Macroscope /

Macroscope is a novel by science fiction and fantasy writer Piers Anthony. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1970. Macroscope was first published in 1969 and in some respects reflects the idealistic values of that time. The plot involves, among other things, an extension of the Peckham Experiment, mathematicians John Conway and Michael Paterson's game of sprouts, astrology, the poetry of Sidney Lanier, the history of Phoenicia, and commentary on the value of a dedicated teacher of a subject contrasted with a spracticing engineer of that subject attempting to teach it, all in a kaleidoscopic combination. The book fills a unique place in Anthony's work as one that has garnered good reviews from hard-core science fiction fans as well as his usual audience of fantasy fans. The central device is an instrument capable of viewing anywhere in the Galaxy, and which could be also used for communications by advanced civilizations. The effects of massively advanced technology in the hands of 'immature' species were so bad that more advanced civilizations permanently jammed the macroscope's "channel" with a signal that destroyed the mind of any sufficiently intelligent, but