Brainwave
by Poul Anderson, Tom Weiner · first published 1954
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3HN commenters
2015–2025first – last mentioned
33% recommend67% neutral
What if we're all designed to be smarter than we actually are? That is, in short, the premise of master science fiction novelist Poul Anderson's 1954 debut work, Brainwave. Unbeknownst to its inhabitants, the solar system has, for millions of years, been caught in a force field that has had the effect of suppressing intelligence. When, in the course of normal galactic movement the solar system finally breaks free of the force field and its inhibiting effects, a remarkable change begins to sweep across the earth. In fact, the entire world is turned upside-down, and Anderson's novel is devoted
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It seems that both of my observations are well-trod territory! Anyhow, the book "Brainwave" by Poul Anderson has the best description of what more intelligent characters would be like - they spoke with fewer words, as the rest of the information was more obvious from context.
on “A.I. Has Arrived in Investing, Humans Are Still Dominating” ↗…characters I don't think it is possible for people to emulate the behavior of superintelligent beings. In every story about them, they appear to not actually be any smarter than us. There is one exception - Brainwave by Poul Anderson. He had the only credible (to me) take on what super intelligent people might be like.
on “Bing AI Can't Be Trusted” ↗"Brainwave" by Poul Anderson
on ““Brainy” mice raise hope of better treatments for cognitive disorders” ↗This speculation is addressed in the novel Brainwave, by Poul Anderson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Wave) It's pretty dated regarding the roles of women and men, but the ideas are very interesting nevertheless. One of the big insights is that many…
on “Why Is the Human Brain So Efficient?” ↗Or Poul Anderson's Brainwave (1953), in which the Earth finally leaves a part of the galaxy which inadvertently made thinking hard. And everything with two neurons to rub together gets smarter, not just humans. Essentially, we…
on “A competing theory to 'dark energy' suggests universe has different time zones” ↗