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Brain Wave by Poul Anderson
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Brain Wave

by Poul Anderson

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288716,492 (3.47)9
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A cosmic event causes the co-inhabitants of planet earth to leap suddenly forward in intelligence. Everyone is suddenly stratspherically smarter, even the animals.

How would society cope if everyone were suddenly a genius, and the dumb beasts of burden no longer dumb. Would society as you know it tear itself apart and descend into anarchy. . . . can there be any future for a world of super-intelligent beings?

The writing style has dated somewhat, however this remains a fascinating classic of science fiction. ( )
bruceandceals | Mar 5, 2009 |  
One of my favorite stories of all time. Read it as a teenager. Re-read it with a girlfriend I wanted to share it with a decade later. I want to re-read it again just thinking about it -- soon. I wish there were a sequel that went into more depth with some of the characters (both human and animal). ( )
Shijuro | Feb 10, 2009 |  
There was so much potential here that never quite came to be. For instance, the animal intelligence could have been played out more. Also, transitions were almost non-existent. You would follow one character, then go onto another, then come back to the first at a later time with no explanation of whatever came of the previous scenario. The concept was interesting enough that It kept my attention, which is hard to do these days. ( )
tursach_anam | Dec 16, 2008 |  
A quick, fun read with a fairly original premise (at least, one that hasn't been done to death). My chief complaint is that I wanted to know more; I feel as though we hardly get to know the characters, and that there are some potentially very interesting pieces of information that we are not privy to. On the one hand, if the biggest complaint about a book is that there isn't enough of it, most authors would gladly take that. On the other, On the other, since we hardly know these characters, it's hard to care about them, or to get very engrossed in the story.

There was potential here; the book is by no means bad, but it could have been quite good. ( )
stypulkoski | Nov 28, 2008 | 1 vote
http://www.wowio.com/users/product.as...

Brain Wave describes what happens when an astromonical phenomenon passes Earth, and elevates the intelligence of a sizable proportion of the planet's population.

This causes plenty of changes, as super geniuses have to keep busy and keep from getting bored, somehow.

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2008/08/br... ( )
bluetyson | Aug 13, 2008 |  
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The trap had closed at sundown.
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Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 034527556X, Mass Market Paperback)

For millions of years, the part of the galaxy containing our solar system has been moving through a vast force field whose effect has been to inhibit "certain electromagnetic and electrochemical processes" and thus certain neurotic functions. When Earth escapes the inhibiting field, synapse speed immediately increases, causing a rise in intelligence, which results in a transfigured humanity reaching for the stars, leaving behind our earth to the less intelligent humans and animal lifeforms. A transcendent look at the possible effects of enhanced intelligence on our planet.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:12 -0400)

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