Talk:Greg Bear

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An individual covered in this article, Greg Bear, has edited Wikipedia as
Greg Bear (talk • contribs).

[edit] Gaia theory

I was surprised to read in the article that in The Forge of God Greg Bear makes use of the Gaia theory. From my recollection of the book Gaia has no relevance whatsoever. I read a book in the Eon/Eternity (Legacy?)series where the life on the planet Lamarckia is somewhat different to Earth's - but I'm not convinced either that the Gaia hypothesis is being used - just that evolution took a different course which on the face of it was non-Darwinian. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.159.60.137 (talk • contribs). attribute comment

The "planetism" concept - that ecosystems eventually evolve creatures capable of spreading to other worlds, other star systems, and ultimately other galaxies - is very much based on Gaia theory, IMHO. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.80.254.58 (talk • contribs).

Having just read the book I can say that the Gaia Theory is used in the book but as far as I can see on a cosmic scale ie not just in terms of the Earth. One of the characters theorises that the Killers' process of destroying planets is part of how the Universe preserves balance. Or something like that. Its pretty unconvincing as far as I can see.

That aside I found FORGE OF GOD an extaordinary book, brilliantly imagined. The genius of having the Earth destroyed by an enemy we never even see and tracking the process whereby the planet copes with an inevitable end which nevertheless has to be waited for is amazing. What I love about Greg Bear's work is his humanity - although almost every book of his I've read deals in some way with the end of the Human Race - EON's nuclear destruction of earth, BLOOD MUSIC's transformation of humanity, FORGE OF GOD's annihilation of the planet - his sense of loss as mankind faces insuperable odds is deeply moving. You could say his work is tragic on a global scale.

I read FORGE OF GOD weeks before people started predicting the crossing of the threshold of global warming we now face. The sense of the human race's inability to conceive of its own extinction despite constant warning rang a very real bell. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.93.21.6 (talk • contribs).

[edit] Removal

I removed the complaint that bacteria developing conscioussness was scientifically dubious, because we don't possess a scientific theory of consciousness. Instead I point out that the math in Eon is pretty bogus. Gene Ward Smith 22:16, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)