What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Communicating With Other Cultures
We’ve all been there: your first meeting with a member of another culture, or your first attempt at real communication in a foreign language. More often than not, disaster results. Learning to cope with other ways of speaking, and other cultural contexts, can be a major challenge — but science fiction is here to help!…
The Complete History of Time Paradoxes
Nowadays, we take for granted the idea that if you go travel back in time and interact with your own past, you can create a huge crazy time paradox. But who first came up with this idea? Who created the first time paradox? And can we go back and prevent him or her from doing…
My Vacation in the Golden Age of Science Fiction
Most long-time science fiction fans consider the Golden Age to have started with the July 1939 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. That issue contained Isaac Asimov’s first Astounding story (“Trends”) as well as A.E. Van Vogt’s first story, “Black Destroyer.” The very next issue included Robert Heinlein’s first story, “Life-Line”. This incredible run of stories…
How Robert A. Heinlein became one of science fiction’s giants
It’s hard to imagine a generation of science-fiction readers growing up without the looming presence of Robert A. Heinlein. William H. Patterson’s long-awaited biography of Heinlein sheds light on how he rose to prominence. From his earliest published story in 1939 to his death in 1988 (and, in many ways beyond), Heinlein reshaped sci-fi from…
10 great science fiction novels that have been banned
In honor of Banned Books Week, Geekosystem’s Susana Polo looks at 10 great science fiction novels that have been banned, or at least threatened with removal from libraries and schools. Including some major classics of the genre! These titles are among the most popular and beloved science fiction works of the last century. They’ve told…
What are the ingredients for great science fiction?
It’s hard enough to define science fiction — but what makes for truly great SF? What’s the crucial element, the X-factor? TimeSplash author Graham Storrs argues it’s all about exploring who we are as humans. https://gizmodo.com/how-many-definitions-of-science-fiction-are-there-5622186 I’ve just been reading a blog post by Mike Brotherton which presents (yet another) definition of science fiction. This…
