The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I just found this interesting article (via this post on the The Passive Voice):

Why We Need Big, Bold Science Fiction – Popular Mechanics.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned before, but science fiction is my favourite genre (also thrillers, and particularly techno-thrillers), so this caught my attention.

In short, the article asserts that SF has gone from the optimism and big science of the Golden Age to a darker, more skeptical, dystopian tone, and that this mirrors a change in the general public’s view of science, which in turn has led to a decline in actual technological development. Engineers are going to work for web start-ups or investment firms instead of building space colonies and such. On the other hand, science is now far ahead of what is being written about in SF, rather than SF leading science.

It’s an interesting hypothesis. I can see SF inspiring (or not) young people to go into science and technology fields to a certain extent. But it’s no doubt a complex issue. Continue reading →