Status
Available
Call number
Library's review
USA, New York, ca 1955
Indeholder kapitlerne "Det begynder ...", "Besynderligere og besynderligere", "Dyrenes oprør", "Rædselen", "Vi er alene, Joe", "Det nye menneske", "Den talende gorilla", "Forbundsfæller", "Den følsomme", "Rumskibet", "At dræbe sine venner", "På rejse i universet", "Livet
Jorden bevæger sig udenfor et kegleformet felt, der udgår fra mælkevejens centrum. Feltet har de sidste 60 millioner år virket svagt hæmmende på en række natur"konstanter". Den akkumulerede virkning af at hæmningen nu er væk er størst på komplicerede kemiske systemer som fx celler og i særdeleshed nerveceller. Over en periode på nogle dage bliver alle folk pludseligt meget kvikkere og de højere dyr ligeså. Folk, der før har været sinker, bliver nu som normale folk var før. Husdyr begynder at lukke slåer og båse op og stikke af.
En landbrugsmedhjælper Archie Brock går fra at have svært ved at køre bil til at tænke over hvor langt væk stjernerne er. Archies arbejdsgiver John Rossman tager afsted, fordi han ikke længere kan se meningen med at spilde tiden på sin fritidsgård. Archie bliver tilbage og holder gården ved lige. En kanin fanget i en fælde finder ud af at slippe ud. Højt begavede folk som fysikeren Peter Corinth, der er gift med den almindeligt begavede Sheila, finder at de selv er i stand til at tænke superavancerede tanker, som deres ægtefæller slet ikke forstår. En hel del bliver grebet af en ny religiøs sekt "Tredie Baal".
Sheila forstår ikke engang de tanker, der opstår i hendes eget hoved og bliver syg af det. Takket være den avancerede lægekunst bliver hun rask, men med en IQ som før forandringen.
Peter Corinth og kollegaen Nat Lewis tager en tur i det første hastigt byggede FTL rumskib og tænker sig ikke helt om. Derfor kommer de indenfor det hæmmende felt igen og har en skræmmende tur indtil de kommer ud igen og kan forstå hvordan de styrer rumskibet.
Archie Brock er stadig udenfor det nye samfund, der langsomt tegner sig, men i stedet for at indgå som et lille tandhjul, vil han hellere være herre i eget hus og han får et lille landbrug til at køre med hjælp fra sin meget kloge hund Joe, to tilløbne chimpanser Jimmy og Mehitabel, en elefant Jumbo og en tidligere åndssvag. Men Archie er den klogeste i husholdningen og han kan næsten ikke klare at slagte får, selv om han ved at de ikke er blevet bevidste på samme måde som hestene og grisene.
Administratoren Felix Mandelbaum er med til at organisere verden igen efter forandringen. Manuelt arbejde er ikke i høj kurs, så automatisering er en stor del af løsningen. Men de virkeligt begavede vil noget mere og de bliver ikke på Jorden. Deres rejser i FTL rumskibene har vist at der er masser af liv på andre kloder, men at der ikke ser ud til at være nogen på et højere stadie end menneskene.
Så de vil ikke være guder eller bestemme over andre, men gerne af og til give en hjælpende hånd.
Sheila ender med at søge til Archie, for Peter har forandret sig alt for meget i forhold til hende.
Glimrende ide til en historie og tilpas med forklaringer til at det virker overbevisende, i alt fald så længe man sidder med bogen i hånden.
Indeholder kapitlerne "Det begynder ...", "Besynderligere og besynderligere", "Dyrenes oprør", "Rædselen", "Vi er alene, Joe", "Det nye menneske", "Den talende gorilla", "Forbundsfæller", "Den følsomme", "Rumskibet", "At dræbe sine venner", "På rejse i universet", "Livet
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begynder", "Hjemme igen", "Kvinden".Jorden bevæger sig udenfor et kegleformet felt, der udgår fra mælkevejens centrum. Feltet har de sidste 60 millioner år virket svagt hæmmende på en række natur"konstanter". Den akkumulerede virkning af at hæmningen nu er væk er størst på komplicerede kemiske systemer som fx celler og i særdeleshed nerveceller. Over en periode på nogle dage bliver alle folk pludseligt meget kvikkere og de højere dyr ligeså. Folk, der før har været sinker, bliver nu som normale folk var før. Husdyr begynder at lukke slåer og båse op og stikke af.
En landbrugsmedhjælper Archie Brock går fra at have svært ved at køre bil til at tænke over hvor langt væk stjernerne er. Archies arbejdsgiver John Rossman tager afsted, fordi han ikke længere kan se meningen med at spilde tiden på sin fritidsgård. Archie bliver tilbage og holder gården ved lige. En kanin fanget i en fælde finder ud af at slippe ud. Højt begavede folk som fysikeren Peter Corinth, der er gift med den almindeligt begavede Sheila, finder at de selv er i stand til at tænke superavancerede tanker, som deres ægtefæller slet ikke forstår. En hel del bliver grebet af en ny religiøs sekt "Tredie Baal".
Sheila forstår ikke engang de tanker, der opstår i hendes eget hoved og bliver syg af det. Takket være den avancerede lægekunst bliver hun rask, men med en IQ som før forandringen.
Peter Corinth og kollegaen Nat Lewis tager en tur i det første hastigt byggede FTL rumskib og tænker sig ikke helt om. Derfor kommer de indenfor det hæmmende felt igen og har en skræmmende tur indtil de kommer ud igen og kan forstå hvordan de styrer rumskibet.
Archie Brock er stadig udenfor det nye samfund, der langsomt tegner sig, men i stedet for at indgå som et lille tandhjul, vil han hellere være herre i eget hus og han får et lille landbrug til at køre med hjælp fra sin meget kloge hund Joe, to tilløbne chimpanser Jimmy og Mehitabel, en elefant Jumbo og en tidligere åndssvag. Men Archie er den klogeste i husholdningen og han kan næsten ikke klare at slagte får, selv om han ved at de ikke er blevet bevidste på samme måde som hestene og grisene.
Administratoren Felix Mandelbaum er med til at organisere verden igen efter forandringen. Manuelt arbejde er ikke i høj kurs, så automatisering er en stor del af løsningen. Men de virkeligt begavede vil noget mere og de bliver ikke på Jorden. Deres rejser i FTL rumskibene har vist at der er masser af liv på andre kloder, men at der ikke ser ud til at være nogen på et højere stadie end menneskene.
Så de vil ikke være guder eller bestemme over andre, men gerne af og til give en hjælpende hånd.
Sheila ender med at søge til Archie, for Peter har forandret sig alt for meget i forhold til hende.
Glimrende ide til en historie og tilpas med forklaringer til at det virker overbevisende, i alt fald så længe man sidder med bogen i hånden.
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Collection
Publication
Skrifola, Kbh. 1957
Description
A fascinating "what if" novel, "Brain Wave" is an exploration into the ways human society is organized and the assumptions that are made about how life is valued. Introduction by Greg Bear, Hugo Award-winning author of "Blood Music."
Media reviews
Nachwort
... ein einfühlsames und mitreißendes Buch und ein Klassiker der jüngeren Science Fiction
User reviews
LibraryThing member stypulkoski
A quick, fun read with a fairly original premise (at least, one that hasn't been done to death). My chief complaint is that I wanted to know more; I feel as though we hardly get to know the characters, and that there are some potentially very interesting pieces of information that we are not privy
There was potential here; the book is by no means bad, but it could have been quite good.
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to. On the one hand, if the biggest complaint about a book is that there isn't enough of it, most authors would gladly take that. On the other, On the other, since we hardly know these characters, it's hard to care about them, or to get very engrossed in the story.There was potential here; the book is by no means bad, but it could have been quite good.
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LibraryThing member jseger9000
I'd first heard of Brain Wave via a reference in Stephen King's The Tommyknockers. Once I heard the synopsis for this book, I just had to read it. What if overnight, every living being on the Earth got smarter?
The book opens with a rabbit reasoning its way out of a trap. Animals figure out that
I was very impressed with the book. Anderson examines the good and the bad ramifications of super-intelligence. Not everybody sees it as a boon. Not every psyche is stable enough to handle the change. It would have been so easy to use super intelligence as an excuse to write a Utopian novel, but that is not at all what the author does. Instead, he follows several characters to give a more panoramic view of the changes that take place.
My only disappointment with the book was that it seemed too short. The book clocks in at a hundred and sixty-five pages, but the ideas in the book really deserved more space to spread out. I put that down to the time the book was published (mid-fifties) rather than lack of vision on Poul Anderson's part.
Very much worth a read. A clever and well written book that leaves you with some things to ponder. It's a shame this book isn't more well known.
The book opens with a rabbit reasoning its way out of a trap. Animals figure out that
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they don't like their place in the food chain. Everybody working a menial job decides it is beneath them and society collapses.I was very impressed with the book. Anderson examines the good and the bad ramifications of super-intelligence. Not everybody sees it as a boon. Not every psyche is stable enough to handle the change. It would have been so easy to use super intelligence as an excuse to write a Utopian novel, but that is not at all what the author does. Instead, he follows several characters to give a more panoramic view of the changes that take place.
My only disappointment with the book was that it seemed too short. The book clocks in at a hundred and sixty-five pages, but the ideas in the book really deserved more space to spread out. I put that down to the time the book was published (mid-fifties) rather than lack of vision on Poul Anderson's part.
Very much worth a read. A clever and well written book that leaves you with some things to ponder. It's a shame this book isn't more well known.
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LibraryThing member Shijuro
One of my favorite stories of all time. Read it as a teenager. Re-read it with a girlfriend I wanted to share it with a decade later. I want to re-read it again just thinking about it -- soon. I wish there were a sequel that went into more depth with some of the characters (both human and animal).
LibraryThing member tursach_anam
There was so much potential here that never quite came to be. For instance, the animal intelligence could have been played out more. Also, transitions were almost non-existent. You would follow one character, then go onto another, then come back to the first at a later time with no explanation of
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whatever came of the previous scenario. The concept was interesting enough that It kept my attention, which is hard to do these days. Show Less
LibraryThing member bruceandceals
A cosmic event causes the co-inhabitants of planet earth to leap suddenly forward in intelligence. Everyone is suddenly stratspherically smarter, even the animals.
How would society cope if everyone were suddenly a genius, and the dumb beasts of burden no longer dumb. Would society as you know it
The writing style has dated somewhat, however this remains a fascinating classic of science fiction.
How would society cope if everyone were suddenly a genius, and the dumb beasts of burden no longer dumb. Would society as you know it
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tear itself apart and descend into anarchy. . . . can there be any future for a world of super-intelligent beings?The writing style has dated somewhat, however this remains a fascinating classic of science fiction.
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LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
Posit a galactic field that reduced our ability to think. We develop our intelligence & technology under the influence of that field & then we move out from under its influence. Suddenly everyone on the planet doubles their IQ. What would happen to our civilization, to the everyday people? That's
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the basis that Anderson uses for this book & it's well done. Show Less
LibraryThing member keely_chace
When the earth emerges from an inter-galactic inhibitor field that had slowed neural activity and limited intelligence for earthly life forms for millions of years, everyone starts getting crazy-smart. Farm animals get too clever for fences, people of below-average intelligence attain high-level
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genius IQs, and people of normal and above-average intelligence...well, they get a little too smart for their own good. This story raises some interesting questions about what it means to be human, and the importance of intelligence relative to other human qualities. Overall, though, I found the premise much more compelling than the actual execution. The characters are all so thin that it's hard to care much about what happens to them. Moral: Maybe inhumanly clever and logical people don't make for such a great novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member math_foo
As an earlier reviewer mentioned, the premise, that everyone and every animal on earth, suddenly finds themselves exponentially smarter, could have been an excuse to write a Utopian novel. Instead, Anderson explores the pressures placed on society both from the intellectual below, as those that
Either of these scenarios could in turn have been the plot of mediocre dystopian novel; but instead everyone muddles along surprisingly realistically.
While most of the characters lack the depth that this premise deserved, the depiction of Archie Brock, a retarded man now raised to what was formerly genius level (in particular, the opening scene, when he realizes how far away the stars must be), raise the book to the level of a masterpiece.
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once performed menial labour now finding it impossible to tolerate, and from above, as those that were already highly intelligent find themselves losing their humanity.Either of these scenarios could in turn have been the plot of mediocre dystopian novel; but instead everyone muddles along surprisingly realistically.
While most of the characters lack the depth that this premise deserved, the depiction of Archie Brock, a retarded man now raised to what was formerly genius level (in particular, the opening scene, when he realizes how far away the stars must be), raise the book to the level of a masterpiece.
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LibraryThing member BruceCoulson
"The speed of light as measured may only be a local phenomena." The Earth moves out of a field that retarded intelligence, raising the intelligence level of every thinking creature, including Man. Anderson explores the pros and cons of increased reasoning power, as domestic animals leave their
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pens, and society collapses. The weakest point is the portrayal of the now beyond measurement intelligent humans; even Anderson has trouble trying to envision how these beings might act. Still a classic of science fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gregorio_Roth
This book may be dated but its questions are not.
LibraryThing member RBeffa
I thought this was a book from the late 70's and was surprised to find it dates originally to 1954. The concept of the story is really out there - all life on earth has had intelligence suppressed because of a field the solar system has been passing through while we rotate around the galaxy. Now we
The story plays out better than I expected as mankind worldwide (and animalkind worldwide!) deals with a huge growing boost in intelligence. There was a lot of gobbledygook here and there and the attempts for a scientific explanation of why intelligence had been suppressed was pretty silly to me. What I liked were some of the personal stories of how people reacted to a changed mental state and how the world was going to change. This part of the book, the bulk of it, was hit and miss - the story revolving around the man attempting to keep running a farm I liked a lot - glimpses of other people were intriguing - the New York City stuff, and the central focus on a particular scientist pretty much not interesting at all.
We could have a lot of fun with animals throwing off the yoke and taking on man. There is a bit of fun like that but the story primarily goes other ways. So there's no rise of the rats, or insect takeovers or good dogs gone bad. This book gets an OK from me. I did like the ending.
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are moving out of it and then, one day, it no longer is influencing the planet. This is intelligently written science fiction from the golden age. The story clearly is set in the 50's and it feels 50ish but tries I think to rise above that to a more modern way - the 50's elements seen from now are like reading historical fiction whereas the story itself tries to stretch to bigger ideas. It can't quite do that since among other things it has a guy smoking a cigar on a starship. The story plays out better than I expected as mankind worldwide (and animalkind worldwide!) deals with a huge growing boost in intelligence. There was a lot of gobbledygook here and there and the attempts for a scientific explanation of why intelligence had been suppressed was pretty silly to me. What I liked were some of the personal stories of how people reacted to a changed mental state and how the world was going to change. This part of the book, the bulk of it, was hit and miss - the story revolving around the man attempting to keep running a farm I liked a lot - glimpses of other people were intriguing - the New York City stuff, and the central focus on a particular scientist pretty much not interesting at all.
We could have a lot of fun with animals throwing off the yoke and taking on man. There is a bit of fun like that but the story primarily goes other ways. So there's no rise of the rats, or insect takeovers or good dogs gone bad. This book gets an OK from me. I did like the ending.
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LibraryThing member Waldir
I read this many years ago during a week-long vacation at my grandma's, and I recall sneaking out every afternoon to the library to read another chapter or two. I was a teenager, so I can't vouch for the quality of the writing with my current understanding, but I can say that the core of the story
If a more modern reference may help others what to expect, I could say that the short story "Understand" by Ted Chiang (of "Story of Your Life"/"Arrival" fame) was quite reminiscent of this book, for me.
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has remained with me until today, and every now and then I recall aspects of it. It was a fascinating read.If a more modern reference may help others what to expect, I could say that the short story "Understand" by Ted Chiang (of "Story of Your Life"/"Arrival" fame) was quite reminiscent of this book, for me.
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LibraryThing member jigarpatel
Fun read about a world where suddenly every creature becomes a factor more intelligent. More than science this novel is about culture and society. How do animals of varying intelligence, and humans from different backgrounds, react? How does this change the relationship between humans and animals?
These are the questions Brain Wave asks, and they are important ones. At less than 200 pages and always captivating, this novel could easily have been extended. As it is, I still consider it a remarkable work by a great storyteller.
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Does civilized society become more structured or disordered? What happens to science, philosophy and religion?These are the questions Brain Wave asks, and they are important ones. At less than 200 pages and always captivating, this novel could easily have been extended. As it is, I still consider it a remarkable work by a great storyteller.
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LibraryThing member majackson
What happens if all brains (human and animal) started functioning on an enhanced level, overnight? Who will survive? And who cannot survive? This story is so "large" in concept that it begs for an expansion that probably will never be written. It's been 14 years since I last read it, and at least
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40 since I first read it, and it's even more intriguing now than ever. I can't comprehend how it only rates an average of 3.5 star. Show Less
Awards
501 Must-Read Books (Emma Beare, 2006) (Science Fiction)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1957
Physical description
89 p.; 18.3 cm
Local notes
Omslag: Kurt Caesar
Omslaget viser en menneskehjerne omgivet af farvede bånd og med stjernetåger i baggrunden
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Fremtidsromanen, bind 5
Side 57: Med sine treogtredive år følte han sig tynget af alderens byrde.
Oversat fra engelsk "Brain Wave" af Knud Müller
Omslaget er taget fra et italiensk Urania hæfte, nr 108, "Quoziente 1000i", dvs den italienske udgave.
Der er en signatur på originalforsiden "Caesar" og Kurt Caesar (1906-1974) er en kendt illustrator af italienske og tyske science fiction magasiner. Den danske udgave har skåret tegningen, så man ikke kan se signaturen og tegneren er heller ikke krediteret i kolofonen.
Illustrationer: Carlo Jacono
Carlo Jacono (17 marts 1929 - Milano , 7 juni 2000) var en italiensk kunstner og illustrator, der blandt andet blev brugt af Urania magasinet.
Omslaget viser en menneskehjerne omgivet af farvede bånd og med stjernetåger i baggrunden
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Fremtidsromanen, bind 5
Side 57: Med sine treogtredive år følte han sig tynget af alderens byrde.
Oversat fra engelsk "Brain Wave" af Knud Müller
Omslaget er taget fra et italiensk Urania hæfte, nr 108, "Quoziente 1000i", dvs den italienske udgave.
Der er en signatur på originalforsiden "Caesar" og Kurt Caesar (1906-1974) er en kendt illustrator af italienske og tyske science fiction magasiner. Den danske udgave har skåret tegningen, så man ikke kan se signaturen og tegneren er heller ikke krediteret i kolofonen.
Illustrationer: Carlo Jacono
Carlo Jacono (17 marts 1929 - Milano , 7 juni 2000) var en italiensk kunstner og illustrator, der blandt andet blev brugt af Urania magasinet.
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Pages
89
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |