Matt Gurney: An Outside Context Problem for the Western Alliance

If the late British author Iain M. Banks was right, we might all be about to see our civilizations — as we've known them, anyway — go extinct.

By: Matt Gurney

Regular listeners of our podcasts will know that in recent weeks I’ve taken to discussing a concept known as the “outside context problem.” An outside context problem, or OCP, is a concept that originated with the late British sci-fi author Iain M. Banks. It comes from his novel Excession. It’s one of the most interesting concepts I have ever contemplated, and I think it is absolutely helpful in understanding the genuinely awful situation that Canadian and other Western allied leaders now find themselves in.

It is, I’m sorry to say, very bad news. Potentially the worst news.

Although, before we get too much deeper into the column, I have to confess something. I’ve never read the book.