Living in a State of Fear

Before we delve into our exploration and analysis of State of Fear, I want to share one of the highlights of my Michael Crichton collection. I found this T-shirt on eBay and I've never seen another for sale anywhere.

Front:

Back:

State of Fear - Ten Years Later

Ten years ago, State of Fear was published. I remember the excitement when a new Michael Crichton book came out. I would clear my calendar because once I started reading a Crichton book I would do nothing else until it was finished.

Crichton’s career can be split into three stages:

1. The Andromeda Strain, which introduced his writing to the world.

2. Jurassic Park, which took Crichton from a genre writer to mainstream fame.

3. State of Fear, Crichton’s most controversial book

In November 2005, I had the rare privilege of participating in a month-long online discussion with Michael Crichton about State of Fear. It was hosted by the Barnes & Noble website. (Unfortunately, the discussion cannot be found online. Fortunately, I downloaded everything Crichton said.)

During the next few months, I’m going to explore State of Fear and the science behind it. I’ll also take a look the current state of climate and of climate science. What has changed in ten years? What hasn't changed? If any readers know of something in particular they would like to discuss, please email me at kahlessa at gmail dot com

Michael Crichton Speech - “Science Policy in the 21st Century”

On January 28, 2005, Michael Crichton gave a speech titled "Science Policy in the 21st Century" for the American Enterprise Institute. The video lasts an hour and 15 minutes.

The speech covers issues addressed in State of Fear, though much of what Crichton said can be applied to a number of other situations.

Talking with Michael Crichton

As Thanksgiving approaches, I remember with deep gratitude the month of November 2005. I had the honor of participating in a month-long online discussion on State of Fear with Michael Crichton through the Barnes & Noble website. Here are a few snippets of my conversations with him.

I wrote:

May we have a sequel to Travels soon please?

Michael:

Actually, I have been trying to get a sequel to Travels finished for quite some time. I don't know how it happened but it has been almost twenty years since that book...

---------------------------
I wrote:

I find it interesting that NERF and ELF, the two sinister organizations, have acronyms that remind me of things from childhood: nerf balls and other nerf toys, and elf, one of Santa’s little helpers. It’s an amusing and ironic contrast. Michael, was that intentional?

Michael:

That never occurred to me while working! Interesting. I was aware that ELF was the same initials as an actual organization. And I was aware that the book SPHERE was at one time titled "ULF"---don't ask me why, I can't remember now.

And there is a slang meaning for nerf, which is kind of hipster-childish, but not widely known, so I figured it would not influence most readers. But as for the similarities between the two...never crossed my mind.

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Another participant in the discussion, J, wrote:

OMG! You wrote to me!!!

I wrote:

He wrote to you! He wrote to me too! (Virtually hold hands and scream together) :-0

J:

LOL!

Michael:

Yes, and I could do it again...

==============
Crichton commented numerous times during the discussion on a wide variety of topics. I never got to meet him in person, but I am still very thankful I had the opportunity to communicate with him in some manner.

Related posts:

Michael Crichton – Favorite Holiday Recipes

Thank You, Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton News 4/25/12

(Please accept my apologies for not posting for so long. Personal circumstances have presented quite a challenge as of late. I’m looking forward to picking up the pace.)

Jurassic Park in 3D
Universal Pictures has slated a 3D re-release of Jurassic Park for July 19, 2013.

In a Dec. 2011 interview, Steven Spielberg said:

“The only movie that I would ever even consider retrofitting is the first 'Jurassic Park,' which I think would look pretty spectacular in 3D. That's the only one of my films that I would consider doing in 3D.”

Raise your hand if you’re looking forward to seeing the T-Rex in 3D.

Though I think it’s good that the original film was not in 3D. Jurassic Park was scary enough in 2D. A friend of mine almost yanked her husband’s arm off the first time they saw the movie.

Micro in Paperback
Micro, the novel began by Michael Crichton and finished by Richard Preston, is coming out in paperback.

The Trade Paper edition (the bigger paperback) will be released on April 25, 2012.

The Mass Market edition (the smaller paperback) will be available on September 25, 2012.

The Michael Crichton Message Board is Gone
The Message Board on the Official Michael Crichton website appears to be gone. The link that used to lead to it now reads:

“Please join the conversation at The Official Michael Crichton Facebook Page. You'll find the link on the Official Website Homepage.”

Such a shame. I made so many friends on that board over the years. Though it wasn't very busy as of late, it was a good resource for fans. (Thank God I've made a habit of downloading everything on the board--and website--for quite some time.) I can understand closing it down, but I can't understand deleting it. Many of the threads have valuable insights and links.

Fortunately, the message board can be viewed in a web archive. Unfortunately, the most recent version is from July 2011 and so does not contain the recent posts about Micro.

I’ll never forget the State of Fear glory days on the board. That was a special time. In May 2007, the State of Fear section was closed to any new posts. (I think the powers that be got tired of breaking up the fights.)

**********************

Here’s a treat: a photo of Michael Crichton in surgical scrubs on the set of The Andromeda Strain film. Crichton had a non-speaking role as a back-up surgeon in the film.

My Letters to Michael Crichton

Here are links to three letters I wrote to Michael Crichton. After the first letter, he sent me a gracious note and an autographed photo. I didn't expect a response to the other letters as he was a very busy man.

March 17, 2005 – Travels

April 17, 2005 – State of Fear

November 21, 2006 – Next

First Names, Last Names

(This is something I wrote for the Barnes & Noble online discussion of State of Fear in November 2005.)

Something I find curious about State of Fear is that some characters are referred to by their last names and some by their first names.

Characters referred to by their last names:

George Morton - Morton
Peter Evans - Evans
Richard John Kenner - Kenner
Nicholas Drake - Drake
Herb Lowenstein - Lowenstein
Ted Bradley - Bradley
Norman Hoffman - Hoffman
John Balder - Balder
John Henley - Henley

Characters referred to by their first names:

Sanjong Thepa - Sanjong
Sarah Jones - Sarah
Jennifer Haynes - Jennifer
Ann Gardner - Ann
Margo Lane - Margo

I didn’t notice the difference until I was going through the novel and making notes. I wonder if there is any particular reason for this.

Comments from others in the discussion:

One obvious difference is that all females are referred to by their first names. The only male that is referred to by first name is Sanjong, which is sounds cooler than Thapa I think.

Crichton seems to do the same thing in Airframe, and Casey Singleton is the main character. She is referred to as Casey and the men in the story are referred to by their last names--at least as far as I can tell from looking it over. I’ll have to examine Crichton’s other books to see if this is a pattern.

It seems a male thing for men to refer to each other by last names and women by first while women seem to the opposite.

Just another one of the male/female differences!

I am almost finished reading 'Disclosure'. In this book Michael seems to bounce between first and surnames for both males and females.

I disagree. I think we see this pattern frequently in society -- it seems to me that in junior high school, high school, college and in the working world, males are often referred to by their last names, whereas females rarely are.

My husband went to an English state grammar school (he is in his late 40's) and they were expected to call each other by their surnames. He says he had to consciously learn to call his school mates by their Christian names when they were in public. I believe in those times females were either called by Christian names or Miss/Mrs.

My understanding is also that in Australia the same thing was standard practice in our private schools and some state schools. So maybe it is just the tradition - albeit sexist.

I agree. I think it's a man thing. Women don't go around calling each other by their last names.

Good observation about the names--I never noticed. Aside from Sanjong, all the "first namers" are women. That's a common habit of students and instructors when discussing well-known authors. Emily Dickinson becomes Emily, while Hemingway is...well, Hemingway. Maybe it's a subconscious habit, left over from MC's school days.

Hmm, wonder if MC will read this and consider Jones and Haynes for the sequel.

And finally, from Michael Crichton himself:

I noticed it, too. The usual presumption is that reference by first name is demeaning. Or that reference by last name is cold and distancing. But, the presumption is that it means *something.* Once this became an issue several years ago, in other books I have carefully addressed everyone by either first or last name, or at least, primarily in one form or another. But I found that people who see demeaning or cold treatment in the use of names still see demeaning or cold treatment, but transferred their feeling to some other way that the stories treat characters. So it seemed like a lot of trouble for little useful result.

And there is the additional issue of how people are referred to "in dialog." Are they spoken to by first or last names...

Anyway, I argue there is no special meaning here. I could have referred to everyone by first or last name, but didn't.

This is a topic I think I’ll research further. It’s a little on the nitpicky side, but I would still like to find out what Crichton did in his other works.

What Michael Crichton Said About Micro

Michael Crichton was reticent about whatever project he was currently writing. In a 1997 online discussion he said, “I never discuss what I am working on until it is done. It's a superstition of mine. Many writers share it.”

Prior to a Crichton book release, the only information readers usually had was the description provided by the publisher. (Speculation abounded, but that was part of the fun.)

After a book’s release, Crichton would give many interviews, and that is something I missed very much when Pirate Latitudes was published.

Now we’re awaiting the November 22 release of Micro, the technothriller Crichton was working on when he died, completed by science writer Richard Preston. Publisher HarperCollins has described the novel as "a high concept thriller in the vein of Jurassic Park."

HarperCollins isn’t just trying to market Micro by associating it with Crichton’s most popular work. Crichton himself made the connection in two interviews.

From a December 2006 interview with the Sunday Times:

As far as his next books are concerned, it's time to lighten up. "I've decided to do something that's just fun to do. I think I'm always concerned about becoming a scold. I'll just do something closer to Jurassic Park."

And in the March 2007 interview “Seven Answers From Michael Crichton” when asked what he was working on now, Crichton replied:

“An adventure story like Jurassic Park. I'm enjoying myself.”

In addition, we have valuable information from a Harper Collins press release:

In an unfinished introduction to MICRO, [Crichton] wrote, "Perhaps the single most important lesson to be learned by direct experience is that the natural world, with all its elements and interconnections, represents a complex system and therefore we cannot understand it and we cannot predict its behavior...Interacting with the natural world, we are denied certainty. And always will be."

To better understand the meaning of Crichton’s words, it is useful to examine what he said in his June 2008 radio interview with Dennis Miller. (This was the last interview Michael Crichton gave, so far as I have been able to discover.)

Miller asked about the topic of his forthcoming book, and Crichton said:

“The last few books have shown me how many people really don’t have good information about the environment. So I thought I’d try and write a book that wouldn’t rile everybody up but would be informative in a way that would be fun, and would give them some information about how our environment really is structured.” (Part 1 at 9:07)

Now let’s take a closer look at what Crichton wrote in his unfinished intro to Micro.

“…the single most important lesson to be learned by direct experience…”

Crichton’s autobiography Travels contains a chapter titled “Direct Experience” where he writes:

“One of the most difficult features of direct experience is that it is unfiltered by any theories and expectations. It’s hard to observe without imposing a theory to explain what we’re seeing, but the trouble with theories, as Einstein said, is that they explain not only what is observed, but what can be observed. We start to build expectations based on our theories. And often those expectations get in the way.” (p. 351)

“…the natural world, with all its elements and interconnections, represents a complex system, therefore we cannot understand it and we cannot predict its behavior.”

Crichton addressed this topic in a November 2005 speech:

We live in a world of complex systems. The environment is a complex system. The government is a complex system. Financial markets are complex systems. The human mind is a complex system. Most minds anyway.

By a complex system, I mean one in which the elements of the system interact among themselves such that any modification we make to the system will produce results that we can’t predict in advance.

In addition, a complex system is sensitive to initial conditions. You can get one result from it on one day, but the identical interaction the next day will yield a different result. We cannot know with certainty how the system will respond.

Third, when we do something to a complex system, we may get downstream consequences that emerge weeks or even years later. We have to be watchful for delayed and untoward consequences.

“Interacting with the natural world, we are denied certainty. And always will be."

Crichton wrote of this issue in his Author's Message from State of Fear:

“We know astonishingly little about every aspect of the environment, from its past history, to its present state, to how to conserve and protect it. In every debate, all sides overstate the extent of existing knowledge and its degree of certainty….I am certain there is too much certainty in the world.”

So will Micro create the controversy that State of Fear did? Will Crichton’s views on the environment come through clearly in the novel? With great anticipation, we wait and watch.

Happy Earth Day - Cool It!

Happy Earth Day! I think this is an appropriate thing to celebrate on a blog about Michael Crichton. (And I did so in 2010 and 2009.)

Crichton made it clear in his speeches, interviews, and the “Author’s Message” of State of Fear that he cared very much about the environment.

From Michael Crichton’s testimony in the Senate hearing on September 28, 2005:

“In closing, I want to state emphatically that nothing in my remarks should be taken to imply that we can ignore our environment, or that we should not take climate change seriously. On the contrary, we must dramatically improve our record on environmental management. That's why a focused effort on climate science, aimed at securing sound, independently verified answers to policy questions, is so important now.”

In November 2005 I was fortunate enough to participate in a Barnes & Noble online discussion with Michael Crichton on his novel State of Fear.

Crichton was asked: If you had a book club, what would it be reading -- and why?

His reply:

"Bjorn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist. It's one of the most important books of the last decade because it carefully details a new environmental agenda, which I think is vitally important."

In September 2007 Lomborg published Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming. Crichton reviewed the book for Amazon, saying:

"Bjørn Lomborg is the best-informed and most humane advocate for environmental change in the world today. In contrast to other figures that promote a single issue while ignoring others, Lomborg views the globe as a whole, studies all the problems we face, ranks them, and determines how best, and in what order, we should address them."

In 2010, a documentary Cool It, based on Lomborg’s book was released. The film is now available on DVD,

Michael Crichton - Independent Institute Speech DVD

Last night I watched a DVD of a speech Michael Crichton gave on November 15, 2005 for the Independent Institute at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. You can see Crichton’s speech on his website, but the DVD has much more.

The video on Crichton’s website runs 52:07, while the DVD runs 117 minutes and includes the entire event. In addition to Crichton’s speech, there are also short talks by:

Bruce Ames - Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Sallie Louise Baliunas - a research astrophysicist and former Deputy Director and Director of Science Programs at Mount Wilson Observatory. The recipient of the Newton-Lacy-Pierce Prize and the Bok Prize, she received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from Harvard University

William M. Gray - Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, head of the Tropical Meteorology Project at CSU, and a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society

George H. Taylor - the State Climatologist for Oregon and Professor of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University

The DVD States of Fear: Science or Politics? can be purchased for $16.95 from the Independent Institute. It also contains a question and answer section with more remarks from Crichton.

The transcript for the event can be read online, but I highly recommend purchasing the DVD, as the transcript does not show slides and visuals from the other speakers’ talks.


Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
Kahlessa's Corner

With Anticipation and Some Sadness

Pirate Latitudes is coming out tomorrow and I will be first in line at my bookstore for my copy. I’m very excited about reading the novel, but I also find myself feeling sad. For several years now, when Michael Crichton published a new book, we could look forward to his television appearances to promote it. The day Crichton’s last novel Next was released in 2006, he appeared on Good Morning America, and later on appeared on Book TV and Charlie Rose. This time he won’t be there to tell about his book. I will be thinking of him a great deal tomorrow.

On a positive note, there's been an interesting development recently:

Hacked Emails Show Climate Science Ridden with Rancor
By Keith Johnson, Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2009

The picture that emerges of prominent climate-change scientists from the more than 3,000 documents and emails accessed by hackers and put on the Internet this week is one of professional backbiting and questionable scientific practices. It could undermine the idea that the science of man-made global warming is entirely settled just weeks before a crucial climate-change summit.

What has been revealed so far does much to vindicate Crichton’s thoughts on global warming, as stated in the author’s message and appendix of his novel State of Fear and in speeches he has made.

Somewhere, I think Michael Crichton is smiling right now.

Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
Kahlessa's Corner

Pirate Latitudes to be Released in UK Before US?

According to the Harper Collins UK and Amazon UK websites, the UK edition of Michael Crichton’s new novel Pirate Latitudes is scheduled for a Monday November 16 release—a full eight days before the US release on Tuesday November 24 according to the Harper Collins, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble websites. I’ll make some inquiries and see what I can find out. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a book by an American author released abroad before being released in the US.

Side note: Actor John Bedford Lloyd will be reading the audio book of Pirate Latitudes. Lloyd also did the audio edition of Crichton’s State of Fear

(Thank you, Pavel, for bring this to my attention!)

Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
http://kahlessa.proboards80.com/index.cgi

Michael Crichton on Civility in Discussions

In November 2005 I was fortunate enough to participate in a Barnes & Noble online discussion with Michael Crichton on his novel State of Fear. Most of those participating were civil, though one man, “Adam”, seemed to have joined up just to get in Crichton’s face. The moderator dealt with him as best he could and finally Michael Crichton posted this:

Adam, debate---including spirited debate--- is enjoyable, interesting and informative. It sometimes even changes peoples' minds.

But you have to be open to it, you have to be courteous, and you have to be careful about sarcasm and snottiness.

And especially you have to be mindful, as Mill observed, to state your opponents' views correctly and with care.

You don't.

So there's no discussion possible with you.

Crichton’s advice should be heeded by those on both sides of the political aisle.

Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
http://kahlessa.proboards80.com/index.cgi

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! I feel the need to point out yet again, that being skeptical about mankind's contribution to global warming does not mean you don't care about the planet. It's interesting that if you express the slightest reservation about the causes and cures of global warming, people act like you're going on a hunting trip for endangered species.

This exchange between Kenner and Ted Bradley in Michael Crichton's State of Fear makes a good point:

“So what exactly is your point?” Bradley said. “You're saying that we don't need to pay any attention to the environment, that we can just leave it alone and let industry pollute and everything will be hunky-dory?”
For a moment, it looked to Sarah as if Kenner would get angry, but he did not. He said, “If you oppose the death penalty, does it also mean you are in favor of doing nothing at all about crime?”
“No,” Ted said.
”You can oppose the death penalty but still favor punishing criminals?”
”Yes. Of course.”
”Then I can say that global warning is not a threat, but still favor environmental controls, can't I?” (426-427)

Crichton clarified his own position during his testimony in the Senate hearing on September 28, 2005:

“In closing, I want to state emphatically that nothing in my remarks should be taken to imply that we can ignore our environment, or that we should not take climate change seriously. On the contrary, we must dramatically improve our record on environmental management. That's why a focused effort on climate science, aimed at securing sound, independently verified answers to policy questions, is so important now.”

Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
http://kahlessa.proboards80.com/index.cgi

Letter to Michael Crichton - State of Fear

April 17, 2005

Dear Dr. Crichton,

On State of Fear and the State of Science

Like all your novels, I bought State of Fear the day it came out, and enjoyed it greatly. One of my favorite parts was the annotated bibliography. I read mostly non-fiction, so when I read a fiction book or see a feature film, I start looking for non-fiction books related to the subject. I just finished Beckerman’s A Poverty of Reason and am currently reading Wildavsky’s Searching for Safety. For me, fiction is like dessert—it’s nice to have from time to time, but I can’t sustain myself on it.

What surprises me is how some people can’t discuss State of Fear or global warming calmly. They get angry at any questioning of global warming—as though it is a foregone conclusion. I myself think it’s healthy to have my assumptions challenged on a regular basis. It seems rather than utilizing science as an independent and objective basis on which to formulate policy, it has for many become a tool to justify and promote an already reached conclusion. A professor of mine retired earlier than he had planned, giving as his reason that “I cannot stomach what passes for knowledge these days.”

A few years ago, I taught a survey of science course at a tech-vocational college. For most of the students, this was probably the last science class they would have. What I wanted them to take away from it was a good understanding of the scientific method, some healthy skepticism, and a few critical thinking skills. The first night I wrote on the board, “How do you know what you think you know?” I held up a bottle of Echinacea and asked the class what it does. One student replied, “It strengthens your immune system.” Then I read the disclaimer on the bottle—“These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.” I went on to talk about double-blind testing, statistical evidence versus anecdotal evidence, and how correlation does not equal causality. In later classes, we examined the problems of bias in research, and one of their projects was to come up with a hypothesis and design a study that would objectively test it. One thing I required was that any Internet sources had to be approved. People don’t often realize that the Internet is a playground for conspiracy theorists. I stressed that people should not hesitate to question anything, and should demand evidence for conclusions being presented as facts. When the course was done, one student told me, “You’ve changed the way I look at the world.”

I admire you greatly for the way you challenge your readers and make them think. That’s not just entertainment—that’s an invaluable service to our society.

Everybody has an agenda except you and me. And possibly my cats.

Respectfully yours,

Marla Warren


Links and more info on Michael Crichton at:
http://kahlessa.proboards80.com/index.cgi