The Dispossessed

Tue, 12 May 2026 08:01:37 +0200

The Dispossessed is a science fiction book by Ursula K. Le Guin. But it is not science fiction as you’d expect. It is about two worlds Anarres and Urras with opposing economic and ideological structures. Science fiction provides the conditions that make this story possible.

When I started reading the book I could hardly finish the first chapter and put the book aside for quite some time. From time to time I would read a few pages, but it always felt disappointing.

I expected sci-fi with action, but got the ramblings of some people about their way of living. I got to learn about the characters in the story, but it never felt meaningful.

But, at some point the reading progress started snowballing. The book stuck to my hands. (Note, that I am not a prolific reader. I can only read a few pages before falling asleep.) As the story unfolded so did my imagination on what a society could look like.

This fictional culture and its characters were as convincing as could be. Maybe because of my anti-authoritarian tendencies, I felt a longing for becoming part of the Odonians society. The story resonated with many ideas and expanded them in subtle ways.

The Odonian society has nothing, but shares everything.

The book does not judge which society is better. Even though the anarchist society is depicted as an Utopia, it does not feel like one. I would give it a chance at any time.

Closing Notes

Only after finishing it I read the Wikipedia article and was flabbergasted by all these facts:

Originally it was bad short story
The book is part of the series Hainish Cycle
Le Guin’s parents were friends with Oppenheimer (the guy who created the bomb)
Oppenheimer was to model for Shevek, the book’s protagonist
The book has won all science fiction awards Hugo, Locus, and Nebula
The title is a reference to Dostoyevsky’s novel about anarchists

Thoughts on deception

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 22:04:52 +0200

I am currently reading The redemption of Time by Baoshu. It is a fan-fiction of the three-body problem trilogy. A science fiction series that was appraised by Obama himself. The fan-fiction became popular as well, so popular that it was first honored by the author of the three-body problem and then turned into a book.

The story so far depicts how a human specimen, which has been captured by the the hostile species, is tormented in order to comply and release secret informations. The hostile species called Trisolarians are not aware of deception as they broadcast their thoughts continuously to their peers. As humans are indeed capable of deception the Tirsolarians want to acquire this skill. The Trisolarians treat deception as an important defensive weapon they had to consider.

Throughout the chapters you learn more about the definition of deception.

“Theoretically, understanding the principles of deception posed little difficulty; one simply had to purposefully make a false statement, which would achieve the desired goal when the target of deception believed it.”

Excerpt From: Baoshu & Ken Liu - “The Redemption of Time”

The very absence of deceptions gave it an entirely different meaning. I became curious - what if humans were incapable of deception? What are the benefits of lying?

Well the answer is quite simple.

According to an article in National Geographic to lie is the ability to manipulate others without using physical force. It provides an advantage in the competition for resources and mates.

“It’s much easier to lie in order to get somebody’s money or wealth than to hit them over the head or rob a bank.”

National Geographic - Why We Lie: The Science Behind Our Deceptive Ways

In the end we get to the “Survival of the Fittest” law. Deceptions it is part of our nature. It makes us human. A skill developed through language. However, whereas I would grant deception the status of a human trait, it is closely related to exploitation, which is a entirely different topic.

So in the end there is not much to say. Read the book, it is amazing and do not exploit people, but deceive them if you have to.

Books on Janik von Rotz

The Dispossessed

Thoughts on deception