In Which I Emulate Reddit: Ask Me Anything
(NOTE: Based on time elapsed since the posting of this entry, the BS-o-meter calculates this is 14.472% likely to be something that Ferrett now regrets.)
Once again, we come to a rushed day where I cannot churn out a full blog entry. And yet I feel like interacting! And so I return to the gift that keeps on giving:
Ask me one question, on any topic. I shall answer truthfully.
(Please. No woodchuck questions. Someone always asks, and it’s never gotten a good response.)
If you could write a piece of fiction that would change the way some people think about one topic, what would that topic be and how would you change the way they think about it?
(Subquestion if you have the time: Do you believe that fiction today can lead to substantive change?)
Subquestion first: I absolutely do believe that fiction can lead to substantive change, as I think “fiction” includes all stories. The fact that those happen to be mostly television and movies these days doesn’t change stuff. Because it got a gay character into a prominent position before millions of teenagers who might have never met a gay person before, I credit Will and Grace with much of force behind the movement towards gay marriage these days. Likewise, Ayn Rand has pretty much single-handedly driven the Republican Revolution.
If I did, I suppose I’d either make a counter-Ayn Rand (though hopefully better written!). Or I might write something that leads people to understand that the monogamous love-tradition is toxic (you find your partner, they’re your soul-mate, and then OMG you’re THERE FOR LIFE!) and opens up the possibility of alternate routes. Something like that.
In reality, though, I’d be happy to write popular fiction that cheerfully expresses my world view, as Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi do. In short, I’d like to get better at expressing my philosophy through fiction, and to have my fiction be more popular as a result of that.
….possibly the most interesting question I’ve been asked. Well done.
Are you happy?
Mostly. More often than people suspect, I think.
I was wondering what you thought of Allie Brosh’s (hyperbole-and-a-half) recent article on her depression (http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html). To a non-depressive it was very powerful, but I recognize that I have no way to actually judge it.
In the spirit of reddit: Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck, or a hundred duck-sized horses?
How did you end up with your job for SCG?
Tell us about the first time you kissed Gini.
What’s your all-time favourite nail-polish colour?
These are my favorite in terms of color, but probably my favorite color is the first time I looked down as a grown man and realized my nails were pretty and red. Alas, if I took pictures, can’t find ’em.