Sunday, April 6, 2008
How Science Fiction is Influencing the Creation of More Scientific Geniuses
Science fiction could turn the geeks of today into tomorrow's geniuses, one of Scotland's leading authors has claimed. Ken Macleod, a writer once described as a "Trotskyist libertarian cyberpunk", has penned several award-winning visions of the future since graduating from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology.
He gave a speech at the recent Glasgow Science Festival that explored the influence sci-fi has had on actual scientists.
Science is an integral part of any sci-fi novel, he claimed, and as a consequence youngsters who bury themselves in books or films are more likely to be familiar with concepts such as space travel, nanotechnology or genetic engineering.
He said: "Science fiction fans often tend to start reading in their early teens, if not childhood, so they assimilate quite a lot of scientific concepts that other people don't. One thing science fiction does, however implausible, is make people aware that there is a big, big, big universe out there that we discover through science. I think the main way that SF contributes is by revealing the world of science to the public in a way that no other form does."
Several high-profile scientists have had a lifelong interest in sci-fi. Several of the NASA team that worked on the moon landings were keen readers of Robert A Heinlein, who the space agency eulogises on its website as an "author, futurist, and patriot". The whole basis of the internet was famously inspired by William Gibson's book Neuromancer and Isaac Asimov, who recently died, "invented" earth-orbiting satellites in one of his tales.
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He gave a speech at the recent Glasgow Science Festival that explored the influence sci-fi has had on actual scientists.
Science is an integral part of any sci-fi novel, he claimed, and as a consequence youngsters who bury themselves in books or films are more likely to be familiar with concepts such as space travel, nanotechnology or genetic engineering.
He said: "Science fiction fans often tend to start reading in their early teens, if not childhood, so they assimilate quite a lot of scientific concepts that other people don't. One thing science fiction does, however implausible, is make people aware that there is a big, big, big universe out there that we discover through science. I think the main way that SF contributes is by revealing the world of science to the public in a way that no other form does."
Several high-profile scientists have had a lifelong interest in sci-fi. Several of the NASA team that worked on the moon landings were keen readers of Robert A Heinlein, who the space agency eulogises on its website as an "author, futurist, and patriot". The whole basis of the internet was famously inspired by William Gibson's book Neuromancer and Isaac Asimov, who recently died, "invented" earth-orbiting satellites in one of his tales.
More from here
Labels: Sciences
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