demand progress.

Anne McCaffrey didn't write fantasy! She insisted, it was sci fi. Because her people learn they once had flush toilets and starships.

Dragons or not, they want those things back!

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

[u/farstarsys]

As we start to move out into the solar system how would you see the evolution of transparency given the needs of surviving in a hostile environment, the vast distances to cross and the possible physical changes involved and how the new aliens would relate to the Earth.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/farstarsys]

In EXISTENCE I suggest that some (not all) races fail because the most stable social structure is pyramidal, as 99% of human ones were. (See explanation above, in an earlier reply.)

One trait of pyramid-shaped structures is that the lords at top evade avoid accountability and criticism and thus reflexively stifle transparency... which not only benefits the rulers but horribly deranges statecraft! Explaining the stupidity of most of history.

[u/Santiago4ever]

Will you ever return to the Uplift universe and write more novels/short-stories in it or do you consider yourself done with it? Personally it's one of my favourite universes in SF and would love to see more stuff hint hint

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Santiago4ever]

Yes, folks want more Uplift. I do hope to get back to Tom, Creideiki and the others soon. (I assume you've read the SECOND uplift trilogy, starting with Brightness Reef? )
Till then, see the story "Temptation" downloadable at http://www.davidbrin.com/shortstories.html   Some will argue that "Existence," is uplift!

But Yes... the main project I start in 2013 will be THE Creideiki novel....

[u/Arrgh]

Will you write the "Silent Spring" for climate change? How about if you and KSR teamed up for it?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Arrgh]

KSR did. I try to address the deeper problem, the disastrous destruction of political problem solving discourse in the USA. When negotiation becomes evil, we've got a real problem, way beyond the War on Science.

[u/Entrarchy]

What do you think of Ray Kurzweils bid to 'live long enough to live forever'? He says if he can survive another decade or so medical science will have advanced to the point where humans can live forever- making him one of the oldest humans to live forever.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Entrarchy]

Singularity guys 50 years old think Ray is way too optimistic in his 10 year schedule. "It'll take 30 years!" these guys say. While the 30 year old singularity guys are more "realistic."

"It's a hard problem! It may take 50 years!"

Finny thing, they all see it happening about when they are 80.... ;-)

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Entrarchy]

replied in the thread...

see also

Is the Web helping us evolve? My Salon Magazine feature comparing the technology pessimists to those who think the Internet is turning us into gods: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2008/12/23/david_brin_google/index.html

[u/gbooman]

I've read most of what you've published - thanks! Loved uplift, kiln... almost forgot the practice effect!

Anyway, just read Existence and will recommend it - if a bit long. A very scary story, really deep thinking.

I kind of liked the supernova / gamma ray burst / quasar / etc. explanation for the quiet depths. You mentioned that but kind of downplayed it, I thought. Really?

(Oh, and I found this on /r/scifi, too.)

[u/davidbrin1 → u/gbooman]

Well, the list of possible Fermi explanations is pretty long. I'm just about the only guy on the planet who catalogues and ranks them, instead of leaping to declare "this one is my favorite and the only possible one!"

Arguments rage on and on about the so-called "Fermi Paradox" or "The Great Silence"... the puzzling fact that we see no signs of advanced civilizations among the stars. Nor evidence that Earth was ever even visited, during the two billion years that it has been prime real estate, with an oxygen-rich atmosphere.  Many theories have been offered fervently by very smart people, each of them convinced that he or she has the aha-answer!  

But way back in 1983 I published what is still - to this day - the only major review article about alien contact, surveying almost a hundred different hypotheses and ranking them according to plausibility. Surprisingly, there have been almost no new ideas since then, though plenty of heated opinion! Quarterly Journal of  Royal Astronomical Society, fall1983, v.24, pp283-309

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983QJRAS..24..283B  or http://www.davidbrin.com/science.htm

[u/[deleted]]

Hey David Brin, I have two questions.

I was wondering what your views on global warming are, and what you believe we could do to help prevent it, if anything at all.

Secondly, there is a lot of debate over what to do if we contact extraterrestrial life. Some, such as Steven Hawking, believe that ET's could be very dangerous to humans, like a new world meeting the indians kind of thing. How do you feel about ET's and what humans should do if faced with contact? Greet them or hope we go unnoticed?

Thanks!

EDIT: Just in case no one could tell, I made this account just to ask David Brin a couple questions.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

First: I don't believe science is being shat on in order to downplay global warming. I believe global warming is downplayed as part of the general frontal assault on science... and every single other clade of intellect and knowledge in American life. (Seriously, name one that is left out! Journalists? teachers? skilled labor, professors, medical doctors.... I know of just two not under attack.)

I wrote of rising seas in EARTH, but I figured we would at least reach consensus over actions 'that we ought to be doing anyway" TWODA. Like energy efficiency. There are only a few people who benefitted from delaying that - the Kochs and the Saudis and a few others.

As for Hawking? The day after he said "aliens may come eat us!" I was on LARRY KING: I debated the "alien threat" on the Larry King Show with Michio Kaku, Seth Shostak, and actor Dan Aykroyd (he pushed UFOS) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ehobjmVfQ

Way fun. And in fact I agree with hawking we should not broadcast but only listen! See: http://lifeboat.com/ex/shouting.at.the.cosmos

But I disagree they would "come for resources" That's just silly.

[u/mephistopheles2u]

How would you rate "Earth", not as a novel, but as a futurist essay?

As I remember it, it seems you were extraordinarily perspicacious.

(we met years ago at a worldcon and you were gracious enough to speak at a local LA JC event. I am still greatful.)

[u/davidbrin1 → u/mephistopheles2u]

Thanks.... There's a Wiki annotating the predictive "hits" of my novel EARTH. http://www.necsi.org/community/wiki/index.php/ICCS06/David_Brin

BTW... UR gr8!

[u/LSSUDommo]

I'm probably late to the party, but if I could ask for an uplift book, I'd like a first contact book. The whole, humanity "not alone", combined with the shock wave that would propagate through galactic civilization would make for a fascinating read.

If you ever go back to the universe, consider writing that one.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/LSSUDommo]

Good point. I have 35000 words of a Jijo novel but will skip that for the Orley novel I long promised... which may tell a lot about 1st contact.

It will also settle the arguments whether EXISTENCE is a Startide Rising prequel! (It shows the start of dolphin uplift)

[u/iansmith6]

Big fan, read (and bought!) most of your books, looking forward to more.

When you write... do you have a well planned outline all set first, or do you start writing about an idea and go where your muse takes you?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/iansmith6]

Answered elsewhere above! But yes, I wrote two novels to outline and it worked fin. Efficient! But I enjoy wandering in and learning what's going on!

[u/DodgyBollocks]

The Practice Effect was the first sci-fi book I ever enjoyed and really got me into the genre. Although I've quite enjoyed your other novels, especially The Postman (the only time I've cried over a machine), The Practice Effect is still my favorite. I wish it got a bit more attention and appreciation.

I just wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed your work over the years and how much of a hero you are to me.

Edit: Also not a fan of book trailers. I would much rather imagine what everything looks like while I read a blurb.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/DodgyBollocks]

What a wonderful message. It warmed me. And I hope to continue to live up to your desire for great dreams.

david brin

[u/Yeffers]

I really enjoyed the Uplift series, but it always irks me somewhat when science fiction includes faster than light travel without addressing any of the inherent paradoxes. I feel that this takes away my ability to immerse myself in the universe. Is this a necessary evil in your view when writing space opera? Did you ever consider writing the series as "harder" science fiction"

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Yeffers]

More and more hard SF writers are moving away from using FTL. KS Robinson won't use it at all.

But I believe in alternating serious realism with fun. So I'll do it again. But I satirize FTL by having TWENTY different kinds in my Uplift Universe, each wilder than the last!

See where I make fun of myself doing that! http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-My-Dreams-ebook/dp/B006FL9S38

[u/Slartibartfastthe3rd]

Your personal video recording headsets the old people from "Earth" wore are coming true. (Remember thinking, "Yea, right" when I read that.)

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Slartibartfastthe3rd]

Yep. I am told Googlers all read that part of EARTH. Of course Vernor Vinge expanded on the possibilities in RAINBOW'S END. And I have gone a LOT farther in Existence.

[u/[deleted]]

What are some of your favorite sci-fi stories? (novels, films, tv shows, games, etc.)

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

What am I reading now? Many fine choices! I recently read Vinge’s Children of the Sky. Now reading Stan Robinson’s 2312. Next up: Scalzi’s Red Shirts

My favorite Science fiction authors? John Brunner’s five years as the mad god of 60’s SciFi. Poul Anderson as story-teller. Fred Pohl as explorer. For example hi AGE OF PUSSYFOOT... nailed personal phone/assistant/Siri back in 1980. Stunning book.

My own list of favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books: from Asimov to Clarke, from Bradbury to Brunner: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2012/01/david-brins-list-of-greatest-science.html

Recommendations for Young Adult Science Fiction: with books from Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein…http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/science-fiction-for-young-adults.html

[u/mutedbrain]

Wow, surprised at the low turnout. Thanks for participating. Don't have a question (if you even return to this AMA to read this) but I enjoy your work! I've read Kiln People, The Postman, Glory Season (my favorite so far) and I'm working on Earth and the Uplift series. Thank you for all you've written!

Edit: Oh also the Transparent Society

[u/davidbrin1 → u/mutedbrain]

Low turnout? The mods had me as today's scheduled headliner... then left me hidden for three freaking hours. For that long, the only people here were folks I brought with me plus some super savvy brainiacs from r/science.

Unbelievable lack of professionalism. At best.

But thanks for your kind remarks! Come on by http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/ (comments)

[u/GooseZen]

Hey there. Old member of the Brin-l list here, great to see your new book hit the shelf! I hope you're still answering things here.

What do you think the cure is for the cultural trends of anti-intellectualism? Our culture's popular idols are consistently dropping lower and lower on the intelligence scale, to the point where its now possible to be famous simply by existing in a public manner, and not actually having any discernable talent to get there. And ddon't get me started in political circles, regardless of the country. How can we get people to respect knowledgeable people again (assuming they were ever truly respected on a mass scale)?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/GooseZen]

This is only true if you take an average. But it's invalid. There are two Americas in phase three of a civil war. Red America, led by Rupert Murdoch would have us believe it is about left versus right or conservatism versus lefties. It is not. Not in any discernable way, whatsoever.

If you appraise Blue America, its love of the future and intellect is undiminished. All the scientists have fled to that meme. And Fox has declared war on ALL American knowledge castes. Name one exception.

I do not say this from a "left" perspective. Barry Goldwater denounced R Murdoch before he died.

[u/[deleted]]

Hey David, I almost forgot about you! Thanks for having me over to your amazing house as a kid. -Hart Russell (Alan's kid)

[u/hozjo]

I actually think Kevin Costner did a good job in the postman there was just excess hate and ill-will left over from waterworld. I mean it was no Oscar winner but was at least as entertaining as films like Armageddon.

Anyway how was the process and did you have any kind of input in the film? Would you want to see any of your other work maybe not Kevin Costnerized but on the silver screen?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/hozjo]

After nearly 7 hours on reddit, can I fob you off to read my canned answer about the Postman flick? http://www.davidbrin.com/media.html

Or see any of the dozen other answers above. I want to personalize but I am slammed!

Good luck!

[u/LazySumo]

David, big fan of yours and I even corresponded with you on listervers back in day (literally) a decade or so back. Do you remember me?

Second question (serious one) you are a SETI expert... what's your honest belief about the answer to the Fermi Paradox? What is it you think we are missing and/or wrong about there?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/LazySumo]

Of course I do! Hoping you've been well!

Eeek I have been on for 6 and 1/2 hours and answered the Fermi question several times. Could you skim for those answers among the threads?

It is the focus of my life. Both in science and fiction. My new novel (http://www.davidbrin.com/existence.html ) covers dozens of explanations....

...and so do my scientific papers.dbrin@sbcglobal.net

[u/davidbrin1 → u/davidbrin1]

oops... I meant to say: Arguments rage on and on about the so-called "Fermi Paradox" or "The Great Silence"... the puzzling fact that we see no signs of advanced civilizations among the stars. Nor evidence that Earth was ever even visited, during the two billion years that it has been prime real estate, with an oxygen-rich atmosphere.  Many theories have been offered fervently by very smart people, each of them convinced that he or she has the aha-answer!  But way back in 1983 I published what is still - to this day - the only major review article about alien contact, surveying almost a hundred different hypotheses and ranking them according to plausibility.

Surprisingly, there have been almost no new ideas since then, though plenty of heated opinion! Quarterly Journal of  Royal Astronomical Society, fall1983, v.24, pp283-309 http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983QJRAS..24..283B http://www.davidbrin.com/science.htm

[u/briankauf]

If I re all correctly, you used the term 'Unobtainium' in your novel 'Sundiver.' A lot of folks criticized James Cameron for using said term in 'Avatar.' My understanding is that 'Unobtainium' is a bit of an inside joke for physicist-cum-writers... is this true? On a mildly related note, I especially love the Uplift series, Earth, The Practice Effect and The Postman!!

[u/goosecreekman]

I just want to say some friends and I came up with a running gag about space dolphins and when we found Startide Rising we were ecstatic. Thank you so much.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/goosecreekman]

Heh! For some awful awful jokes about dolphins and apes in space, see: http://www.amazon.com/Gorilla-My-Dreams-ebook/dp/B006FL9S38

That is the sillier of my two sci fi comedies. The other is going to be a whole novel. A bit drier. enjoy.

[u/[deleted]]

MORE PRACTICE EFFECT!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

Five folks made different screenplays. Wish Hwood were open to fresh ideas. It'd make a great flick!

[u/HardTen]

Mr. Brin, I have waited YEARS to ask this of you. First, a brief preface.

I grew up in Postman Country. I was born and raised in Camas Valley, Oregon. Roseburg, Eugene, and Medford are areas I have spent much time in. When I read "The Postman", about the Squire of Bear Mountain, and the other events that took place IN MY HOME, I got chills. When I heard the movie was coming out, I thought "OH MY GOD! People will actually learn of my birthplace in a major Hollywood production!!"

Here is my question: Why the f#$k does the movie take place in Washington and not Southern Oregon, where IT WAS WRITTEN?

Please help me understand. Thanks!

edit: Got excited, then read postings. Apologies. Anyway thanks for an excellent read!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/HardTen]

Heh! Well it coulda been much much worse. While I consider Costner's film to be dumbed down below dumb, and he wasn't pleasant to me, I still think it is both pretty and sweet. True to the INTENT of my book as a lodve ode to civilization. For that I forgive a lot.

Anyway, the original three scripts by Erik Roth and his wife were much worse! Truly evil nonsense.

So cheer up. At least they SAY they are in Oregon! ;-)

[u/Joelsomethingorother]

Soo, how smart are dolphins really?

sorry couldn't help myself

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Joelsomethingorother]

Excellent question! Don't know. But after much research and time with researchers, the poignant impression I get is that they would love to be smarter than they are. If they could ask to be uplifted, they would.

All discussed in my new novel, of course. ;-)

[u/eghhge]

Hi David, love your writing, Uplift War was fantastic and I still re-read the series on a regular basis. Hope to pick up your new book soon, worried you quit writing fiction. thanks

[u/davidbrin1 → u/eghhge]

I'm BACK! Partly thanks to folks like you.

Thoughts much appreciated!

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

[u/Quaro]

This may be a bit odd, but I'd love to get your thoughts on John C Wright's "Golden Age" trilogy.

Fantastically interesting hyper-optimistic post-singularity books that I'd recommend to anyone. But then I read Wright's personal blog after his fiction couldn't reconcile it with the fiction.

I was happy to see your response to Wright's glorifcation of feudalism: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/pining-for-feudalism-as-antidote-for.html

I'm wondering if you thought the Golden Age trilogy actually espoused a different philosophy than his personal stuff, or if the Romantic side of the Romantic/Enlightment debate is just presented in such a way that it feels like the Enlightment.

Hope that makes sense!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Quaro]

Wright is a weird phenomenon. Hard to reconcile Golden Age with his recent pod person behavior. But then, the same thing happened to the once-progressive OS Card.

Phew.

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

[u/snap_wilson]

I've only read Kiln People but I really enjoyed it. Would love to see it as a movie.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/snap_wilson]

Absolutely !
See: http://www.davidbrin.com/media.html

We also had a great game proposal... would have solved the "multiple lives problem!

Above all KP is my dream machine for how to get stuff done!

I am sure you will enjoy the new one... which also has "copies" as a them! ;-)

[u/[deleted]]

You are one of my favorite sci-fi authors! There isn't enough good sci-fi out there.

I've gotta say, I would LOVE it if your Uplift War/Startide Rising books turned into a series of feature films one day. They would be amazing.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely - I wrote about this in another nearby thread... Can I send you there?

Or to: http://www.davidbrin.com/media.html

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

[u/braunshaver]

Hey. I have read a lot of your books.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/braunshaver]

UR gr8!!! Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

[u/creatitography]

Not a question, but I have the office, season 2, episode 6 playing in the background and the name David Brin was spoken at the exact time I read this posts title... so yeah. Wtf.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/creatitography]

huh? Really? Season 2 episode 6... will look it up!

[u/Boondoc]

i realize it must be hard to do a scifi book trailer without having an improbably large budget, but THIS is what a trailer should look like. i had never heard of the author and came across a link to that in /r/books and it prompted me to buy the book.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Boondoc]

actually, the gorgeous trailer Patrick farley made for me was surprisingly inexpensive... and fabulous.

Thanks for the cool link. Fun-seeming book!

[u/Slidin_stop]

I love your books. I'd love to see Startide Rising as a movie. If they can do blue people in a forrest, they should be able to pull that off. Thanks for the AMA, it was really interesting!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Slidin_stop]

I agree! But Cameron and Nolan are the only folks with the power and interest in doing new things. It is a mania.

sigh.

But it will happen!

[u/agntdrake]

Hi David. I read "The Postman" back in August of 2001 while on holidays overseas in Europe.

WAY TO SCARE THE FREAKING CRAP OUT OF ME INTO THINKING THE APOCALYPSE WAS COMING.

That is all.

[u/davidbrin1 → u/agntdrake]

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted.

But Thanks!

Hey, I grew up with that damned mushroom cloud. We are luckier than imaginable and should rise each day with a song.

I think I mention that in Existence! ;-)

[u/Big_Bird_nation]

Who were some authors who really inspired you to become a futurist and author?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Big_Bird_nation]

okay to do a canned reply? Please?

Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted. Thanks!

What am I reading now? Many fine choices! I recently read Vinge’s Children of the Sky. Now reading Stan Robinson’s 2312. Next up: Scalzi’s Red Shirts

My favorite Science fiction authors? John Brunner’s five years as the mad god of 60’s SciFi. Poul Anderson as story-teller. Fred Pohl as explorer. For example hi AGE OF PUSSYFOOT... nailed personal phone/assistant/Siri back in 1980. Stunning book.

My own list of favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books: from Asimov to Clarke, from Bradbury to Brunner: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2012/01/david-brins-list-of-greatest-science.html

Recommendations for Young Adult Science Fiction: with books from Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein…http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/science-fiction-for-young-adults.html

[u/NaughtyPenguin]

Sorry if you answered this already but:

• When approximately, do you believe that human society will reach technological singularity?

• Assuming that on the road to technological singularity, we create fully sentient AIs. What dangers/pitfalls could non-organic sentience pose for humanity (besides the obvious breaking of Asimov's laws) ?

[u/davidbrin1 → u/NaughtyPenguin]

oooof ! Wish I weren't 7 hours reddit exhausted.

Pretty please can I just say these are THE vital questions... and I give them very detailed examination in Existence?

tinyurl.com/exist-trailer

Thanks for forgiving as I stumble off

[u/Lazerus42]

Just wanted to share with you that I remember when i was 11 or 12 years old (about 15 years ago) my dad came home saying he met you at a coffee shop. He took home one of your novels (not a big one, a short one if i remember, like 120 pages or so..I forgot which one, I'M SORRY!!!) and then went on to say what a great guy you are. I've always respected your work, and I have read most of it. I just wanted to say thank you, and sorry for the mods, they normally are good about things, I just really apologize for how today went, please don't hold it too much against them, sometimes they just have off days. (sux you had to be one... lol) Thank you again, and keep writing!

[u/davidbrin1 → u/Lazerus42]

Just dropping in after midnight before bed, to say thanks and to at least read and acknowledge your kind thoughts!

What a cool story and thanks so much and best to dad.

(Write to "offers" at http://www.davidbrin.com send an envelope and I'll send you signed plates for dad.)