2 Responses to “SF isn’t predictive…”

1. Lee on 2007-06-01 11:14 am

   For some reason I thought this was going to be about homeland security recruiting sci-fi writers:
   http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-05-29-deviant-thinkers-security_N.htm?csp=34

   Jerry Pournelle, Arlan Andrews, Greg Bear, Larry Niven and Sage Walker are science ficion writers that attended a Homeland Security conference. They are part of a group Andrews put together called Sigma with the motto “Science Fiction in the National Interest.”

   Rudy Rucker apparently declined.

2. Megan on 2007-06-01 1:16 pm

   Good for Rudy Rucker! That’s yet another reason why I need to move him up in the TBR pile.

   I had seen that story, and was kind of, um…well. See my thoughts on SF not being predictive. (Or, rather, good SF need not be predictive, and poorly written predictive SF isn’t so much F as essay.) Also, if you want to consult with people who hold doctorates, that’s probably a good idea. (A rather surprisingly good idea, actually, coming from this administration.) But if you want the truly imaginative, thinking-outside-the-box angle, it seems like you might want the inexperienced swordsman rather than the best (to mix genres and metaphors).

   I wonder if we can now expect to see “Science Fiction Not in the National Interest” and what that reading list might look like.

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