The Gamma Curve of Politics

As I've mentioned before, I'm a huge fan of Neil Stephenson. Aside from absolutely wonderful writing and imagery, he is able to see and communicate broad trends and forces better than almost any other writer I've read.

A recent post by Cory Doctorow reminded me that I had not read one of his earliest books from 1994, Interface (co-authored with his uncle, and published under the pseudonym Stephen Bury).

Interface is the story of how a cabal known as the Network works to buy the presidency by hacking the brain of a popular politican that has had a stroke.

As with all Stephenson books, there are many many moments of sheer genius, and given that it was written in 1994, remarkable (and uncomfortable) prescience.

An example is the exchange early in the book between Cy Ogle, a political media consultant, and Aaron Green, an engineer that has invented an "emotional detector" that can monitor the emotional response of the person that is wearing it.

"...Have you ever been on TV, Aaron?"

"Just incidentally."

"How did you think you looked?"

"Not very good. Actually, I was kind of shocked by how strange I looked."

"Your eyes looked as if they were bulging out of your head, did they not?

"Exactly, how did you know?"

"The gamma curve of a video camera determines its response to light," Cy Ogle said. "If the curves were straigh, then dim things would look dim and bright things bright, just as they do in reality, and as they do, more or less, on any decent film stock. But because the gamma curve is not a straight line, dim things tend to look muddy and black, while bright things tend to glare and overload, and the only things that look halfway proper are in the middle. [...] the whites of your eyes are intensely bright. If you knew what I know, you would keep them fixed straight ahead in their sockets when you were on television, exposing as little of the white as possible. But because you are not versed in this subject, you swivel your eyes around as you look at different things, and when you do, the white part predominates and it jumps out of the screen because of the gamma curve; your eyes look like bulging white globes set in a muddy dark background."

"Is this the type of thing you teach to politicians?"

"Just a sample," Ogle said.

"Gee, it's really a shame that --"

"That our political system revolves around such trivial matters. Aaron, please do not waste my time and yours by voicing the obvious."

"Sorry."

"That's how it is, and how it will be until high-definition television becomes the norm."

"Then what will happen?"

"All the politicians currently in power will be voted out of office and we will have a completely new power structure. Because high-definition television has a flat gamma curve an higher resolution, and people who look good on today's television look bad on HDTV and voters will respond accordingly. Their oversized pores will be visible, the red veins in their noses from drinking too much, the artificiality of their TV-friendly hairdos will make them all look, on HDTV, like country-and-western singers. A new generation of politicians will take over and they will all look like movie stars, because HDTV will be a great deal like film, and movie stars know how to look good on film."

Here we are 14 years later, and the gamma curve of politics is starting to straighten in the HDTV age. A highly recommended (and quick) read during this election season.

Baroque Cycle

I recently joined the elite club of 18 other people that have actually read all three volumes of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (or the Baroque My Back Cycle for those of us that had to carry around these books for the 18 months it took me to read them)

A far ranging novel, covering Isaac Newton, Leibniz, various kings/queens, Europe/Asia/North America, the invention of calculus and modern science, etc. over ~3000 pages, essentially chronicling the remarkable years of 1660 to 1714 when modern civilization was born. A remarkable tome, at its heart about the role of free will vs an all knowing God and mathematical perfection.

Stephenson clearly had free reign from his editors, often spinning off into multi-page Melvillian prose to lovingly explore such topics as how to fabricate phosphorous from animal urine.

For all the extravagance, there are literary jewels where the imagery lingers far longer than the backache. For example, 1/2 way through a round the world sea journey, our heroes approach feudal Japan from the west. During this time, Japan was desperately trying to keep foreign influences from their shores (those of us of an age will remember the Shogun miniseries, where we first learned to understand a little Japanese).

"Dappa exchanged Malabar-words with three black sailors who had just hauled in the sounding-lead, then turned toward the poop deck and gave van Hoek a certain look. The captain stretched out a mangled hand towards the bow, then let it fall. A pair of Filipino sailors swung mauls, dislodging a pair of chocks, and the head of the ship itched upward slightly as it was relieved of the weight of the anchors. Their chains rumbled through hawse-holes for a moment, making a sound like Leviathan clearing its throat. Then chains gave way to soft cables of manilla that slithered and hissed across the deck for quite a few moments, gather force, until everyone abovedecks began to doubt if the Malabari sailors with the sounding-lead had really gotten it right. But then the life seemed to go out of those cables. They coasted to a stop, and the Filipinos went to work recovering the slack. The sails had all been struck, but the wind that they had ridden in from the Sea of Japan found purchase on Minerva's hull and nudged her forward into the long shadow of a snow-topped mountain, creating the curious impression the the sun was setting in the east."

(I look forward to someday writing something 1/2 as good as the above...wow!)

Aside from the larger philosophical questions and historical excitement (and the philosophical issue of free will vs determinism is explored subtly and extraordinarily well through the actions of the story), imagery like the sun setting in the east on a Japan turned upside down makes these books a must read for those with the patience to work through them.

For those friends in Minnesota, in a moment of head swooning temporary insanity, I purchased the Hillhouse limited editions of these books. That means I have the original backbreaking hardcovers available if someone would like them.