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Science and Science Fiction are class-mates not rivals
01/03/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
December might be a long time back now but allows for a different and still pertinent perspective. Yuletide in Great Britain brought its usual spate of lectures shown on TV. One for our home-market, named the Richard Dimbleby Lecture named after the father of another pair of famous TV journalists, had the speaker, scientist entrepreneur Dr. J. Craig Venter, attributing a couple things as only seen in Science Fiction as if they were never expected to happen in real life. Hello everyone
December might be a long time back now but allows for a different and still pertinent perspective. Yuletide in Great Britain brought its usual spate of lectures shown on TV. One for our home-market, named the Richard Dimbleby Lecture named after the father of another pair of famous TV journalists, had the speaker, scientist entrepreneur Dr. J. Craig Venter, attributing a couple things as only seen in Science Fiction as if they were never expected to happen in real life.
Obviously, only those in the UK would have seen the lecture but even after three months there's no harm reading the transcript with less blurry eyes if you have half an hour to spare. So read the lecture through the link here before continuing if you want all the details:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/12_december/05/dimbleby.shtml
When I did my own re-read two things struck me, which weren't part of my original reason for writing this editorial. You don't remember everything from a lecture, especially after three months, and it's a lot easier to learn from a transcript. There are a lot of things in there that make sound sense and some, like encouraging an interest in science, I've been doing myself for the past couple years here already. Although it would be easy to deviate into those areas, I think I will keep to my original reason for the editorial, mostly cos my opinion here hasn't changed that much and it has wider implications for us into Science Fiction.
For those who remember my definition of Science Fiction as having plots that can't be resolved within the confines of general fiction as to what I spotted twice in this lecture. I'm going to have to paraphrase the content here to avoid copyright infringement and if you haven't bothered to read the entire lecture can easily find if you word search Venter's speech for 'Science Fiction' in the two pertinent paragraphs. I've also since spotted a similar generalisation in a book I'm currently reading for review so this isn't only a problem confined to Venter just another misapprehension that a lot of people have.
From the earliest to the latest times, Science Fiction moves in several directions. It can extrapolate from things that are evolving like Jules Verne did with submarines and hot air balloons which were around when he wrote his books, just not so advanced until he showed what could be done with such devices and the world took his lead. Science Fiction can use plot devices like the time machine that HG Wells used to provide a contemporary point of view look at the future and how it changed. It can test out widely expensive and maybe even impractical ideas just to see if it would work like Larry Niven's Ringworld or even a Dyson sphere. What it rarely does is create from fresh cloth. Even teleportation was thought of before if was used in SF. There has to be a starting block to give something for even the most fertile imagination to work from, even if it's cranky ideas. In short, Science Fiction looks at possibilities and sees where it can lead more than it instigates.
In his lecture, Venter describes recombinant DNA or where mankind can take over evolution's process by direct control as 'looking like Science Fiction'. Granted, such things have been used in SF for a long, long time but even the writers of same would say that they were only giving what geneticists dreamed of some reality to see where it would take them. Much of the time, this was thought out to make a super-human a'la A.E. Van Vogt to adapting to survive on an alien world as James Blish proposed in his 'Seedling Stars' books. It didn't really have to explain how it was done, just give a practical demonstration within the confines of a story. The fact that it would first be used to cure some illnesses today was also acknowledged in Science Fiction only there are only so many stories one can write on that subject.
The only stumbling block in our reality has been the refinement in technology to make recombinant DNA possible today. If anything, this is just another aspect of predictive Science Fiction fulfilling what was seen to happen sooner or later. There are still a lot of people fearful of such changes but at least the benefits of such procedures are over-shadowing the fears.
Science Fiction has certainly shown the darker side of such consequences but often as not, it also indicates that prejudices are shallow by example if we don't see the benefits for all out of them as well. Certainly, there will be enough watchdog supervision, controls and expense to prevent a situation like Frank Herbert's book, 'The White Plague', which I reviewed the other month. Again, this isn't the topic I wish to address here. Absorb, comprehend and read on.
What really concerns me is the belief that any scientific development that looks fantastic belongs solely in the realms or stepped out of Science Fiction. It's as if there's only one place to put a subject because it looks so fantastical and not deserving to be in our reality when that's really not the case. In fact, in some eyes, to see something coming from the realm of Science Fiction tends to make it look scary despite the fact that things like computers appear that way. How often is Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' inventor used to scare people of consequences than rationales showing the benefits of change? If that belief was kept up we'd have no advancement. Prometheus might have handed fire to Man but anything can work for good or bad.
We all know how a lot of people view SF as being mostly about starships and aliens. A lot of the time, it's in the way a product of Science Fiction is packaged that makes it more acceptable. Look back at the 70s with TV series of 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Bionic Woman' based off Martin Caiden's 'Cyborg' novel. Today's 'bionic' technology is still on the crude side but refinement will become quicker but every time it is shown in the national press, it is described as similar to the TV shows with positive acclaim more than being sourced from a SF book. If anything, the original bionic TV series by being set in the 'present' gave hope to those with limb loss or impairment that one day they could be made better than they were originally. It's been a long time coming but a lot of obstacles are now being over-come from connecting circuitry to nerve tissue to granting usefulness and touch. People today do not look at amputees demonstrating such limbs as fearful robots but as technology helping them replace their loss. It's a thumbs up for Science Fiction in what is acceptable. I mean, how many of you in the late 70s were horrified when Luke Skywalker in the film 'The Empire Strikes Back' was seen trying out his replacement bionic hand? You just accepted that something could be done about his hand injury. Thirty years ago we already had an acceptance that bionic replacement would be possible.
To describe a scientific advancement as belonging in Science Fiction doesn't so much demean it, especially as we've been there before, but triggers a different kind of alarm. The troglodyte type reaction that sees the word 'science' and as the cause of troubles in the world than its salvation. We've seen the reaction to bio-engineered crops yet its only refining the rather more crude cross-breeding that farmers have been using for years to get better milk yields from cattle. A genetic adjustment so a plant can resist being infected by blight or resist insect attack is seen as dangerous but all its doing is cutting back on trail and error and providing what is needed for today in a couple crop generations than the decades it used to take. If Man is playing God then he's been attempting it rather clumsily for centuries. With better tools and understanding, there should be fewer mistakes nature by Man's own trail and error. If you want to see the examples of that look at the breathing difficulties of bulldogs or why some species of cat are deaf. If anything, all we're doing is speeding things up to where it would go itself eventually.
The world is catching up with Science Fiction extrapolations but only in as far as where it will potentially take us into the future. It needs positive role models to show that science is not bad but there to improve our lives. Developing a colony on Mars will reap many agricultural developments on Earth as much as the many technological developments we've had since the first trips to the Moon. It shouldn't be seen as money wasted but a practical development that will ultimately help us all. Our science will develop and make things better and even bring the price down if we investment both in it and the people involved in discovery. To reduce funds is probably the biggest mistake we could ever make.
Fearing the unknown is like how children fear the dark because they don't know what to make of it. We are not children. It is not impossible to make our own decisions. A fear is only there when we fail to comprehend what we have got or use it for our own benefit. As we've already got an interest in Science Fiction, we are less prone to technological shock that we recognise in people who's eyes glaze over when we mention things like computers and software as being beyond them. You don't necessarily have to know how something works to use or benefit from it, just an understanding that some other people have done the hard work that makes something possible.
Spread the word. Hell, point them at this editorial if you have to. Science Fiction shows all the possibilities, good and bad, from any development but at the end of the day, common-sense prevails that we choose the best option rather than shirk because we can't see the best consequences. Hopefully, in future, lecturers will point out how Science Fiction led the way and not that some science seen in SF first doesn't deserve to be used in our reality.
Thank you, take care, good night, be safe and think what it would be like if science and technology wasn't building your world for you.
Geoff Willmetts
editor: SFCrowsnest.co.uk
A real Zen thought:A person is limited only by the role he or she is expected to play.
Phoenetic Ponder Point: I wonder how many people watched the TV series 'Heist' and were disappointed that actor Hugh Lawrie wasn't in it? Worse still, for those looking for Dougray Scott not to find him in the TV series 'House'.
Pet Peeve: Can't any manufacturer make a reasonably priced computer keyboard whose legs don't collapse after a few months?
Another real Zen thought but this time for potential writers: If you can express an opinion independently of others and aren't likely to bend to the masses then you might show potential as a writer.
Zen for those who are scared by all the instructions below: Many of the instructions are things you should be doing automatically if you're developing your writing skills. If you do them already then focus on the ones that you don't get right. They are there to help you as much as me to get the best writing from you. If you think you're 80% there then I'll help you get the final 20%. Trust me, I'm an editor and I can get things right.
BOOK REVIEWS
Do you love books?
Do you like curling up and reading a book?
Do you have a preference for fantasy, SF or horror?
Do you find it the greatest pastime you have next to being on your computer?
Are you very vocal about what you like and don't like in what you read?
Would you like to share your thoughts with others about books?
Would you like an endless supply of books to do this with?
Do you live in the UK?
If you've been nodding your head up to this point then link in below and see if you have what it takes to be a reviewer at SFCrowsnest. If you have that special knack to read and write or want to develop said skill then the only way you're going to find out is to take the plunge yourself rather than wait for others to do it first. Reading a lot of books is a requisite for any writer. Being able to say what makes them good or bad hones your own skills. It's got to be better than waiting for the sun to come out as the winter draws near. It's also amazing how much you can read in an hour a day.
If you've survived this far in the editorial, let me reiterate something from the website newsletter and the above editorial. As you can see from the main page, we have one of the biggest SF/fantasy/horror monthly reviews columns on the Net. Our success has increased the number of books that comes in and our policy is to read everything and give it a roadtest before giving a review so you have some idea of what you're letting yourself in for. You want the bottom line about what you're going to choose to read. That means we need people actually willing to read the book and tell others they're opinion in reviews. For that, we're always on the outlook for more reviewers.
Do you think you have what it takes to review a book? It's a skill that can be easily mastered and we need a few more. If you love fantasy, we have more than enough to keep you busy for instance.
Apart from the ability to put words into sentences, you also need to know how to précis, do a little research on associated subjects and can express opinions constructively about the good and bad points about the books you read. We even let you choose from our pile of received books rather than foster something on you that you wouldn't normally read. You'll even get a little editorial help in how to write good copy and that can always lead to other things. I did say you have to love books and willing to read beyond your favourite authors, didn't I?
If you like reading books in the genre and can average two or three a month, can really think and show you can write a decent review and, most importantly, live in the British Isles (sorry, expense, time and distance travelled mostly prohibits elsewhere), then use the link below and see our requirements. We can't pay you but a review for the price and regular supply of new books, this has to be a good incentive to see if you have what it takes.
Do you think you're up to writing a review? If you think you can, then you're really going to think you've landed your hands in the biscuit tin. It won't hurt to try and see if you have the right stuff by sending me a sample review. If you want an added incentive, it can also be good for your CV.
Look up the Review Guidelines by linking here: with a press of a mouse button.
SHORT STORY SLUSH PILE
We always have an interest in short stories which can be anything from one to thirty or so pages long. We're always willing to give short story writers a chance to be seen if they can withstand my scrutiny even if we can't pay for their efforts, your material will be seen by a lot of people. If you can get a short story written well then it'll make it easier to move up to novel-length.
Look up the Short Stories Link by linking here with your mouse.
FLASH OR ONE-PAGE FICTION
We've also a teaching ground of one page stories, so check out the rules elsewhere on the website. It's far too easy to just write and write and hope something good comes out of it. What writing a one page story does is test your ability to control your word count and still tell a story in a concise way. This doesn't mean we don't accept stories of different lengths - a short story can be anything up to 30-40 pages long after all - but opens up the means for really short stories from ideas that don't need as much space.
Flash fiction stories by linking here: with your mouse.
NOVEL-LENGTH SAMPLES IN THE FIRST INSTANCE
For those keeping track, I'm actually now caught up but don't tell everyone as I'm undecided as to whether to keep looking at novel-length story samples, move over specifically to short stories - which we do anyway for the website - or get a couple of my own book projects completed. The latter, I still intend to do anyway.
There might not be much of a wait unless I get a deluge, however those sending in ebook samples, please read the Guidelines by linking here with your mouse here or through the bottom line menu on the opening page of the SFC website.
They are there to help you do some of the right things and reduce the number of times I'm repeating myself over silly grammatical errors and spelling mistakes that you shouldn't be making if you're serious about becoming a writer. It makes editing a lot easier if any editor has less work pointing out poor English which you should have been sorted out in the first place and more focused on other areas of your work that deal with plot and the other serious elements of storywriting. As a writer, it is your command of the English language and its grammar that will show how serious you are about writing.
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING BUT AFRAID TO ASK
General advice for those who want to become writers of any sort: There's an old editorial adage, if you can't aim for perfection why should an editor nurse-maid you to that state? Nominally, my job is to catch minor glitches not total mishaps. If you're a writer, then you should understand the words, sentences and grammar of the job you're supposed to be writing or are you considering it as mundane and boring as any other job to get right? Fall in love with making every sentence the best you're ever written, read up and understand the rules of grammar. Put the time in researching any subject you're using in the story. Be prepared to put a story away for a few weeks and go back to it for a self-edit. Even I do that. You look good. I make you look better but you have to start off with good.
A lot of the time, errors will just stare you in the face when you didn't see them the first time round. Once you know where your weaknesses are, they can be sorted out and allow you to move a little higher up the ladder towards making your material look its best and more importantly, getting your material seen by readers.
The link here will show you the Common Problems Link page and what I see mostly with your mouse. It's the smart writer who doesn't get caught out with these.
Good luck. Geoff
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