Brilliantly creative minds seem to abound in the world of literature. Some writers seem to effortlessly capture immensely complex ideas on paper in such an interesting and enlightening way that I find their words quite remarkable. When I read classics which demonstrate this superior planning of character development and plot I feel awed by the author’s mastery of his/her art and the agility of their mental processes.
One writer I have included in my category of brilliantly creative minds is H.G. Wells. He is, of course, a famous and international known writer and his books have been made into movies, but I did not appreciate his sheer brilliance as a philosopher and analysis of human behaviour until I listened to the audio books of, firstly, War of the Worlds, and secondly, The Time Machine, over the past few weeks.
The movies of both of these books do not focus on their philosophical elements which, to me, were the most amazing and intriguing ideas in the books. H.G. Wells depiction of the Martians as beings that have evolved into such highly complex and intellectual creatures that they no longer require a body astonished me in it’s cleverness.
If you think about it, machines are always superior in strength and endurance to any physical being and if you are able to create machines to do all the tasks you require, why would you need to bother with maintaining a physical body? The Martians are merely brains with large eyes and hand-like tentacles which enable them to operate their many amazing machines. In order to focus only on intellectual pursuits, the Martians have eliminated emotions from their genetic make-up and they do not feel empathy, sadness, joy, fear or any of the other emotions that distract human beings. They are creatures of logic and their decisions are not hampered by emotion, sexual desire or even pleasure in eating and drinking. They do not eat but rather inject blood from a living being directly into their own veins. This really made me think as people with unusually high IQ’s often have low EQ’s and find it difficult relating to other people. What would our world be like if all of humanity were genetically engineered to create only geniuses?
The Time Machine also demonstrates and unusual understanding of the factors that drive human intelligence. In this book, the Time Traveler goes many thousands of years forward in time. He finally arrives at an age which, on the surface, appears to be a golden age where men have managed to achieve a purely communistic society where everyone enjoys the same benefits. There is no hunger, suffering or deprivation in this far distant time. The Time Traveler, however, soon discovers that the price man has paid for this Utopian world is his intelligence. The human-like creatures that inhabit the upper world have the mentality of children and lack any motivation to produce or create anything. H.G. Wells’ explanation is that if all your needs are met and there is no need to use intelligence to survive through means such as building shelter, storing food and fighting attackers, the intelligence will become obsolete through lack of challenge and use.
I thought these two ideas on the evolution of society were fascinating. What do you think? What brilliantly creative minds have you come across through reading fiction?
This post was written for Linda G Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday challenge: https://lindaghill.com/2019/05/17/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-18-19/
roberta-writes.com 
Pure intellect and/or final achievement of endless utopia would be the end of our species (and very boring)
Well done on a great analysis of each scenario, Robbie (H.G. Wells was the perfect choice of author) 🤗❤️🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Chris, and I absolutely agree with you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
A great analysis by, Robbie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing, Chris. I am glad I read the two books closely together. It allowed me to really appreciate HG Wells’ genius.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooooloau!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Willow.
LikeLike
It was a great post 💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve read the Time Machine and War of the Worlds is on my TBR. I thought the Time Machine’s commentary on evolution was so astute, especially for the time. Sometimes I wonder how mental illness, had Wells known more about it/them, would have played into it. IQ often correlates with depression, family history of schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses. If we try to breed more intelligent humans, will they be miserable?
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have hit on one of my theories. I brought it out in my flash fiction called Aging. If we only focus on those of higher intelligence we may end up with a society full of OCD, PTSD, manic depressants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Similar ideas about what humanity may eventually become are expressed in Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari, which I read a few months ago and found quite interesting. It’s the sort of book you can argue with while thinking about things in a new way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for mentioning this book, Audrey. I will find a copy. So interesting to think about the various possible outcomes for humanity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, Robbie.
LikeLike
As you commented on a recent short story of mine, this idea of brain over physical self has long been something I’ve kicked around (and I don’t mind at all saying I’d trade in my lump of flesh for a jar 😉 ). I also think a writer with an astoundingly creative mind (who may or may not have been from the future) was Gene Roddenberry aka, Father of Star Trek. When I stop and think about how he created the idea of warp drive, teleporters, food replicators and computer tablets people could “tap” on, I think about how much of a visionary he was. Or, again, from the futur 😏
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are quite right about Gene Roddenberry, Jessica, he is another amazing mind. I am in awe of these great visionaries. John Wyndham was another and so was Bram Stoker.
LikeLike
Films, of course, rely on the action, so can’t really bring out all the deeper philosophical thoughts. That’s why I prefer to read the books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I also rarely watch movies, preferring to read the books.
LikeLike
I think that authors in Wells’ time spent a lot of time thinking and philosophizing before writing their books. They would write letters about their thoughts, developing them. We don’t do that much anymore. How many blogs are out there expounding on the kinds of concepts H.G. Wells discussed? Also current writing styles don’t allow for so much “telling.” So how do we progress with creating fascinating concepts?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, you do make a good point. I must rethink the telling as sometimes it is definitely needed to enhance the story.
LikeLike
I enjoy Wells as well, and Ray Bradbury.
My favorite book on a proposed future, that most astounded me at the time, is Anthem by Ayn Rand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Chelsea, I will look that book up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
he was a gifted philosopher at many levels
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Kate. I really was.
LikeLiked by 1 person
He was way beyond his time. I read The Time Machine when I was a kid. I made a note after this to read it again. He had an amazing way of drawing the reader in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Bryan. I agree, he is a brilliant writer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am a great fan of Science Fiction and I can see many parts of H. G. Well’s ideas throughout the many ‘new’ Sci Fi shows and movies that one would like to think were original ideas. Take the emotional states of the Vulcan of Star Trek. And the Star Wars franchise in which even in death the Force can be with us and guide us. Yet each series does have its own challengers to test the creative limits of those who can ‘think’. Will there ever be a time in humanity or in outer-space when we can focus on creative thinking in a constantly peaceable environment? I’m not sure that is in human nature or maybe even in any other beings who might be out there – observing us. Many bring up the point that there must be intelligent life in outer-space because they are staying well away of earth and its bipedal inhabitants 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
You do make a good point. I don’t believe it is possible with human nature being what it is, for people to reach a stage of supreme peace. Of course, in The Time Machine, the peaceable state of existence of the Upper Worlders is a fallacy as they are the victims of the Under Worlders who were their slaves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a new Sci Fi series called The Orville – and one of the premises/battles/conflicts is the Robots or AI that have taken over their own world from their human creators, no longer have space on their own planet for their continued multiplication that now they seek other worlds to dominate.
My guess is that there are only so many stories. But it is the way they are recycled that makes reading or watching them enjoyable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, that is true of all genres. Writers also tend to write about topical issues so the “new advancements” are well covered.
LikeLiked by 1 person