The sublime Glenn Gould had a recurring dream that he was on some other planet, perhaps in some other solar system, maybe called Tralfamadore, and at first it seems as though he is the only earthman there. And he has a tremendous sense of exhilaration because in the dream he believes he has been given the opportunity, and the authority, to impart his values to whatever form of life there might be on that planet. He has the exultant conviction that he can create a whole planetary value-system in his own image. But his dream always ends badly. He sees some other earthman on this planet that might be Tralfamadore and, for some reason that isnt made clear, he offends the earthman, and the authority Gould was fleetingly granted is taken away. He will not have the opportunity to proceed, uncontradicted and exultant, with his planetary project. But now, suppose that, by some technological miracle, we could transport you to that planet and give you the power that was taken away from Gould in his dream. Lets also suppose that, on this planet that might be Tralfamadore, there is a race of highly developed beings who have achieved a state of peaceful coexistence -- a state of civilization much higher than our own. And they have done this, moreover, without any idea of science or technology or war. Two questions: One, would you want them to know anything about the scientific, technological and military achievements of our world, and two, if you did, how much would you want them to know?
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 06:19:18 +0000
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