The careful Irreal reader will have noticed the quote from Iain M. Banks in the upper right corner of the blog. The quote comes from Excession, my favorite of Banks’ Culture Novels. It’s a description of metamathics, which Banks describes as
the investigation of the properties of Realities (more correctly,
Reality-fields) intrinsically unknowable by and from our own, but whose
general principles could be hazarded at.
The investigation of metamathics is how the Minds—the powerful AIs that effectively run the Culture—amuse themselves. It’s inclusion here is meant to suggest a parallel with Lisp.
Now, sadly, we learn that Banks has terminal cancer and does not expect to live longer than a year. If, like me, you’ve read and enjoyed Banks’ novels you might want to visit Banksophilia, a site set up by his family and friends, where you can check his progress and leave him a message if you like. The Culture is a wonderful place full of hope and progress where something like this could never happen. It’s heartbreaking to see it happen to the Culture’s creator.