31 January 2005
Mudville Gazette: Athena vs. Ares
There is a great excerpt in Mudville Gazette from Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon (which I first read several years ago) comparing and contrasting the differences between Athena and Ares in the Greek mythological scheme of things. I greatly enjoyed being reminded of this passage - it has a LOT to say and is well worth the read, so go do it!
I also really like the Gazetteer's closing treatment of this:
"Ares always reemerges from the chaos. It will never go away. Athenian civilization defends itself from the forces of Ares with metis, or technology. Technology is built on science... science flourishes where art and free speech flourish."
"Sounds teleological. Free countries get better science, hence superior military power, hence get to defend their freedoms. You're proclaiming a sort of Manifest Destiny here."
"Well, someone's got to do it."
"Aren't we beyond that sort of thing now?"
"I know you're just saying that to infuriate me. Sometimes Ares gets chained up in a barrel for a few years, but he never goes away. The next time he emerges the conflict is going to revolve around bio-, micro-, and nanotechnology. Who's going to win?"
Who indeed? Take this simple test in your home country: Complain endlessly about the fact that you don't have free speech. If no one shoots you or locks you in jail, you have free speech. If people call you an idiot, they have free speech too.
And your nation is probably Athenian, and you can complain about it to your heart's content. "
The above may not make total sense without going through the preceding parts not quoted here, so again, go check it out.
I also really like the Gazetteer's closing treatment of this:
"Ares always reemerges from the chaos. It will never go away. Athenian civilization defends itself from the forces of Ares with metis, or technology. Technology is built on science... science flourishes where art and free speech flourish."
"Sounds teleological. Free countries get better science, hence superior military power, hence get to defend their freedoms. You're proclaiming a sort of Manifest Destiny here."
"Well, someone's got to do it."
"Aren't we beyond that sort of thing now?"
"I know you're just saying that to infuriate me. Sometimes Ares gets chained up in a barrel for a few years, but he never goes away. The next time he emerges the conflict is going to revolve around bio-, micro-, and nanotechnology. Who's going to win?"
Who indeed? Take this simple test in your home country: Complain endlessly about the fact that you don't have free speech. If no one shoots you or locks you in jail, you have free speech. If people call you an idiot, they have free speech too.
And your nation is probably Athenian, and you can complain about it to your heart's content. "
The above may not make total sense without going through the preceding parts not quoted here, so again, go check it out.
