Amusements 9/20/2000

   • j********o@***.com
     21/09/2000 00:00:000 UTC

     Book Review: Einstein's Bridge by John Cramer.

     So, my scruples just screwed me again: I chatted up this very attractive
     older

     woman at the bookstore, and she turned out to be both lonely and
     extremely

     grateful for the attention, being divorced in a region that has few
     venues for

     meeting other singles. Not that any of you would know it, but I'm
     extremely

     charming in the right context (bear in mind that I'm on my *worst*
     behavior

     around you folks), and she was really digging me, but she turned out to
     be much

     older (even by my generous standards), and I would have been taking
     advantage

     of her to have, well, taken advantage of her. Romantic fool that I am, I
     very

     graciously demurred: she thanked me profusely for "making her day" and I
     spent

     the next few days beset with regret and insomnia, despondent, and even
     more

     suicidal than usual. A tiny compensation was that I stumbled on this
     book at a

     library book sale for a mere 50 cents, when I had been eyeing it at the

     bookstore for at least 4$. It helped fill in a night of particular
     misery in

     the Hell of loneliness that is my existence. That's what I get for being
     a

     nice Jewish boy: my karmic reward for decency. Yipee.

     It's well-written but you wouldn't want to read it. It tells the story
     of an

     alternate history where the Superconduction Supercollider was actually
     built,

     the activities of which attract the attention of alien civilizations,
     one

     benign, the other a voracious insect hive mind, dwelling in other
     universes

     (strictly speaking, other distant star-filled voids in the primordial
     sea of

     Higgs field that inflationary cosmologists unconvincingly theorize).

     Unfortunately, there's way too much experimental physics (and particle

     physicists) and not enough science fiction, except towards the middle,
     then it

     gets boring and political in the last quarter. Herr Sterner (and maybe
     Brian)

     would like it, particularly given his affiliation with the doomed SSC,
     but I

     was less than excited, even having studied hadronic calorimeters and all
     that

     techno crap when I took Phy 504, or whatever the Hell it was. The
     rationale of

     the Einstein-Rosen Bridge (a term familiar to old-time viewers of
     Sliders) is

     quite unconvincing, the aliens are the pretty standard type we encounter
     in

     these stories, as are the values of blind technological optimism and

     science-as-religion: in short, a very good book given the fact that the
     author

     is evidently a particle physicist, but basically an off-the-shelf bore.

     SPOILERS

     SPOILERS

     SPOILERS

     SPOILERS

     The foreword to the book mentions that he had written it before the

     cancellation of the SSC and was crushed by the news, but eventually
     rewrote it

     (it was published in '97). This is worked into the story: the alien hive

     actually gets loose on Earth, people (including main characters) start
     dying

     right and left, and the only option is to send the two surviving
     protagonists

     back in time to prevent the SSC from being built (another convenient and

     implausible use of the Bridge). Here's where the boring political stuff

     starts, along with a tedious history of the failed SSC of the new
     timeline we

     inhabit plus the usual hackneyed reasons why they can't just go to the

     authorities or get help from the benign aliens. "If Woody had gone
     directly to

     the police, none of this would ever have happened." In order to effect
     their

     changes, the time travellers get Dan Quayle chosen as VP in '88 and get
     Bill

     Clinton elected in '92. Borrrinng. Poor Quayle: he isn't dumb but was
     good

     at sounding that way, especially to the academic class. They cite a

     particularly picked-upon quote of his regarding Mars: "We have seen
     pictures

     where there are canals, and we believe, water. If there is water, there
     is

     oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe." Now Quayle's science
     advisors

     included hard-core Mars advocates, and what we have here is obviously
     the

     result of them explaining their plans to him and him trying to explain
     it to

     other non-scientists. Here's the translation: "There are *channels* on
     Mars,

     carved by water which we believe still exists there. Oxygen can be
     extracted

     from that water. This oxygen could be used in life-support and rocketry
     and

     would allow a Mars colony to be practical."

     Gorno

       • **@***.com
         02/10/2000 00:00:000 UTC

         JohnGorno (j********o@***.com) wrote:

         : Book Review: Einstein's Bridge by John Cramer.

         :

         : So, my scruples just screwed me again: I chatted up this very

         : attractive older woman at the bookstore, and she turned out to be
         both

         : lonely and extremely grateful for the attention, being divorced in
         a

         : region that has few venues for meeting other singles. Not that any
         of

         : you would know it, but I'm extremely charming in the right context

         : (bear in mind that I'm on my *worst* behavior around you folks),
         and

         : she was really digging me, but she turned out to be much older
         (even by

         : my generous standards), and I would have been taking advantage of
         her

         : to have, well, taken advantage of her. Romantic fool that I am, I
         very

         : graciously demurred: she thanked me profusely for "making her day"
         and

         : I spent the next few days beset with regret and insomnia,
         despondent,

         : and even more suicidal than usual. A tiny compensation was that I

         : stumbled on this book at a library book sale for a mere 50 cents,
         when

         : I had been eyeing it at the bookstore for at least 4$. It helped
         fill

         : in a night of particular misery in the Hell of loneliness that is
         my

         : existence. That's what I get for being a nice Jewish boy: my
         karmic

         : reward for decency. Yipee.

         Um,did anything stand in the way of your being friends??

         : It's well-written but you wouldn't want to read it. It tells the
         story of an

         : alternate history where the Superconduction Supercollider was
         actually built,

         : the activities of which attract the attention of alien
         civilizations, one

         : benign, the other a voracious insect hive mind, dwelling in other
         universes

         : (strictly speaking, other distant star-filled voids in the
         primordial sea

         : of Higgs field that inflationary cosmologists unconvincingly
         theorize).

         : Unfortunately, there's way too much experimental physics (and
         particle

         : physicists) and not enough science fiction, except towards the
         middle,

         : then it gets boring and political in the last quarter. Herr
         Sterner

         : (and maybe Brian)

         Hmmm.

         A particle collider attracting attention to our world from other
         planes

         of existence is the starter for a story I've been imagining for a
         while.

         Not the same beyond that starter,though!!

         : would like it, particularly given his affiliation with the doomed
         SSC, but I

         : was less than excited, even having studied hadronic calorimeters
         and all that

         : techno crap when I took Phy 504, or whatever the Hell it was. The
         rationale

         : of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge (a term familiar to old-time viewers
         of

         : Sliders) is quite unconvincing, the aliens are the pretty standard
         type

         : we encounter in these stories, as are the values of blind
         technological

         : optimism and science-as-religion: in short, a very good book given
         the

         : fact that the author is evidently a particle physicist, but
         basically an

         : off-the-shelf bore.

         Also Analog columnist(I met him at Worldcon)

         and professor at U of Washington(check his webpage).

         : SPOILERS

         :

         :

         :

         : SPOILERS

         :

         :

         :

         : SPOILERS

         :

         :

         : The foreword to the book mentions that he had written it before
         the

         : cancellation of the SSC and was crushed by the news, but
         eventually rewrote it

         : (it was published in '97). This is worked into the story: the
         alien hive

         : actually gets loose on Earth, people (including main characters)
         start dying

         : right and left, and the only option is to send the two surviving
         protagonists

         : back in time to prevent the SSC from being built (another
         convenient and

         : implausible use of the Bridge). Here's where the boring political
         stuff

         : starts, along with a tedious history of the failed SSC of the new
         timeline

         : we inhabit plus the usual hackneyed reasons why they can't just go
         to the

         : authorities or get help from the benign aliens. "If Woody had gone
         directly to

         : the police, none of this would ever have happened." In order to
         effect their

         : changes, the time travellers get Dan Quayle chosen as VP in '88
         and get Bill

         : Clinton elected in '92. Borrrinng. Poor Quayle: he isn't dumb but
         was

         : good at sounding that way, especially to the academic class. They
         cite a

         : particularly picked-upon quote of his regarding Mars: "We have
         seen pictures

         : where there are canals, and we believe, water. If there is water,
         there is

         : oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe." Now Quayle's
         science advisors

         : included hard-core Mars advocates, and what we have here is
         obviously the

         : result of them explaining their plans to him and him trying to
         explain it to

         : other non-scientists. Here's the translation: "There are
         *channels* on Mars,

         : carved by water which we believe still exists there. Oxygen can be
         extracted

         : from that water. This oxygen could be used in life-support and
         rocketry and

         : would allow a Mars colony to be practical."

         :

         : Gorno