Does sci-fi shape the future? Tech billionaires from Bill Gates to Elon Musk have often talked about the impact of novels they read as teens, from Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" to Iain M. Banks' "Culture" series. Big Think's Namir Khaliq spoke to authors including Andy Weir, Lois McMaster Bujold, @cstross and @pluralistic about how much impact they think science fiction has had, or can have.
When otherwise reliable Gravync engines fail, the field disturbance can lead to an extreme warping capable of tearing the fabric itself.
One can only imagine how stressed the engineers aboard this ship must be while trying to fix this glaring malfunction before it gets worse.
Finished "Station Eleven" yesterday - what a wonderful, life-affirming show! No exaggeration to say it is one of most beautiful and thought-provoking works of art I've encountered. Such a breath of fresh air to see an apocalyptic narrative where people come together rather than fight each other. It really captures what is best about humanity. And I think its focus on community makes it an excellent example of #Hopepunk or #Solarpunk. MUST WATCH!
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES STROSS, Hugo and Locus and Prometheus Award winning author and science-fiction visionary. We grill him about the future of our world! His perspective is very distinctive indeed. Don't miss out.
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is published #OTD in 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime.
Nineteen Eighty-Four has become a classic literary example of political and dystopian fiction. It also popularised the term "Orwellian" as an adjective, with many terms used in the novel entering common usage. via @wikipedia
A scholar, betrayed and left for dead, returns in disguise for revenge. She plans to bring the entire opulent, decadent society of the habitats crashing down.
Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan.
I need some new science fiction to read, who has some suggestions? I don't like military sci-fi. For reference, my favorite series is the Expanse, I also enjoyed Scalzi's Collapsing Empire, I love Robert Charles Wilson's books. I mostly enjoy space operas and unique stories about technology, for example I really liked the recent book Mountain in the Sea about AI and intelligent octopus. Suggestions from the awesome Bookstodon community? @bookstodon#Bookstodon#Scifi#ScienceFiction
En 2024, j'aimerais ouvrir une #librairie à #Bruxelles, spécialisée #SFFF ( #ScienceFiction#Fantasy#Fantastique ). Je suis encore dans la partie pas marrante (vous risquez de m'entendre râler de temps en temps), à savoir réunir les fonds, mais en parallèle #JeCherche un lieu où installer boutique.
Il faut savoir que dans une librairie, ce qui coûte le plus cher, c'est, entre autres, le loyer. Du coup, je me dis qu'on peut tenter la magie des réseaux pour trouver une pépite. J'ai pas masse de critères, si ce n'est :
Dans le centre ou dans l'Est de Bruxelles, idéalement pas trop loin de transports en commun.
Minimum 50m², pas de maximum, mais...
Maximum 1500€/mois (je cherche plutôt autour de 1000€).
Une vitrine, assez logiquement.
Si vous connaissez quelqu'un qui connait quelqu'un qui connait quelqu'un qui..., n'hésitez pas à me contacter en MP.
As the first commercial #spacecraft lands on the #moon, for #SciFi readers this all looks rather familiar.... one of the dominant tropes of so much #sciencefiction is the issue of privatised space exploration.... whether its a celebration of #capitalism's move into #space, or more often a critique of what commercial interests bring to space missions.
In any case, looking back in 50 years time, I can see this being seen as an important milestone (for good or worse)
New #introduction post on changing instances: Hi all! I'm an English professor at a university in southwest #Japan. I've lived in #Fukuoka about half my life now. I'm married, with 3 grown stepkids and EIGHT grandkids, all living within a couple hours drive. I love walking and #hiking, playing #TTRPGs, #nature#photography, #dogs, #literature, #scienceFiction, and more. I've been on Mastodon for about 2½ years. Nice to meet you!
Hugo Gernsback launches his pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories in the United States. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances in other magazines, including some published by Gernsback, but Amazing helped define and launch a new genre of pulp fiction.