The Readercon program is posted + panels I am on

[kestrell]

Readercon 31
https://www.readercon.org/
will be taking place August 13-15, and will be virtual.
The guests of honor are Ursula Vernon and Jeffrey Ford, with the Memorial Guest of Honor Vonda N. McIntyre.
YouTube will be used to view panels, talks, readings, performances, and events, via links shared in our members-only Discord server
Discord will be used to participate in Q&As, visit virtual fan tables, attend launch parties, chat in kaffeeklatsches, and otherwise interact with program participants and other attendees during and between sessions.

The program can be downloaded in several formats, including an accessible plain text file,
here
https://www.readercon.org/program

I'm on two panels:

Saturday - 2:00 PM
Main Track 1 - I'm In: Infiltration Techniques for Writers - Toni "Leigh Perry" Kelner, Catherynne M. Valente, Kestrell Verlager, Elizabeth Wein, Fran Wilde (mod)
How can characters get into spaces they aren't supposed to be, whether physical or virtual? What makes these scenes feel plausible? Panelists will analyze the literary possibilities in various infiltration techniques--including those that rely on technical skills (such as lockpicking or hacking) and those that rely on social engineering--and suggest useful reference works and successful fictional depictions.

Sunday - 10:00 AM
Main Track 1 - L'État, C'est Quoi? Social Organization in SF/F - Terri Bruce, Ian R. Macleod, Kathryn Morrow, Malka Older (mod), Kestrell Verlager
Let's talk about modes of social organization in science fiction and fantasy: nations, kingdoms, empires, anarcho-syndicalist communes, hives, necromantic capitalism, and more. How do shifts in real-world politics change how we read speculative fiction's use of both real and imagined forms of government? Why is it so hard to make up truly novel social systems, and what does that tell us about how we perceive human (and inhuman) nature?

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Murderbot is the first character that comes to mind. It hacks itself several times.

The other is the pair of books by Genevieve Valentine, Persona and Icon, all about hacking ones image in a world where the cult of celebrity becomes political capital — actually also relevant to second panel. I guess that proves both are Zeitgeist-adjacent.

[kestrell]

What about cosmetic surgery and breast augmentation? It's used by people who are already normal to gain further social acceptance in a culture which gives preference to more physically attractive people. There are also some people who take anti-depressants not so much because they are clinically depressed, but because they feel they would be more socially accepted if they had a more upbeat affect, if they were more extroverted, etc. We have kids whose parents have them on Ritalin because the parents and doctors feel the kids entire present and future well-being and even academic and professional success will be impacted by the kid's behavior, which needs to be rehabilitated even from a young age.

Aren't we already indulging in forms of scientific predestination, where we feel we should use prescription drugs and surgical procedures to put us into the class of people who we imagine to be the most successful, the one percenters?

Just to say, aren't we already hacking ourselves? Especially when you see people building their own prosthetics out of Legos or 3D printers.

Given that "tool-user" is a crucial element

[jesse_the_k]

in the definition of humanity ... it's not surprising that we're always hacking ourselves.

I do think it's important for people to understand that Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto grievously omits disabled people's experience, as Jillian Weise explains. But for me, the stigma around psych drugs has locked the gates for people who could genuinely benefit from them. I'm loathe to generalize on Ritalin and Prozac because they've dramatically improved the lives of those close to me, and gate-keepers are always wanting to dismiss our needs.

I'm currently reading Sarah Pinsker's We Are Satellites. She dives deep into a near future where "pilots" installed in one's temple to aid multitasking go from experimental to ubiquitous. Her POV family has one mom who refuses on principal, one mom whose employer pays for its installation, one son who's in an experimental cohort, and one epileptic daughter who can't tolerate it.

Re: Given that "tool-user" is a crucial element

[kestrell]

Thanks for linking to the "tryborg" essay--I remember you mentioning it when I posted a BBC article about how beauty-related prosthetics are becoming high fashion for models and celebrities. Okay, I need to walk away from the computer now: I've been online since 6:30 this morning...

Re: Given that "tool-user" is a crucial element

[jesse_the_k]

Enjoy your nap!

This got my intrigued so I registered for Readercon.

Re: Given that "tool-user" is a crucial element

[jesse_the_k]

Sarah Pinsker writes short stories before she writes novels. Pay Attention in 2015 sketches out the issues addressed in full in We Are Satellites.