Callotomy

Sun, Jun 10, 2007

I’ve been reading Lem’s Peace on Earth intermittently on this long, shelter-finding trip; and he envisions, perhaps influenced by Jaynes–though he doesn’t cite him as I remember–, ultrasonic callotomy emerging as nanotech warfare strategy. . .on the moon! (There was a piece linked on metafilter today about chemical efforts to homosexualize, halitosisize, or enflatulate an enemy force– all rejected as unsuitable by planners, but braincandy just the same.)

I can remember very well the belladonna eyes of the deer that ran into my car last night on the Natchez Trace, though I don’t, of course, remember the mechanics of the swerve, braking, protective arm over my wife–any of that. I have learned to be skeptical, perhaps too skeptical, of hemispherical differentiation hypotheses, after such baroque efforts of Jaynes and then the Omni and such expositions in the early 80s; but the image-affect-memory process is interesting to consider from that perspective. (After only a glancing blow, the doe picked herself up and ran off into the woods, presumably ok.)

Were there still wolves and panthers in those woods, we wouldn’t have these problems. At least not as much.