Insecure, ill-dressed chaos theorist desires intelligent, insightful, incandescent trends researcher. Must be SC. Yes, this is a romance novel, of sorts. With socially awkward scientists and stuff. But it has something that most romance novels only aspire to: it’s laugh out loud funny. And smart. And sneaky: under the disguise of the boy meets girl plot, you might find out more than you bargained for about science, and about what makes us human. It is what The Big Bang Theory should have been and has no need of a laughter track.You need to read the book to find out what SC stands in for. And why acronyms are an annoying fad that refuses to go gently into the oblivion of past similar fads. Management is probably responsible for its longevity. -t What’s the meeting about?-tManager went to another seminar. Which means a sensitivity exercise, a new acronym, and more paperwork for us. Having worked in Quality Management Systems for a few years, I can atest to the accuracy of this observation about pointless meetings and improvement ideas that mean nothing more than another batch of paper forms to fill. But that’s only one of the fads discussed in the book. Sandra Foster is a researcher in a big institute called HiTek and her project is the study of all fads, fashions, trends: how are they started, why are people following them blindly, how can they be controlled, predicted, used (presumably by the big corporations that are sponsoring her studies). Hula-hoops, hair-bobbing, Rubik cubes, miniskirts, crocs, pointy shoes, Kewpie Dolls, chain letters, tattoos and crinolines – what do they have in common? and why is there a nexus of fad initiation in Marydale, Ohio? Science has its fads and crazes, like anything else: string theory, eugenics, mesmerism. The answer might have something to do with the research of another scientist in the same HiTek building, Doctor Bennet O’Reilly, whose interests lean towards chaos theory. He is trying to isolate the rogue element in a system of known variables or, to put it more simply, he would like to study the group behaviour of monkeys and extrapolate the findings to humans. He is only missing the monkeys, as the bureaucratic wheels in the institute move at a snail pace, with endless meetings and paperwork and little actual research done. The situation is hardly improved by Flip, the office assistant from Hell, who is allergic to work and misdelivers messages, mails and instructions from management. But at least Flip is incidental in the novel’s plot, as one one of her ‘accidental’ deliveries brings Bennet and Sandra together. With both of them being single, smart and workaholics, you don’t need a master’s degree in science to figure out they will fall for each other: I had been following the oldest trend of all. Right over the cliff. They take their time though in getting together, preferring instead to concentrate on work and on the multiple obstacles put in the way of their success by Flip (“An antiangel, wandering through the world spreading gloom and destruction.”), Managment and a reluctant flock of sheep. You might wonder what trending and chaos theory have in common, and how sheep get included in the equation. And what exactly is a bellwether? I won’t tell you here, better pick up the book and find out for yourselves. I wouldn’t want to spoil all the jokes and the screwball connections.(view spoiler)[ - A bellwether’s a sheep.-tA special breed?-tNope. Same breed. Same sheep, only it’s got something that makes the rest of the flock follow it. Usually it’s an old ewe, and some people think it’s something to do with hormones; other people think it’s something in their looks. A teacher of mine said they’re born with some kind of leadership ability. (hide spoiler)]
Oh, library, you let me down! I found this mis-shelved in the sci-fi section. Though, I guess I can see how Mystery Library Shelver and I were fooled. Going by the jacket, it looks just like I'd imagine an exciting sci-fi thriller of ideas would look - The front cover shows butterflies with fractal designs on them (butterfly effect!) and a mysterious face with some kind of science happening to it, while the back synopsis promises hi-tech corporate intrigue, chaos theory, fads/memes, and... - alright, sold! Sadly, in the 2/3rds of Bellwether I read, pretty much nothing happened. All the non-action takes place in a corporate research lab where our heroine is resident social-science expert in the study of fads. Much of the book randomly recounts the history of certain fads that the author came across during research, while the rest follows our protagonist as she complains about her terrible punk-rock lab assistant, tries to assemble various forms for management, and rails against anti-smoking legislation. The inept/terrible lab assistant exists as a lazy crutch to get plot moving - packages get mis-delivered and forms get mangled so that fortuitous meetings can occur, etc. Except that the lab assistant even fails at this because none of these meetings seem to go anywhere. There is an overarching subplot about a mystery grant that everyone is trying to get and I'm guessing the plot, when it happens, has something to do with that grant, chaos theory, and our hero's work researching fads (as well as a character who may become her non-fad-following love interest). Anyway, fads/memes and chaos theory could be tied together in an interesting way, but it never happened in the parts I read. Bellwether did offer an interesting window into late 80s culture with its many anti-anti-smoking screeds. It's a cultural battle that's basically been decided and isn't questioned now, so it's kind of fascinating to see the protagonist/author proudly take up the losing side before it lost, assuming that anti-smoking is potentially dangerous fad - equating anti-smoking laws & accompanying social pressure to a kind of unhealthy groupthink that's less about health and more about stamping out individuality. To think - every annoyed cough from somebody's second-hand smoke was me just hating freedom...
What do You think about Bellwether (1997)?
My main problem with Connie Willis books is that they usually have great characters and an interesting plot, but are thick with too much narrative padding, typically in the form of "funny bits" about bureaucratic incompetence and miscommunication due to mishaps with modern technology, and exhaustively-researched recitation of facts tangentially related to the story (famous last words and the Titanic disaster in Passage; facts of life during the Blitz in Blackout/All Clear; etc.). I go back and forth on whether these quirks ruin her novels or just make them more frustrating than they should be.Bellwether is, on the other hand, a thin novel, but bizarrely, instead of a plot it includes only the narrative padding that makes up the worst third of any of her other books.And some how, it is kind of great! I mean, no, there isn't a plot. And the characters are her typical bumbling, absent-minded professors, researching something while making wry observations about how annoying everyone around them is. It's right in the author's wheelhouse, and she does it well here. The topic of the day this time is fads -- the origin of groupthink, essentially -- as well as chaos theory, which was kind of a big deal at the time thanks to the release of Jurassic Park a few years earlier (come on, admit it: you only know what chaos theory is because Jeff Goldblum explained it to you). Connie Willis Protagonist Sandra Foster (think Kate Hepburn) is working for HiTek Corporation, a ludicrous parody of the worst in '90s corporate trends, trying to figure out what caused the hair-bobbing craze of the '20s... for some reason. She falls in with another scientist, an affable Spencer Tracy type, who is studying chaotic systems. Toss in some colorful supporting characters (Sarcastic slacker office assistant! Management-type only referred to as Management, like that is his name!), a malfunctioning cell phone, a few comic set-pieces, and a whole herd of sheep, and you've got a more than passable attempt at a literary version of a classic screwball comedy. It's not quite as zany as, say, Bringing Up Baby, but it reminded me a lot of Desk Set, a semi-obscure Tracy & Hepburn movie that is also about a romance blossoming amid a workplace in upheaval thanks to the follies of corporate "innovation." It's not the world's most memorable flick, but it's a lot of fun, and that sums up this book nicely.
—j
A very different take on marketing and trends than the one presented in William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition!" Still, this book has some similarities: they're both non-sci-fi novels by authors known for their science fiction, and they both deal, thematically, with the human tendency toward ‘fads.' However, where Gibson's character Cayce has an almost psychic attunement to these trends, Willis' narrator is a much less glamorous, stressed-out researcher who's trying to understand how and why trends happen by attempting to track down the source of past fads. Plagued by the uniquely-fashionable but totally incompetent assistant, Flip (who is nearly the exact same character as ‘Bubbles' in Absolutely Fabulous [at least, I kept seeing her]), her work takes her through the maze of academic research institutions, bureaucratic red tape and illogical management, a mysteriously attractive scientist who seems to be immune to trends – to say nothing of the flock of sheep! ;-)I didn't think this book was quite as good as either of the other Willis books I've read, but it was still definitely a fun and witty read.
—Althea Ann
This book has gotten rave reviews. I don’t think I got it. I’ve been really lucky to work in fairly healthy, functional places where you could, usually, just sit down and do your job, which probably reduces my empathy for the poor folks who have to fill out 27 page forms for pencils. (I have noticed whenever HR gets involved, work satisfaction and productivity plummets, but mercifully, we usually keep them out of the Temple of Justice. Or, at least, the top floor where I work.) Anyhoo, this book was fun on the “another science fiction book involving sheep in a creative way.” Fresh use of the tropes of desire, butterfly effect, misdelivered mail, and sheep. Possibly a cautionary tale about letting your administrative assistants spend too much time with your sheep.
—Laura
