![]() ![]() ![]() The machine is presented as a benevolent force that provides for humanity's needs, but it ultimately becomes a source of oppression and control. ![]() One of the main themes of The Machine Stops is the dangers of reliance on technology. The main character, Vashti, is a woman who has become so dependent on the machine that she has lost touch with her own humanity and is unable to think for herself. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the machine has become an oppressive force, controlling every aspect of people's lives and suppressing their individuality. The machine is a complex system that connects people to each other and to all knowledge, allowing them to live in comfort and isolation without ever having to leave their cells. The story is set in a distant future where the majority of humanity lives underground in a vast network of interconnected cells, each with their own machine that provides for their every need. Forster, is a thought-provoking tale that explores the dangers of reliance on technology and the consequences of living in a completely artificial world. The Machine Stops, a science fiction story by E.M. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() Stories stick around because they are far easier to consume than the messy reality of science. Hari argues that depression and anxiety have been presented to patients as a result of a “broken brain”, a story which is compelling and easy to tell, but ultimately damaging. When we’re little, we aren’t told about the world as it actually is, but through stories designed to help us understand it: electricity flows like water, grandad has “gone to sleep”. What this criticism misses is that, while these myths around depression have been officially debunked, many still believe them. In fact, as critics have already pointed out, most of the book’s claims would not shock those in the medical or mental health profession, despite Hari’s presentation of them as counter-cultural and new. ![]() Nor is the fact that depression and anxiety aren’t believed by most scientists to be caused by a “serotonin imbalance” in the brain – what Hari decries as the “serotonin story” fed to sufferers. Of course, doubts around antidepressants are nothing new. (Photo: Simon Emmett) Debunked, but still ubiquitous ![]() ![]() She realised that the rate of variation of a Cepheid star gave a strong indication of its actual brightness, which could then be compared with its apparent brightness as seen from Earth, which then indicated the distance to the star. With a great leap of intuition, she showed that Cepheid variable stars, which vary periodically in brightness, could be used to measure distances across the universe. ![]() Working as a ‘computer’ in the days when few women could pursue a career in science, she was employed to measure and analyse photographs of the stars in painstaking detail. Henrietta Leavitt was the woman who rescued the situation. In particular, nobody could measure the distances to the galaxies. Even measuring distances across the universe had proved problematic. Unfortunately, they were having serious problems with measuring reality. ![]() While theorists developed this hypothesis, it was up to the observational astronomers to test the theory against reality. (Courtesy of Harvard College Observatory) Henrietta Leavitt Inventor of the cosmic yardstick. ![]() |