KPURCELL@liverpool.ac.UK (Kevin 'fractal' Purcell) (02/12/90)
Hi there, After reading a few "futurist" books I came to the conclusion that there must be some way of coming to the futures literature in a less haphasard manner than looking on the shelves of the local bookstore. I have expeienced this problem three times before: once in relation to classical music (how do you sort out all the recordings, composers and pieces in the record stores?), science fiction and "literature" (for want of a better word). In the former case, the Penguin Guide to Records and CDs was most helpful, combined with a couple of texts on the evolution of music. For both the SF and classical literature I found the Bloomsbury Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy and the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide. Both give a good grounding in the subject by bringing together descriptions of the writers, thier biographies, and their major works together with listings of books in similar genres or tackling a similar topic. So far I have found nothing for futurist writings. Hence this communication. I would like to assemble a list of authors, books and topics of interest to the readers of this list. You could assist me by sending me your ideas, suggestions and pointers to the literature. Both non-fiction (for example, Future Shock by Alvin Toffler or Mind Children by Hans Morevec) and fiction (for example, Wetware by Rudy Rucker or Neuromancer by William Gibson) and books that talk about futurism itself. Other forms of media might also be well worth looking at (films, for example). Summaries of major contributing authors would be most welcome. I will post a digested version back to the net, for comments, additions and cross-references. In this way we could iterate to a very useful document that may help others find their way into thinking about the future in a constructive way. All assistance is welcome. Is anybody willing to act as a forwarding station (preferably non-.uucp as we have to pay for the transAtlantic link via ukc!) for those that have problems mailing to the UK. Thanks in advance for your time. Kevin 'fractal' Purcell "The people who make the changes are the kpurcell @ liverpool.ac.uk people who have the knowledge" Surface Science James Burke, "Connections" Liverpool University, Liverpool, UK
mad@math.keio.ac.jp (MAEDA Atusi) (02/21/90)
(I am posting this article for friend.) ------------------------------------------------ Dear People: I too am interested in the annotated bibliography on the impact of computers on (future) society, if such a thing exists. For pointers to recent book and non-book literature, one may consider checking the category "K.4 computers and society" (or "K.3 computers and education") in the ACM Guide to Computing Literature which is published annually. (Please send replies (if any) to my BITNET address below.) (Mr.) TANAKA Tomoyuki (Tanaka is my family name.) ;;; IBM Research, Tokyo Research Laboratory ;;; 5-19 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, Japan ;;; ;;; BITNET: tanakat@jpntscvm.bitnet
GLOBALCP@UVVM.BITNET ("Melcir ", Moderator - World Future Society On-Line Chapter) (03/20/90)
Would your friend perhaps be interested in joining both the World Future Society, and the WFSOn-Line (World Future Society On-Line Chapter)? Membership of the WFS is $US25 per annum to: World Future Society, 4916 St. Elmo Ave., BETHESDA, MD., USA. The WFS publishes a catalogue of Futurist publicaitons, including Computer topics, each year. There is a bi-monthly color magazine - The Futurist. There is also the opportunity to attend large Futurist Conferences periodically, etc. The OnLine Chapter tries to link the e-mail using futurists for informal discussions. Melcir Erskine-Richmond GlobalCP - C% U. Vic. Chapter - World Future Society University of Victoria, S. U. Bldg., P.O. Box 1700 VICTORIA, B.C., V8W 2Y2, Canada Fax: Canada + 604 + 721-8653 Bitnet: globalcp@uvvm Arpa/Earn/Janet: globalcp@uvvm.UVic.ca Unix: globalcp@uvcw.UVic.ca We need to plan now for a future we want to enjoy! - Study Futurism. Acknowledge-To: <GLOBALCP@UVVM>