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Dolphin starship pilots! Chimpanzee scientists! Hordes of vicious aliens! And a fleet of billion-year-old warships connected to a galactic conspiracy. 1984's Hugo-winning novel Startide Rising has everything — yet something important is missing. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5852334&view=rss&microfeed=true The United States tax code is a thing of wonderment in its insane complexity. But what if we could massively simplify the code — without changing anybody's tax burden? David Brin, author of the Uplift novels, has a suggestion. More »
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Why should you be reading more science fiction? Not just for the thrills or awesome science. You should read SF to explore ideas about society that academics and pundits won't talk about, writes Walter Russell Mead in The American Interest. More »
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Science fiction is the literature of our times, the fuel of our imaginations and the source of our favorite imaginary worlds. But what do we mean when we talk about "science fiction?" Here are some of the many definitions. More »
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Scientists may already understand all of the scientific topics that science fiction addresses, so why should they bother reading it? Scientist Hannah Waters explains why. More »
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The busier you get, the more stuff you forget, and navigating that mental clutter can be worse than steering through an asteroid field. Luckily, lots of intrepid galactic heroes have faced faulty memories, and created some handy techniques for remembering. More »
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Several of the most imaginative minds in science fiction (and science) gathered at this year's Readercon to discuss a fundamental question of our existence: Why does it seem like we're alone in the universe? Writers Jeff Hecht, Steven Popkes, Robert J. Sawyer, Ian Randal Strock, and Michael A. Burstein offered their recommendations for the best fictional explorations of this question, commonly known as the Fermi paradox. See their picks, and find out more about one of the greatest paradoxes in human existence. More »
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With Y: The Last Man wrapping up and turning into a movie, the science fiction cliche of the female-dominated planet is red-hot once again. The cosmos is safe for our red-blooded spacemen to venture to worlds where there are no men, or where men are subjugated and the women wear funny headgear. But what about the subset of gynarchic cultures where everyone's a lesbian? It turns out science fiction is full of those, too, and it's time they got the appreciation they deserve. More »
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Science fiction is doomed! The genre is a toothless wreck, praying to overdose on its pain meds, says a gang of critics. (Actually, they're only talking about the books, and only the books shelved under "science fiction.") The reasons why SF is obsolete or pointless or dead depend on which rant you read. But here are the main ones: More »
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Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale. More »
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