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Know of any Science Fiction that could have inspired Elon?

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2daMoon

Mostly Harmless
Nov 25, 2020
4,494
39,233
Terra Incognita
Just finished a book, The Turing Option, by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky that was published in 1992, and this book was chock full of Elon-esque stuff.

There was AI (eventually called MI, Machine Intelligence), as well as computer-brain interface, with casual references to electric cars and intercontinental travel by sub-orbital rockets among many others. Reading through the book it surprised me time and again as some part of the story led me to think of things Elon has experienced, talked about, or is doing now.

It is a compelling read about a child genius born into a challenging family environment who moves to the USA and grows up to become a brilliant programmer/engineer. Crazier yet, most of it is set in 2023-2024 and the chapters are dated rather than titled.

Harry Harrison always writes a good story. It wouldn't surprise me at all to find that Elon may have read it and found inspiration.

Pick up "The Turing Option" for a SciFi treat and maybe you too will see a glimpse into today that was conjured in the early 1990s and draw your own conclusions.

Anyone else familiar with this book or other SciFi with parallels which are in step with the vision for the world Elon is creating? Post 'em up!
 
Just finished re-reading the Mission Earth 'Dekalogy' (ten books) that were L. Ron Hubbard's last work of SciFi before his death.

The character Jettero Heller is easily pegged as someone who applies first principles the way Elon does. Whether or not he ever read this work, it offers a tale that shares his type of strategies and light-hearted approach to solving big problems.

A fantastic story full of humor and wit about Heller, a Fleet Engineer from Voltar, tasked with making Earth ready for the invasion and inclusion in the confederacy planned for more than a hundred years in the future.

Heller is tasked with cleaning up the Earth's environment so that there will be a habitable planet waiting when the invasion occurs. Which includes him battling against the power broker (Rockecenter) who controls the oil and pretty much everything else on the planet.

His mission meets trials and tribulations brought about by a PR man on Earth named J. Walter Madison, (aka J. Warbler Madman) who spins the media to thwart Heller. Additionally, a Voltar contingent called the Coordinated Information Apparatus (CIA) works to stop Heller, as they are importing drugs from Earth to Voltar attempting to overthrow the Emperor there.

Warning, the story does get quite racy as it explores the Earth studies of psychology and psychiatry and how they have been applied by doctors and the media to control Earth's population to Rockecenter's benefit. Though, amusingly, the Voltarian Robotic Translator of the book has (bleeped) all the bad words, leaving it up to the reader to fill in the blanks.

A delightful read with so many parallels to the challenges we see every day as Elon progresses toward similar goals.

Hubbard's SciFi is excellent. His attempt at religion is rubbish IMHO, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying his other works of fiction. Battlefield Earth is another favorite, and I'll be looking to acquire more Hubbard SciFi for my bookshelves.