[mdlug-discuss] [mdlug] "realism" (was: Transfer Calculator)

[Ingles, Raymond]

> From: Aaron Kulkis

> It reminds me of two guys I once overheard debating what
> they considered to be the finer points of some Dungeons
> & Dragons house-rule... on the grounds of "realism".

 I was never into D&D, but I don't find this to be the oxymoron that you do.
Suspension of disbelief is important in storytelling of all kinds. To
paraphrase Einstein, "Things should be as realistic as possible, but no more."
The best science fiction assumes one "impossible" thing and works out the
logical implications from there. When done right, you get things like waterbeds,
waldos, spacesuits, and so forth (all first seen in science fiction).

 Perhaps I'm more sensitive to this because my own disbelief is rather heavy
and requires a fair amount of work to suspend it. See, e.g., here:

 http://ingles.homeunix.org/rants/stupids.html#badsci

 But yes, worrying about realism even in fantastic scenarios is not ipso
facto silly. For an example of an ostensibly ridiculous premise that is
simply assumed, then has the implications worked out with a fair attention to
'realism' and plausibility, see here:

 http://1632.org/

 "In April of the year 2000, a six-mile sphere centered on Grantville, West
Virginia was displaced in space and time to Germany and May, 1631. The
inhabitants of Grantville decided to start the American revolution early;
the nobility of Europe were not amused."

 Particularly here:

 http://1632.org/1632tech/deadhorse.html

 For example, in the stories, while some things were able to be kept
functioning, cell phones were not on that list. One cell tower did come back
in time, but the network it connected to didn't, and no cell phone techs were
in the town at the time of the event, and no one knew the passwords for the
system that was there anyway.

 They couldn't even make a serviceable phone network outside of the town
proper. Telegraph, on the other hand...

 See what I mean? One impossible thing, but then the rest follows more-or-less
logically. That's "realism" in a fantasy/sci-fi situation.

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles                                                      (313) 227-2317

 "...this resolution establishes, in effect, a date certain for a vote on the
 commitment of United States forces to Somalia... I think we all realize that
 we have drifted from the use of force to secure humanitarian relief to an
 open-ended effort at peace enforcement and nation building... the orderly way
 to stop it is for the President to present a plan for shaping U.S. withdrawal,
 set a date for that plan, and have the congress of the United States either
 endorse or reject such a proposal." - Senator John McCain, September 9, 1993

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