Posted on 01/24/2016 2:57:47 AM PST by Fhios
I was a big fan in the early 80's. I had a week long correspondence with him in the mid 90's.
I loved reading his Chaos Manner column in Byte magazine along with Garcia s circuit cellar.
It was a great mag.
I've been rereading some of his works lately and just reminiscing.
Jerry Pournelle s Iron law:
...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representatives who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.
That book got me started accumulating knowledge e.g. hoarding books ;-)
I loved the Moties.
Big fan of his fiction and computer articles back in the day. Sorry to hear about his stroke, I did not know he suffered one.
"Oath of Fealty" (with Larry Niven) -- about the conflicts between a privately financed and built "arcology" (city in a building) and nearby Los Angles.
"High Justice" -- a collection of pro-big-business science fiction stories.
Mr Pournelle has been a favorite of mine for years. He has been an advocate against the liberal socialists since the 1960s. Much of his writings reflect this viewpoint.
Yes, he has had significant health issues and I wish him the best!
Footfall, fantastic!
BTW, met him and Larry Niven at con in Memphis years ago, like a sci-fi version of The Odd Couple, one in suit and tie and the other looking like a convention attendee, but Lord! what they wrote...
Ironically, after I did so I rereadCheck out the Wiki, he s a must read for Conservatives.. . . and followed that link. Which, after reciting Pournelle's Iron Law, commented
This can be compared to the Iron law of oligarchy (same wiki link as cited in my post).(chuckle)
BTT for my surfboard...
I was a big fan in the early 80's. I had a week long correspondence with him in the mid 90's.
Read him long ago. Actually, when he first started publishing, in Analog.
Jerry and Larry (Niven) for the win! Best sci-fi team up in the history of the written word.
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