• io9
  • science
  • overmind
  • kotaku
  • gizmodo
  • Profile logout login

#thegoneawayworldreview#blogging

io9

Share Cancel
   
Upload an image | Add an image URL
×

logging in
  • FAQ. Include # before tag:
  • #observationdeck,
  • #tips,
  • #calendar,
  • etc.

San Francisco, 3:57 PM
Thu Dec 3
24 posts in the last 24 hours

Team

Tip your editors:

Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |

News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |

Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |

Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |

Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |

Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |

Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |

Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |

More:
io9 on Facebook
follow io9 on Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO io9 RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
1428 Subscribers
io9
  • Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of ShubhraKnuks ShubhraKnuks
    12/02/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    I loves me my science fiction, but I put this one down after getting a third of the way in. I think Anathem had come out and I was lured away. Haven't felt inclined to go back, must say.
     Reply
    ShubhraKnuks was starred ShubhraKnuks was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/02/08

    @ShubhraKnuks: It gets better. I almost put it down after the first 1/3 of the book as well, but it picks up steam. And you really can skim past some of his not-quite-funny digressions.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of BrookeHolodyne BrookeHolodyne
    12/02/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    So - from your first paragraph I have bought the book because it sounds intriguing. But I didn't read the "review" because you said there are spoilers in it.

    Surely if you are "reviewing" the book you should avoid spoilers - otherwise you are "discussing" the book, which is perfectly valid but not how this is labelled. Perhaps adding a line about what you thought about the book in the first paragraph might have helped (I went and read a few other actual non-spoilery reviews to see if it was worth buying).
     Reply
    BrookeHolodyne was starred BrookeHolodyne was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/02/08

    @BrookeHolodyne: Sorry, in my world reviews almost always have spoilers. I didn't give away the major plot twist of the book, but it's hard to discuss what the book's about without getting into specifics. I've written book reviews for the SF Chronicle, Publisher's Weekly and various other places, and the only difference there was that we didn't have to include a spoiler warning.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of jackdavinci jackdavinci
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    no link?
     Reply
    jackdavinci was starred jackdavinci was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/01/08

    @jackdavinci: [www.amazon.com]
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    Isn't "almost pure genius" just "less than genius"? Which is to say, not really genius at all?
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of jaylake jaylake
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    Charlie, I thought it was an awesome book. Also, have you checked out Stephen Hunt's _Court of the Air_?
     Reply
    jaylake was starred jaylake was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/01/08

    @jaylake: No, not yet... been hearing good things about it though.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of SybaRat SybaRat
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    Sure, I'll take a stab. The massive twist two-thirds of the way through is that the un-named narrator IS his friend, Gonzo Lubitsch. And the Fight Club they created is starting to get a little nutty.
     Reply
    SybaRat was starred SybaRat was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/01/08

    @SybaRat: Hmmm... Well, sort of.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Plague Plague
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    As long as Ninjas flip out, it's all good.
     Reply
    Plague was starred Plague was unstarred
    Image of TheFaithfulStone TheFaithfulStone
    11/19/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    Specialists hate it when people are wrong about their speciality. They consider it a personal affront when people say "incorrect" things that they know the answer to.


    Try going on Slashdot sometime and talk about that movie "Hackers" or even "Sneakers" (which is more realistic, but still...)


    Thus - "real" scientists hate science fiction. "Real" advertising people hate "Mad Men." "Real" archeologist hate "The Bone Detectives" on Discovery. "Real" CSI's hate CSI. I suspect janitors and pig-shit cleaners hate "Dirty Jobs" and fishermen hate "The Deadliest Catch."


    Most people take themselves FAR to seriously.

     Reply
    TheFaithfulStone was starred TheFaithfulStone was unstarred
    Image of RAHfanboy RAHfanboy
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    Science Fiction's purpose is to entertain, not educate. It can do both and HAS done both, but that is serendipitous, a collateral benefit, so to speak.


    I would think that a lot of actual scientists became interested in science, at least partially, by reading Sci-Fi as a kid.

     Reply
    RAHfanboy was starred RAHfanboy was unstarred
    Image of Itsatrap Itsatrap
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    This doesn't surprise me at all.


    What surprises me are the negative comments.


    I can't count the number of times some form of media (including novels, short stories, films, television programs, news media) have gotten something wrong about biology.

    e got are Gattaca (film) and Brave New World (novel), and that's only because these dystopias were vague about the science.

     Reply
    Itsatrap was starred Itsatrap was unstarred
    Image of Alexis Alexis
    11/18/08

    @NenyaVilyaNenya:


    Well there's a difference between the news getting something wrong and fiction getting something wrong. One has an obligation for information and truth. The other does not.


    It's great when fiction does take itself seriously and implements actual science into its story, but it is not required. I can't understand what point these people are really trying to make. Is it every bit of sci-fi that neglects to get specific about its science, or a particular type?

     Reply
    Alexis was starred Alexis was unstarred
    Image of Dr Emilio Lizardo Dr Emilio Lizardo
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    Yeah, Science Fiction is definitely ant-science. Clark, Asimov, Hienlien - those guys didn't know crap about real science. Benford, Brin, Robinson - they're just continuing the same tradition. Go survey the engineers at NASA, I'm sure none of them ever read anything SF.


    This is such bullshit the page is turning brown. I get confronted with people who get their medical knowledge from ER and House all the time. It's all made up, but it's not SF. The people quoted here are basically saying that anything that is fiction is science fiction. CSI is not SF, it's just crap. Just because they make stuff up doesn't make it SF. The events in "Apocalypse Now" never actually happened and many of them are so outlandish they never would, that doesn't make it SF.

     Reply
    Dr Emilio Lizardo was starred Dr Emilio Lizardo was unstarred
    Image of Alexis Alexis
    11/18/08

    @DrEmilioLizardo:


    *applause*

     Reply
    Alexis was starred Alexis was unstarred
    Image of Alexis Alexis
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    What a crock of shit. I'm sorry but when did fictional media become responsible for people's understanding of science. Oftentimes "hard science fiction" is weak on story and character development. Now I'm not saying that literature/tv/film should be allowed to expect us to believe anything (see Heroes) but where is this newfound sense of scientific obligation?


    Am I reading that if it aint something out of a scientific journal than it should have dragons flying around? I just don't get it. It's fiction. Is it CSI's fault that people don't know how our judicial system works? No. Is it sci-fi's fault that people don't care about the space program? Of course not. Once again people choose the "blame the media" card.

     Reply
    Alexis was starred Alexis was unstarred
    Image of Cambias Cambias
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    I think we need to draw a HUGE distinction between media SF and written SF. Most SF writers try very hard to get the science right -- or at least the parts they aren't handwaving for the sake of the story.


    Film, television, and comicbook SF is a different story -- a story without much science in it.


    I think it stems from the need to make it visual. The sad fact is this: scientific accuracy is hard to make visually interesting.

     Reply
    Cambias was starred Cambias was unstarred
    Image of Alexis Alexis
    11/18/08

    @Cambias:


    Also let's not forget a very basic fact. People watch tv for character development and story, not a science lesson.

     Reply
    Alexis was starred Alexis was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    11/18/08

    @Evlsushi: 'character development and story?' wow, that's charitable i was going to say tits and ass. how else can you explain absurdly attrative people in completely banal settings sustaining faithful weekly followings?
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of crashedpc - Haifisch crashedpc - Haifisch
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    But... but... reading is easier than studying! *stares at HP Lovecraft and Neal Stephenson collection*


    Actually, Anathem got me thinking about ... thinking differently, Cryptonomicon had a poopload of math and was awesome, and Cthulhu f'thagn *burble*

     Reply
    crashedpc - Haifisch was starred crashedpc - Haifisch was unstarred
    Image of braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
    11/18/08

    In reply to Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
    Well, that CSI thing is probably true.


    But if, as Kim Hannula suggests, Science is not a cause, but an organized curiosity about the natural world, then shouldn't the merits of science fiction be evaluated with regards to how successful it pique's curiosity?


    It's purely anecdotal for me, but reading about strange new sciences in books often gets me interested in understanding them.


    That I never fail to be disappointed is a separate, though probably related, issue.

     Reply
    braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was starred braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was unstarred
    Image of NefariousNewt NefariousNewt
    11/18/08

    @braak: Science fiction of now is not the science fiction of the Golden Age, when most of the great discoveries of science (quantum mechanics, etc.) were still new and unfamiliar. We live in the Internet Age now, where information about new advances in science are available almost immediately. I think it's safe to say that s.f. has to move beyond the role of teacher into the role of thought-provoker. What we have to be careful of is the glamorization of flash-in-the-pan science (remember cold fusion?) at the expense of solid science (Newton and Einstein). There's no reason current s.f. can't or shouldn't provoke people to take a fresh look at science.
     Reply
    NefariousNewt was starred NefariousNewt was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    11/18/08

    @braak: the CSI thing being true is evidence of a problem in our legal system, not necessarily our entertainment.


    i'd echo the sentament on science fiction. reading sci-fi has repeaditly encouraged me to research topics i never would have considered before reading.

     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or io9 account.

Sign up here.



  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.