Madness and SF
I looked after this panel with Lucy, an Australian psychologist. We reviewed some of the ways in which madness is used as a literary device - for example as a negative opposite to 'reason' (Golden age SF, Trek etc.), as a reflection of 'a world gone mad' (Slaughterhouse 5, new age SF), as a marker for special insight and ability (River, and assorted geniuses and precogs), as a political label for deviants (Blake). Lots of people got quite excited, which is good. We also talked about the way 'demon', 'alien' and 'monster' are used like 'madness' to deal with human attributes which it is painful or difficult to integrate into the concept of 'normal' humanity.
Could telepathy be possible?
I sat on this panel with
Can a society function without currency
I was very tired by this last panel, and I went home immediately afterwards feeling a bit rough. The discussion was rowdy, because economics seems to bring out the rough house. I thought people were excited rather than aggressive, though some of my co-panellists thought that the guys were being a bit selfish. I think the problem is combining people who are confident and loud with people who may have just as much to say but may be less assertive. I hope I managed to rein in the talkative ones enough to let some of the quieter people have their say. Unfortunately I was tempted to start expressing my own opinions, and I probably should have been more of a moderator, but never mind.
My personal feeling is that a society can function without currency, in that exchange, reward and ownership could be mediated in some other way. I also think that currency can function in many different ways within society (just as, say, marriage can). I agree with those who argued that currency is a symbol of a social relationship, rather than an absolute one.
Another interesting distinction is between neutral, transferable currency (like we have) and some alternative possible currency which could mediate non-transferable social values of affection, status or reputation. However there was hardly time to cover the massive range of interesting ideas that came flying from all directions.