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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Parable of Correctness,
By
This review is from: They'd Rather Be Right (Starblaze Editions) (Paperback)
They'd Rather Be Right is a science fiction novel about Bossy, a cybernetic marvel, and the men who insist on building her. Professors Billings and Hoskins are academics who have designed a synthetic brain. If provided with the correct facts about a problem, Bossy produces the optimal solution, without fear or favor. To the horror and confusion of the professors, they find themselves hounded and hated by every kind of fanatic and even the man on the street. Now they are on the most wanted list, the Feds are after them, and only Joe Carter stands between them and prison.Joe is a telepath. He can read minds and, with some effort, can even slightly influence the thinking of other minds, but he pays a somatic price for using his talents. He has helped the fugitives to elude the Feds on several occasions, but now they need to find a long-term hideout to rebuild Bossy. Joe selects the house of a former prostitute, Mabel Monohan, in the sleazy section of town. They settle in and, with a little larcenous help from Doc Carney, a former practicing mentalist, they acquire the necessary materiel. Originally published in Astounding in 1954, much of the writing appears dated as compared to contemporary works. The technology is typical of SF stories of that time, less than ten years prior to the invention of the transistor; thus, the computers were based on soon to be obsolete technology ... just like today. Don't let the vacuum tubes, switches and delay lines turn you off, however, for this story is not about technology at all. It is about the nature of people, a subject that doesn't seem to change much across the eons. It seems Bossy can make people young again. The subject is attached to the machine with numerous wires, sensors and emitters, then the synthetic brain interacts with the human brain to eliminate incorrect thinking. By some type of psychosomatic effect, the rectified brain causes the body to rejuvenate from the cells on up. After Mabel, the first subject, is treated and rejuvenated, the professors find themselves wanted in a different way. However, everybody soon discovers that there is a price to pay for restored youth. This novel produced a sensation among SF fandom, not for its writing style or characterization, but for what it had to say. As with Heinlein, people read the senior author for ideas as well as plot, characters, and other technical issues. The author has had a disportionate influence on the field considering his small quantity of works. However, such ideas soon become part of the canon and thus are now considered obvious and trivial. Clifton has produced two other SF novels in addition to various shorter works; the other novels are also morality tales of sorts. Insofar as I am aware, Riley has not written any other SF novels, but has written shorter works. Highly recommended for Clifton fans and anyone else who enjoys parables of human foibles.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Over 50 years later, still a thought provoking entertainment,
By
This review is from: They'd Rather Be Right (Starblaze Editions) (Paperback)
Far ago and long away Mark Clifton and Frank Riley wrote a book called "They'd Rather Be Right" that won the Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year (1955).
Clifton and Riley built their story around the concept of an experimental cybernetic device, nicknamed "Bossy," which has been loaded with every available bit of factual human knowledge that could be encoded. Bossy is capable of cross referencing, checking, and rejecting anything that does not have a solid basis in fact. Bossy can answer any question - IF Bossy has sufficient information - and the answer will be correct. The technology is a bit dated, of course, but it's largely irrelevant to the larger idea: What if mankind A) had the equivalent of an oracle that knew everything that was known, B) would always give the right answers based on that knowledge when questioned, and C) would also know when there was not enough information to give a correct answer. Clifton and Riley threw in a further gimmick: the research team that built Bossy was able to succeed because they had the secret help of a telepath who could, however imperfectly, 'see' when biases were going to be incorporated into Bossy and kept them out. He also enabled the members of the team to overcome their own mental limitations in cooperating on the project. The telepath is vital to the story because he allows Clifton and Riley to comment on what is going on in people's minds, and make observations about how human rationality does and does not work. Of course, Bossy immediately becomes the ultimate prize for those who want power. Want to know how to build a WMD with stuff around the house, swing an election, become rich, or any other fantasy? Whether or not Bossy could answer those questions becomes less important than the risk to the powerful that Bossy MIGHT be able to - and be doing it for someone besides them. To put it another way , "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot" - A. Einstein. Bossy, by definition, has all the answers to be had. Real answers. One of the questions put to Bossy is: Can a human being be made young again? The answer is yes - Bossy can do it by using a mechanical therapy where it can connect directly to the patient's mind. According to Bossy, aging is the result of a lifetime of accumulated tensions extending down to cellular memory levels, tensions arising from conflicts between what the patient believes, and what is actually true about the world around them. Bossy's therapy works by showing the patient's mind where what it believes to be true conflicts with what Bossy's database knows to be true. If the patient can accept it, the tensions are removed and the body rejuvenates itself. And that's the catch; the book is called They'd Rather Be Right because most people are so invested in their personal understanding of the world, they refuse to give it up or admit they are wrong. The book is as timely now as it ever was. It can be used to throw light on discussions about authoritarianism, police states, bigotry and prejudice, politics, marketing, and so on. A lot of the book has meta-conversations about the larger issues. Some may not find it to their taste, or agree with the authors views. As an incitement to think though, this book is a good read - and a nice change of pace for those of us who keep reading to explore as well as escape from the world around.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as Heinlein, but close.,
By
This review is from: They'd Rather Be Right (Starblaze Editions) (Paperback)
They'd Rather Be Right is a "soft" science fiction novel that won the Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year (1955). Most of the action is in the nature of political maneuvering and intrigue, a bit like some of the novels of the era by Robert Heinlein (Double Star) or C.M. Kornbluth (The Syndic). In my opinion it's not quite as good as either of those author's works, but very nearly so.
The beginning is the most intrigueing, with two professors and a telepath on the lamb from oppressive authorities in near-future San Francisco. This part reminded me a bit of the beginning of "Slan" by A.E. van Vogt, and it hooked me into reading the rest of the book, though the suspense gradually declined. The plot is about a cybernetic brain, nick-named "Bossy," developed by the two professors and other scientists, not knowing they were being manipulated by the telepath, Joe, who has his own uses for Bossy. They believe Bossy can perform psychosomatic therapy successfully, whereas no human doctor could avoid contaminating a patient with his/her own prejudices. They try Bossy's treatment on a volunteer, while still hiding out to evade the police, and the results are even more spectacular than they hoped - the volunteer is physically rejuvenated. Word gets out, and political factions want Bossy at any cost. At some points the writing seemed a tad un-polished, repetitive, with certain words over-used. However, the narrative works in insightful, but cynical, indictments of physchology, the scientific method, politics, etc., and kept me interested to find out how it would turn out. The title refers to the prerequites for Bossy's treatment, primarily that the patient give up all prejudices, preconceived notions, biases and attitudes; and that most people would rather hang on to their convictions than submit to the rejuvenation. There is a clever resolution at the end.
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