Cookie monster
by Vernor Vinge · first published 2016
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short novella praised as a thought-provoking, well-written read about AI and technology, often recommended as a quick entry point to Vinge's work and as an influence on later sci-fi like Black Mirror.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…Vinge, there is a little gem that it's, I think, not very known: "Marooned in Realtime" (1). It's the second in a series but it can be read alone without problem. Also the short story by Vinge, "The cookie monster" is very good (recommended going blind for this one, not spoilers) By Reynolds, my favorite, it's "House of Suns", I get a 50's Science Fiction vibe from it, and, at the same time, it's modern Science…
on “The Culture War: Iain M. Banks’s Billionaire Fans” ↗Probably neither of these (depending on your definition of primitive), but they're interesting anyway: The Cookie Monster[1] by Vernor Vinge Glasshouse[2] by Charles Stross [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cookie_Monster_%28novella%... (WP link, contains spoilers) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasshouse_%28novel%29
on “A Dying Young Woman’s Hope in Cryonics and a Future” ↗You might be interested in Vernor Vinge's novella "The Cookie Monster": https://www.ida.liu.se/~tompe44/lsff-book/Vernor%20Vinge%20-...
on “Building A.I. That Can Build A.I” ↗You should add "Friendship Is Optimal" by Iceman https://www.fimfiction.net/story/62074/friendship-is-optimal "The Cookie Monster" by Vernor Vinge "Blood Music" by Greg Bear "Permutation City" by Greg Egan
on “Hard comp-fi reading list” ↗…City' by Greg Egan. Also, this one is pretty good: https://sifter.org/~simon/AfterLife/index.html And, in a very similar line to "Lena", this one by Vernor Vinge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cookie_Monster_(novella)
on “Lena” ↗Read Vernor Vinge's "The Cookie Monster" to see one of the major inspirations for Black Mirror, and a character similar to Elon Musk. Full text here: https://www.ida.liu.se/~tompe44/lsff-book/Vernor%20Vinge%20-... Also everyone should read…
on “A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (1992)” ↗The cookie monster by Vernor Vinge is a nice short story: https://www.ida.liu.se/~tompe44/lsff-book/Vernor%20Vinge%20-...
on “Is there a Sci-Fi novel where people discover they live in simulated reality?” ↗Vernon Vinge's short novella The Cookie Monster comes to mind: https://www.ida.liu.se/~tompe44/lsff-book/Vernor%20Vinge%20-...
on “I once fell for the fantasy of uploading ourselves. It’s a destructive vision” ↗Anyone liking Lena might also like to read Vernor Vinge's 2003 novella The Cookie Monster, which at least ends on a bit more of a hopeful note.
on “Make Up a Guy” ↗…works are getting a lot of praise (justifiably, I read "A fire upon the deep" on a friend recommendation, then everything else Vinge wrote), some of his short stories strongly resonated with me, too. The cookie monster is, IMO, a thought-provoking marvel.
on “Vernor Vinge has died” ↗Anyone else struck by the similarities between the description an "The Cookie Monster” by Vernor Vinge?
on “Responding to the next frontier of critical cyber capabilities” ↗Cookie Monster was my gateway to Vinge, highly recommend.
on “The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge” ↗The Cookie Monster was one of the best short novella's I ever read, and its influence can be seen everywhere from Greg Egan's Permutation City to episodes of Black Mirror. Edit: I got it backwards, Egan's book came out…
on “Vernor Vinge has died” ↗c.f., Vernor Vinge's novella _The Cookie Monster_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cookie_Monster_(novella)
Vernor Vinge wrote a short story about something similar; "The Cookie Monster" from 2003.
on “Ask HN: What are these strange random strings spamming my blog?” ↗