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by eric4smith 1300 days ago
Some concepts are hard to grasp because of their scale.

Greg Bear was the first person who really made me understand time slowing down as speed increases in Anvil of Stars.

Also the destruction of earth in “The Forge of God” was so visceral that I was depressed in a dark place for days after finishing it.

Not to mention one of the few authors who very well explained the role of bacteria and viruses in very entertaining and hard sci-fi believable fashion.

RIP.

3 comments

"...me understand time slowing down as speed increases in Anvil of Stars."

For me it was Tau Zero by Poul Anderson

And Poul Anderson was Bear's Father-in-law! I'd loved to have heard a discussion of such concepts between them.
Forge of God and Anvil of Stars are 2 of my favourite books, as is Eon.

He really helped me soar among the stars. Thank you Greg Bear, rest easy now.

Common misconception. It’s important to realise that time doesn’t slow down. Time always passes at 1 second per second. Here a physicist explains it:

https://twitter.com/seanmcarroll/status/1435400040072232962

My mistake. I refer to time as it is relatively perceived as in "relativity".