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Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

nytimes.com

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Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#11

Post by ecpottinger »

gambler wrote: post #5

I seriously doubt that reading modern science fiction would have the same effect on anyone. Unfortunately. Unfortunately.

There are still lots of good science fiction written today. Unfortunately in the past many of the writers did it because they in turn loved science fiction.

Many (most?) writers in the past barely made a living off their writing and many had to have a second source of income to continue. In other words they did write thinking it would make them rich.

Today with science fiction movies like Blade Runner, Star Wars and Star Trek, and TV shows like West World and Doctor Who and successful books on the Best Seller list writers think there is big money to be made.

This has us ending up with a lot bad writing from people hoping to break in without learning even the basics of science fiction much less learn real science itself.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#12

Post by massafaka »

ConfusedDog wrote: post #4

I grew up with Doraemon comics. It's a robotic raccoon from 22nd century travel back in time to 1980s to help babysit a stupid boy - well, that's mean, but with future tech helped, he got off pretty well and married the prettiest girl, etc. The future tech that raccoon has really got me into engineering. I think that series is a precious. ;-)

I always thought Doraemon was a cat robot. I doubt it's a racoon, because those don't exist in Japan. And I also don't think it's a Tanuki.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#13

Post by coldtea »

massafaka wrote: post #12
ConfusedDog wrote: post #4

I grew up with Doraemon comics. It's a robotic raccoon from 22nd century travel back in time to 1980s to help babysit a stupid boy - well, that's mean, but with future tech helped, he got off pretty well and married the prettiest girl, etc. The future tech that raccoon has really got me into engineering. I think that series is a precious. ;-)

I always thought Doraemon was a cat robot. I doubt it's a racoon, because those don't exist in Japan. And I also don't think it's a Tanuki.

It is a cat, but as for racoons:

https://www.tofugu.com/japan/raccoons-in-japan/

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#14

Post by coldtea »

projectramo wrote: post #8

1. I don't mind if the science is not perfect. If the science conformed 100% with what we know it would not be science fiction, it would simply be fiction. I have heard people say that hard science fiction has to simply not contradict something we know. And that is a whole genre of course. 2. But what does bother me is when books, or movies, violate laws of human behavior. A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a…

>A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a killer

Hasn't that happened numerous times in history?

Perfectly common and nice everyday people have become killers under stress/passion/etc.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#15

Post by jhbadger »

madengr wrote: post #3

Star Trek definitely influenced me into electrical engineering, along with much SciFi of the 70’s.

And to be fair, the episode Sagan criticizes (presumably "The Omega Glory" in which the Enterprise visits a post-apocalyptic planet where there was a nuclear war between countries exactly like the US and USSR, down to the US side having an exact copy of the Constitution), is widely viewed as one of the worst episodes and most of the show wasn't like that.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#16

Post by SamReidHughes »

coldtea wrote: post #14
projectramo wrote: post #8

1. I don't mind if the science is not perfect. If the science conformed 100% with what we know it would not be science fiction, it would simply be fiction. I have heard people say that hard science fiction has to simply not contradict something we know. And that is a whole genre of course. 2. But what does bother me is when books, or movies, violate laws of human behavior. A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a…

> A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a killer Hasn't that happened numerous times in history? Perfectly common and nice everyday people have become killers under stress/passion/etc.

Or under a social structure, in a military.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#17

Post by projectramo »

coldtea wrote: post #14
projectramo wrote: post #8

1. I don't mind if the science is not perfect. If the science conformed 100% with what we know it would not be science fiction, it would simply be fiction. I have heard people say that hard science fiction has to simply not contradict something we know. And that is a whole genre of course. 2. But what does bother me is when books, or movies, violate laws of human behavior. A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a…

> A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a killer Hasn't that happened numerous times in history? Perfectly common and nice everyday people have become killers under stress/passion/etc.

The purpose of the fiction is to show how it happens so we believe it, even expect it. The "suddenly" part is what makes it bad fiction. Even if it happens in real life, in fiction we want to see the mechanism and have it convince us.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#18

Post by ConfusedDog »

massafaka wrote: post #12
ConfusedDog wrote: post #4

I grew up with Doraemon comics. It's a robotic raccoon from 22nd century travel back in time to 1980s to help babysit a stupid boy - well, that's mean, but with future tech helped, he got off pretty well and married the prettiest girl, etc. The future tech that raccoon has really got me into engineering. I think that series is a precious. ;-)

I always thought Doraemon was a cat robot. I doubt it's a racoon, because those don't exist in Japan. And I also don't think it's a Tanuki.

Haha. I say that just to tease Doraemon. People think he looks more like raccoon than cat. He gets really riled up by that.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#19

Post by coldtea »

projectramo wrote: post #17
coldtea wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A perfectly gentle person suddenly becomes a killer Hasn't that happened numerous times in history? Perfectly common and nice everyday people have become killers under stress/passion/etc.

The purpose of the fiction is to show how it happens so we believe it, even expect it. The "suddenly" part is what makes it bad fiction. Even if it happens in real life, in fiction we want to see the mechanism and have it convince us.

>The "suddenly" part is what makes it bad fiction. Even if it happens in real life, in fiction we want to see the mechanism and have it convince us.

If something happens in real life, and especially as often, it should be convincing enough when presented in a story without a contrived mechanism to "explain" it pulp-novel style.

Re: Growing Up with Science Fiction (1978)

#20

Post by tsukikage »

ecpottinger wrote: post #11
gambler wrote: post #5

I seriously doubt that reading modern science fiction would have the same effect on anyone. Unfortunately. Unfortunately.

There are still lots of good science fiction written today. Unfortunately in the past many of the writers did it because they in turn loved science fiction. Many (most?) writers in the past barely made a living off their writing and many had to have a second source of income to continue. In other words they did write thinking it would make them rich. Today with science fiction movies like Blade Runner, Star Wars and…

All media contains a mix of good things and bad things.

The good things survive the test of time and, years on, are remembered and much loved; the bad things are quietly forgotten.

So, when we look back at the past, it feels like the good we have now is much more dilute and harder to pick out than what we remember; but this impression is not an accurate reflection of reality.

(The effect is even stronger with old foreign media, since only the better things crossed borders especially pre-internet but with each year we are exposed to more and more of the firehose).

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