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OT- Rules of Gunfighting
In article ,
says...
pyotr filipivich wrote:
Those were "Fair witnesses", who trained hard to report only what they
personally had seen or heard, regardless of what their personal opinion was.
They didn't offer advice, even to their clients. Sort of a human
"tricorder."
It's been a long, LONG time since I read the book; but I think
you're right on all counts. Still, the idea of having human tricorders
assumes (as Heinlein's fictitious world clearly did) that there is some
authority, some universally accepted source of judgement, which actually
cares about the truth, and is able to use it for good purpose.
My memory has combined and over-simplified the specifics; but I
think the meaning and theme of what I remember is essentially correct.
KG
What caught my interest about the "Fair Witness" thing was that they were
needed not in spite of advanced technology, but because of it. While all
sorts of snooping and recording technology was available to the
characters of the novel, the art of special effects had also been raised
to a level where any sort of recording could be seamlessly edited. The
word of a trained impartial observer carried more weight in court.
Later,
Joe
The worst thing about really good science fiction is that it refuses to
remain fiction.
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