Michael Crichton on People Who Don't Mind Their Own Business

[GrapeLola]

I really like how he just answers honestly and doesn't talk down to the students simply because they are young.

[Heteroz]

Crichton doesnt have time for anything other than looking for his oxygen tank. He looks like shit.

[Ekkobelli]

@Heteroz

Doesn't look bad for his age there. He was already over 60 at that point, wasn't he?

You shouldn't be too sure about the smoking thing, as he quitted smoking long time ago.

He had throat cancer though, afaik.

[Heteroz]

Crichton is a jackass. Maybe he should go blow smoke up some republican congressmans ass instead of insisting that secondhand smoke is harmless. But isnt that why the fool died? from smoking?

[libbypw]

I think the "deep and secret human impulse" is fear. Maybe this fear made humans stick together in prehistoric times, but it has been mutated to the point people do not want to feel the intrinsic fear that individual responsibilities cause. That fear is a motivator, and I think that is why so many young people today embrace socialism. Their only motivation is to avoid fear. Giving ones liberties over to a totalitarian government removes that fear. Nanny states know this fear.

[mateo3470]

People crave predictability and certainty. On the other hand, the real world is complex and unpredictable, but that's why people rebel against it by means of statism or religion. Of course, you can't escape it, but a totalitarian point of view is like a cure-all drug to people. Moral clarity is returned to them and their role in the world becomes less ambiguous. It solves a basic existential crisis. It reduces the influence of the unknown. It's actually freedom that scares most people.

[LicoriceLain]

@mateo3470 Luckily, I know I am the kind of person who isn't scared by it. ;)

[IMPYEMU]

The creator of Jurassic Park!

[JohnnyMac2237]

One of my few heros. I genius..A Rational man.. and liberterian at heart.

He may not read fiction but I read his because he consolidates scientific fact into his readings and creates a fictional story it can be applied to.

You changed my life Mr. Crichton.

[steinasaurus]

in a way that they can understand i mean

[LicoriceLain]

@steinasaurus You underestimate teens (and children in general).

[steinasaurus]

hes too brilliant to speak to children. so funny.

[Entropy56]

The sad truth about liberals is that they have morphed into socialists. Socialism by definition is the attempt to control behavior in every area of life far worse than religion.

[LicoriceLain]

@Entropy56 Eh.... I am a Marxist, and there are only a couple changes I would like to see in our society. 1-people not feeling justified in dictating how another behaves. and 2-take the ability to swindle and fuck over everyone else from the rich. Just those two things. Everything else I want would only add, not take away.

[jjjooommm222]

Excelent comment from Crichton. I wonder this myself. Whenever some new law is proposed or enacted (almost always with criminal sanctions for some reason- they can't just have it be civil and use fines and injunctions for some reason) that punishes behavior not violative of another's rights, I think about this. Why do people feel the need to control others? The drug war is a good example. We spend 50 billion or so domestically on this and jail many for victimless crimes.Why?

[jimbopumbapigsticks]

Knowing a lot of things doesn't make you smart. It's knowing how much there is you don't know that makes you smart.

[weallknowitstrue]

Good WORK Lord Monckton.

I hope that you will noted and honoured as you should be.

Please continue until this matter of Global Warming is sealed to never return again.

So that we can all get back to focusing on local pollution - were we actually can effect change to our local environment, without needing a global carbon tax to do it.

Cheers to you Monckton

[ecordy75]

I do not read fiction, either (except what I had to do for school). Crichton starts preaching his form of libertarianism, but I can guarantee with 100% certainty that he will apply his philosophy ONLY to very specific political groups, specifically, civilians, but never to judges, cops, and prison guards. Hence, he loses all credibility. He is merely an entertainer. Period. A FICTION writer. Period.

[ChocolateTystick]

he is a fiction writer answering questions by his fans. not preaching. he does not go out and seek power. power naturally comes to him because he has a powerful soul.

[ecordy75]

There is no such thing as "powerful soul". Chrichton entertain. Period. Nothing wrong with entertainment. But it does not beat the difficulty of hardcore mathematical and computer programming modelling and proof.

Unless you are logically consistent and claim all entertainers are powerful souls. But, again - that's inconsistent with reality. You would need to say EVERYbody is a powerful soul.

[kendoka5]

its too bad that your so-called "hardcore modeling" has no basis in reality and does not even come close to predicting such a complex, non-linear multi vavriable system as the planet's climate. as Crichton himself would point out, such schemes are woefully inadequate and hardly consist of "proof", especially with the fraudulent revelations of the climatescandal have shown. ecorddy75, you pathetic nitwit.

[Ralph64]

I heard Mr. Crichton speak at the Los Angeles Book Fair some years ago.

He had some great insight on the occupation of writing! We so-called writers are prone to exclamations like, "I'm just not in the mood to write today".

Crichton said, "What if airline pilots had that attitude? I don't feel like flying the plane today!"?

You are sorely missed, Michael. You had me hooked with "The Andromeda Strain".

[neoldd1]

Thanks for sharing his thoughts. There aren't enough videos of Crichton on YouTube. He spoke at Universities, Charlie Rose several times, he also testified in front of the US senate on global warming, where are all those videos....?

[Ralph64]

They've been here, I've seen them.

The senate testimony seems to have gone away, but the lectures are better anyway.

[septure951]

i like reading books sometime

[FigurinItOut]

I recently read a book about North Korea. WOW, talk about wanting everybody to think and act the same way!!

Interesting topic. I've stopped and thought about how SO MANY PEOPLE want to tell you what's best for your life. IT'S STUPID, and it's usually the people who are the unhappiest who want to manipulate you.

[bimmjim]

Crichtons novels are full of his missunderstanding of science. Anyone who knows any real science and reads Crichton can see this. I find his writing to be worse than useless crap because it missteaches science. If you disagree please go the nearest high school and have yourself tested in grade 11 math, chemistry, physics and biology. You will fail.

[enomarekim]

mabey because his books are science FICTION. the key word being FICTON. If this is about global warming, you really need to look at the big picture

[bimmjim]

Other sci-fi writers demonstrate, even in their fiction, that they understand science.

[AWS12345678910]

True enough- I'm amusing myself reading a lot of NIven. Apparently Dyson didn't have a problem with his RingWorld, either, though according to Niven, he wondered why not build lots of small Ring Worlds.

[crawnwax]

anyone know when his next book comes out

[Moaaotearoa]

I was saddened to hear of the death of Michael Crichton. Reading his books was always thought provoking and challenging. It is a shame that there will only be one more time I can scan the shelves of book shops in the hope of another offering and find another gem. I look forward to when his last novel is released tempered that it will be the final one.

[stephenkingrocks]

Dr.Crichton has been an inspiration to me for years. He was a genius and he will be missed. I selfishly think of how sad it is that I won't have the thrill of buying a new Crichton novel again. My heart goes out to his wife and daughter.

RIP Michael

[HostageKiller]

His last book is actually still yet to be published.

[stephenkingrocks]

Thanks for the info. I will look out for it

Cheers!

[moses1424]

Ok, really tired of the people knocking his book. If they had actually read it they would know he Isn't saying environmentalsim is a bad thing. He's only saying that we need to have a better understanding of it and gives countless factual examples of people trying to do the right thing but ends up having a negative impact. We don't yet have a well enough understanding of the natural world and the butterfly type effect we can have on it.

[mjn76]

Anytime I want to feel stupid, I read Crichton, lol. He was THAT intelligent.

[T850CSM101a1676]

This could be taken more than one way. ;)

[RetardedTreeHugger]

R.I.P. A LEGEND

[tkpadilla]

that was a pretty good question by that kid.

[brichrmer25]

He is a true genius, and it is a shame that intelligent people never run for president. That is always preserved for the loud rude idiots.

[WilliamWallisVIII]

Could not agree more. However, intelligent people know what they are doing and are hard to control. It seems the best leaders in the world are puppets

[GOPJ00]

He is a great author, show creator, director, writer and producer!

[TurnXTop]

who's the jackass in the crowd making all the noises?

[Whoo69]

"People that don't mind their business"? J/w, is this guy a conservative? Because, if I recall, conservatives in America typically are against stem cell research (and subsequent use of it to cure diseases), abortion rights, and gay marriage as well as gayp adoption. So conservatives don't "mind their own business" just as much as many liberals in this country, so the argument is moot.

[mnil0231]

I don't think he's a conseravtive, so that entire comment is moot. =)

And anyway, if you say you're a conservative, that doesn't mean you agree with everything conservatives do or say. That would be like saying all Nazis agreed with Hitler, and they didn't.

[stephenkingrocks]

You incorrectly use the broad term stem cell research to refer to the practice of embryonic stem cell research. The fact is that the use of umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells that can develop into any tisuue. The same is true of bone marrow, and to a lesser extent, blood and skin cells. The objection of the use of embryonic stem cells is the destruction of life. This would be unnecessary if cord blood, which is abundant, would be used.

chord blood

[ballerfitz22]

I think he doesn't read fiction because he's sop involved in creating an insane fantasy in his head about how the world works that he doesn't need to read anything extra about it. By the way, Michael Crichton feels like he knows how everyone else ought to act as shown by his consistent "attacks" on environmentalsim.

[Gwynne66]

When has Crichton attacked environmentalism?

[johnknoefler]

Crichton is an enviromentalist of the first order. He recommends recycling and is anti pollution. why do you lie? because he does not believe man causes global warming? He has to conform to your view or he has an insane fantasy? Did you do your research? Did you publish a paper? Please show me the link to your online research materials. Michael said himself he doesn't care what others do. He is just stating his opinions from his own research. Look how you attack. He never even attacked Al Gore.

[haldenver]

Here is a guy that really should be President.A brilliant brain with enormous honesty about (lack of) knowledge.

[matt484991]

@haldenver Not only that, he is an excellent speaker.

[matthew871]

Dystopic stories are some of the most pleasurable stories possible

[purkasz]

Right now when we are battling Fundamentalism both within and outside it must seem comforting to be a part of a larger group, much like circling the wagons, a part of the drive for totalitarianism. Otherwise we enjoy our freedoms and love our independence, when the times are NOT fraught with peril. Maybe that's the way it has always been. Michael lives near me and perhaps one day we can discuss this over a cup of Fundamentalist coffee in an outdoor cafe surrounded by Illegal Immigrants. Kidding.

[truthseeker83]

When have times ever not been fraught with peril?

[Whoo69]

these kids are from high school?? The kid who asked the question looked like he was in middle school, tops. Man, why are kids getting smaller and smaller? I thought we're the fattest nation in the world.