Over at Salon, Robert J. Sawyer has a nice little piece up on science fiction and how it helps us prepare for the future. I agree with what he has written and it makes me flash back to some arguments I’ve had with friends. Those arguments were over which had greater value, science fiction or fantasy works.
Fantasy works simply don’t address potential problems that humanity will face and tend to regurgitate old stories in minor variations. While greatly entertaining, that’s all they really are. Occasionally moral lessons will be taught but most are pure entertainment. Essentially, fantasy is backwards looking.
Science fiction is all about possibilities, good and bad. The past is neither ignored or neglected, but referenced often as the authors seek reoccurring patterns in how humanity deals with change. Change is at the heart of all real science fiction.
Given how many people fear change, maybe they should be reading science fiction classics at schools. All I know is that I don’t fear change the way most I know do. It never occurred to me that it was due to my love of that literary genre!
Thank you to Instapundit for putting up the link to the article.
P.S. Space opera such as Star Wars is not true science fiction, by the way. It is fantasy with unexplainable technology replacing magic. Sorry, Star Wars fans. Please go read Foundation or Dune!
YES! Star Wars is Space Fantasy, not Sci Fi. But are you honestly going to sit there and tell me that human beings won't someday always have a group of friends containing 1 mage, 1 dwarf, 1 elf, 1 rogue, 1 barbarian, and always be looking for something to defeat someone? :)
ReplyDeleteWill those friends be real or AI, that is the question!
ReplyDeleteNot that it resembles things I participate in on Saturday nights, or anything. Which reminds me, I don't need to level a paladin up either.