SMBC: dystopian objective function

[Jonathan_Graehl]

Cartoon: http://​​www.smbc-comics.com/​​index.php?db=comics&id=2286 evokes the horror you should feel imagining your values being modified arbitrarily, although in the comic there’s slippery-slope consent at each step.

This reminds me of a sci-fi novel where the participants are playing a game where points are awarded for “traditional” early 20th century behavior (the original records are lost, and some virus has infected the teleportation gates). Unfortunately I can’t remember the author or name; it was pretty decent. Anyone recall it?

[Paul Crowley]

See also Greg Egan’s incredibly chilling “Reasons to be Cheerful”.

[arundelo]

http://​​99chan.org/​​lit/​​src/​​Reasons-To-Be-Cheerful.pdf

[grendelkhan]

Could you expand on the ‘chilling’ bit? I thought it was touching, had a thumpingly ignorant bit about bisexuality, and did a reasonably good job of picking apart the feedback loop inherent in being able to choose what makes you happy.

[Zack_M_Davis]

a sci-fi novel where the participants are playing a game where points are awarded for “traditional” early 20th century behavior [...] Unfortunately I can’t remember the author or name

You may be thinking of Glasshouse by Charles Stross.

[Jonathan_Graehl]

Yes. I suspected Stross. Yes. His novels usually are quite exciting at the beginning, when the scenario is being set.

[kpreid]

s/​may be/​are/​

[Cyan]

This comic somehow reminds me of Google Image Labeler and reCaptcha.

[Jonathan_Graehl]

You can’t edit a post within 10 minutes of submitting?