PC148: State Change

[Listener]

Yeah the first transition to the book section threw me for a loop, and it took a while to figure out what was going on.

Seconded.

  I kind of tuned the book segments out.  Did anyone pick up on what they contributed to the story?

A. How literature changed when everyone's soul is outside the body -- the candle, the coffee, the beech branch, the pebble.
B. Calling back to it in the final scenes, when Rina reflected upon what would happen to her soul in the same way as the candle, the coffee, etc.

My interpretation anyway.

[acpracht]

So while the ice cube was no surprise to me, the cigarette box was. For me, that was the most beautiful part of the story. I ended up liking this story, but i thought it could have been much shorter and retained its depth. It thought it was very creative, even if it did put me in mind of Pulman's soul concept. I really loved the author's interpretation of how the historical characters's souls were embodied.

I must add that, yes, the cigarette pack did come as a surprise to me, too, regardless of the title, even though the ice/water didn't. That was one of the more profound moments for me.

-Adam

[kibitzer]

To begin with, this one left me really cold. However as it progressed, I warmed to it.

(HAHA SEE WHAT I DID THERE?)

yeesh.

Anyways, I did enjoy this one in the end. I didn't see the ice/water thing coming -- nor the cigarette box for that matter -- but I ended up really liking the metaphor of a physical soul. Nicely done.

[acpracht]

To begin with, this one left me really cold. However as it progressed, I warmed to it.

(HAHA SEE WHAT I DID THERE?)

yeesh.

Anyways, I did enjoy this one in the end. I didn't see the ice/water thing coming -- nor the cigarette box for that matter -- but I ended up really liking the metaphor of a physical soul. Nicely done.

"Everyone must 'See what you did there.'"

Heh... Norm.

-Adam

[iamafish]

I liked this story.

The bit about the candle really stuck with me. Imagine being able to light up your creativity and and be brilliant. I'd love to be able to switch on inspiration like that.

The story itself was really interesting. I liked how the soul reflected the characters of the person and really got me thinking about what my soul would be. I was almost willing the MC to just throw caution to the wind and live a little. I hated the idea that she was being confined to scratch her way through life, always protecting that little ice cube. I wanted her to try to life despite that, rather than living for it. In the end she did that and I was really happy that it worked for her. I didn't see it coming, but I though it really worked well. The bit about the cigarette box was also really interesting. I know a fair few people who could do with smoking that last cigarette and growing up a bit.

I thought the salt was a little odd. I mean, sure, salt livens things up, but too much of it tastes horrible. Salt on it's own isn't that great. I thought salt's dependence on others to be bearable could have been explored a little better in the character of the guy with the salt soul.

The bits that looked at historical figures and their souls was really interesting. I started thinking about what other historical figure's souls would be. Hitler for example? Or Alexander the Great? How about contemporary figures, like Obama or Cameron. What about friends of mine, what about me? (on a side note, this feels a bit like the way people were trying to work out what their totem would be, if they were in the film Inception)

I'm not sure what my soul would be. Self-evaluation is really hard. There's so much that I love and so many different things that represent different parts of my life that I'm not sure how that would all be represented in one thing. Maybe that fact in itself should be represented by something. What symbolically represents a Jack of all Trades?

Actually the whole 'soul at birth' thing got me thinking about the implications for free will and determinism and nature vs nurture. If who we are is represented by an object at birth, is literally everything about us written in our DNA, or written in a future over which we have no influence. I guess idea of a State Change means that we can influence who we are, but that only seemed to apply for certain people - can a pebble really change state in the same way as water? Does that mean that some people have more free will than others? Does that make people with changeable souls more human that those with fixed ones.

In fact the example of Cicero using the pebble to overcome his weaknesses actually implies that our soul can come to represent whatever we want it to. How we use our cigarettes, what we do with out ice cube, how we take out coffee, effects who we are. The object in itself is not as important as what we do with it. Our soul defines us, but we define our soul by our actions.

This story really was food for thought. I think it's going to stay with me for a very long time.

[Unblinking]

A. How literature changed when everyone's soul is outside the body -- the candle, the coffee, the beech branch, the pebble.
B. Calling back to it in the final scenes, when Rina reflected upon what would happen to her soul in the same way as the candle, the coffee, etc.

My interpretation anyway.

I think those are both true.  Also, it gave a better idea for the variety that people's souls can take and how they can match their owner's personality.

I thought the salt was a little odd. I mean, sure, salt livens things up, but too much of it tastes horrible. Salt on it's own isn't that great. I thought salt's dependence on others to be bearable could have been explored a little better in the character of the guy with the salt soul.

Also, doesn't salt raise blood pressure if taken in too large a quantity?  Anyone who marries him is asking for an early death.  Water, on the other hand, has to be taken in much, much, larger quantities, and over shorter periods of time, to be dangerous.

[birdless]

Actually the whole 'soul at birth' thing got me thinking about the implications for free will and determinism and nature vs nurture. If who we are is represented by an object at birth, is literally everything about us written in our DNA, or written in a future over which we have no influence. I guess idea of a State Change means that we can influence who we are, but that only seemed to apply for certain people - can a pebble really change state in the same way as water? Does that mean that some people have more free will than others? Does that make people with changeable souls more human that those with fixed ones.

In fact the example of Cicero using the pebble to overcome his weaknesses actually implies that our soul can come to represent whatever we want it to. How we use our cigarettes, what we do with out ice cube, how we take out coffee, effects who we are. The object in itself is not as important as what we do with it. Our soul defines us, but we define our soul by our actions.

I started going there with those thoughts, too. Maybe a "Our lives is what we choose to make of it. Some people may have some innate gift that makes it easier for them, but it doesn't mean they can do it better."

[edgeofnite]

Oh wow!  I totally missed the title until the end. This totally blew me away.

The concept of some people needing to change state or view their lives differently in order to grow is just amazing.

Bravo!

[Allie]

As a Latin student, I enjoyed the bits about Cicero and Catullus (Though the "Church Latin" pronunciations made me cringe a bit). I think that the soul metaphor would be incomplete without speculation on the souls of historical figures. I wonder what Jane Austen's soul would be? Maybe an inkwell... That would be good fit in the state change theme. >^v^< It's fun to speculate!
My soul might be a glowstick or an emergency flare XD

[Gamercow]

Apparently, the author has never heard of sublimation.   

Anyway, I liked this story, and the idea of inanimate objects as our souls, and I imagine that, as when Rina mentioned pre-refrigeration, there are some babies born with very ephemeral souls that just don't live very long. 

I have no idea what my soul would be in that universe.  Possibly a meeple.

[iamafish]

@allie The Church Latin pronunciation is for the philistines who would have no idea who the story was on about if the narrator had used Classical Latin pronunciation. Even as an ancient historian, I'd have been slightly confused for a moment.

I do agree that the stuff about Cicero and Catullus was awesome. It would have been nice to have had Aristotle or Plato or some other Greek person thrown in as well, for a bit of classical balance

[eytanz]

I'm coming late to this one - though I listened to it over a week ago, I've just been too busy to post much recently. But even though I don't really have much of substance to add to the conversation here, I just wanted to say that I, too, really loved this one. Great concept, great execution, not much else to say.

[LaShawn]

Coming late to this one to, but ohhh, I love this story! I fell in love with the literature bits. That first one, with the letter and the poet burning her candle at both ends, and her ex-lover throwing it back in her face...OUCH!

I sort of figured what would happen with the ice cube, but still it was a joy to listen to. And what I really enjoy is how everyone here is reflecting on what their own soul would look like. I would say mine would probably be Jasmine tea. The best thing about that would be it can be brewed, then sprinkled on the compost heap for fertilizer for yummy veggies...

And writing that does make me wonder. If a soul can change states, can it change forms? If I was to sprinkle my hypothetical spent tea on the compost and it becomes fertilizer, will I be able to scoop up the dirt and carry that around? If I use it to grow veggies, would my soul be in that? I eat the veggies but save the seeds, would my soul be in that?

Hmmm....

[FireTurtle]

I have to second the majority here with a hearty: "Well done!" An ever-so enjoyable tale! I liked the inclusion of historical figures. A bit difficult to really speculate as to what everyones' soul would be. Hemingway? A bullet? A fish?

It is nice to look back and see that the things we strived for with single-minded purpose and a knowledge of the "rightness" of our quest can be swept away and exposed by a singular circumstance that alters our perspective on our needs and purpose for all time. Evolution, reinvention, risk- parts of life and obligatory parts of a good story. Well done, indeed.

[stePH]

I've undergone four state-changes in my life so far. The first, California to Washington, was forced on me when I was a minor. Since then I've also changed from Washington back to California after high school, then back to Washington in 1998, and Washington to Oregon with my wife about five years ago. 

 

[Fenrix]

This was a nice story, but I spent too much time wandering during book segments and transitions thinking about refrigeration backup systems. An empty refrigerator is not very good at maintaining a constant temperature. Every time you open the door on an empty fridge, all the cold air pours out along the floor, and the interior temperature is raised significantly. Even if she did nothing but have buckets of water in the fridges, that water would hold onto the cold better while the door was open. Also, a stand freezer with a lid on top would be more effective than a vertical fridge/freezer.

I guess my fantasy requires more thermodynamics.