Piercy first half

Toffler published in 1970--comes out of the turbulence of the 1960s
He, She, and It published in 1991--fear of multinational corporations running the world
(instead the world has gone towards job mobility, but it is still there in some ways)

key concepts shaping the world

• we are killing the environment
• therefore we are dependent on technology
  
• humans and computers are becoming integrated
• multinational corporations will increasingly run the world
  
• fear of everyone be the same
• religion will still matter in an advanced technological world
• humans are bringing it all upon ourselves by not thinking ahead

What other things are out there in "The World"

• Free towns
• Self defending cities
• This is the alternative "Good" world that Piercy portrays
  
• The "Glop"
• who is running the "Glop"?
• The world police more or less have taken control of the outer areas
• Corporate cities are enclosed and separated from the "Glop"
• These are the author's potential projections for the future
  
• What happened to make the Raw what it is?
• Some sort of war
• Great famine and plagues - is this something considered unreasonable?
  
• Referencing global warming as a possible cause for the famine

What were the common effects of the book?

Genetically modified foods - how do we feel about them?

• Europeans tend to be suspicious of genetically modified foods
• The FDA has already made the choice for Americans, are we OK with that?
• Could genetically modified foods protect us from food allergies?
• Or is modifying foods merely poisoning us?
• Chemically treating foods
• hormones used on animals - indirectly consumed by humans
• Possible cancer causes related to modifying foods
• Hormones and antibiotics generally cause prices to decrease, but is it worth it?
• Have we come to rely on some of these elements to the extent that we cannot avoid them?

Are we locked into such a future?

• Are we overprotecting ourselves?
• Is it all about the money?
• Are we killing our future to save money now?
• 
  

one possible function of science fiction--show us where we could be if we keep heading down the path we are on--prevent a future by making us aware of the dangers
what she talks about could happen based on how we are living our lives right now

what do you do when you have a created being that deserves to have rights

• is it right to kill a cyborg
• is everyone partially unnatural--where do you draw the line
• "I am the future"--a human becoming more like a machine (along with than vice versa)
• With the humans and machines merging, where will the line be drawn?
• no one is normally born anymore
• Natural birth is frowned upon - this may not be far off
  
• Is it even possible to connect a brain to a computer-type device?
• Is direct brain control possible?

Credit (Money) in the book:
Possible biometric or embedded monitary system

• Would theft be more difficult?
• Would theft be more violent?
• Would we be happy for a similar system today?
• Would new technology merely create new crime?

Biometric systems replacing identification documents:
It is currently being done, how do we feel about this?
Do we have a limit to the information we want others to have on us?

when they first made human robots people thought they were cute, then people got scared and there were riots

do we have a choice?

Automated learning (brain download):

Is the process of learning part of what is learned?
If it were possible to automatically know things would you lose out?
If you could download your degree, would that be a good thing?
 - Would we fail to appreciate the information learned?
 - Would automatic learning crush creativity?
 - It might be helpful for factual information to be downloaded to assist recall
 - Would it create a disparity between factual-type degrees and creative-type degrees?

If you could download information from all possible disciplines, would you want to?

What should be downloaded?
Who should decide what should be downloaded?