Anyway great post, I agree that SF was much more better years ago. The world we are living right now is killing imagination with all movies, TV, mangas and junk video games. There is no place anymore for young people to think and evade in their own world and thus to create great SF stuff.

Crazy world we live in. Keep on reading old SF books, they are the references.

Cheers, Jack.

I suspect that most of the chaff will be winnowed out by mere (lack of) longevity. Also, publishing is undergoing a major shift right now. The landscape will look radically different when that particular dust settles.

And I’m not giving up on writing speculative fiction — just on making a living out of it! Sad statement, but…

Storytelling, Empathy and the Whiny Solipsist’s Disingenuous Angst
Jade Masks, Lead Balloons and Tin Ears

Now, I have done very few “space” oriented stories, but y’all might enjoy “To Kiss the Star.”

http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Amy-Sterling/Short-Stories/To-Kiss-the-Star

I first noticed this problem, where my assumption had been that as a non-scientist, I knew very little science and probably could not understand a lot of advanced science, at Worldcon in 2008. I had volunteered to coordinate what I thought was the young adult programming, but it turned out to be little children . . . but I digress. I was on a panel about “genetic engineering” which was moderated by my friend John Moore, who is a chemical engineer, and there were other panelists, one of whom gets lipservice as a “real” female sci fi writer. And I was ludicrously, by far, the panel expert. John was merely moderating, and did a good job keeping things going. But the others . . .? I’m sure that one of them did know the difference between a gene and a chromosome, but wasn’t able to articulate it at the time. I know we all probably stayed up too late partying . . .

I can only speak for myself and say that the reason I stopped writing SF was that it didn’t pay, and I would like to receive good pay and have more readers. It’s not like I didn’t put in my time, or didn’t try. One person commented online that the story that won the Nebula award the year “To Kiss the Star” was nominated was “exponentially” better than my story. It was not a science fiction story, and it was also one that I tried hard to finish, but was never able to finish. I also tried to read other stories by the same author and also could not finish them, mostly because I could not follow them. If readers (and that was I think, a reader comment) preferred this type of story and writing, it was something that I knew I couldn’t do.

Many people in science fiction aren’t aware that I’ve written and published over 100 stories, 3 novels, and also a large number of nonfiction books. My short science fiction has been primarily in F & SF and anthologies, and most interested in “hard science fiction” do not read F & SF – and of course I do not write “hard science fiction.” I just in the past, have written “science fiction.”

Anyway, Athena – keep writing – keep working on stories. Re: the wanking dope with the “sounds can’t be recorded off a ceramic surface” – those guys are everywhere. Don’t let anything like this bother you, and just focus on the stories. Also, as the author of a Battlestar Galactica book – I wouldn’t take anything that’s on TV too seriously as far as its attitude toward science and scientists. It is all truly for an entertainment purpose, exclusively. Look at the contradictions you’ll see on Science Channel shows. They will show completely contradictory shows and interviews on the same topic on the same night (usually because one is outdated). It’s up to us as individuals to use our minds to think critically and seek the truth.

And re: “Selfish Genes” – well, anthropomorphism and fitting the data to one’s assumptions rather than the other way around are endemic in science. I self-edited myself out of pursuing a career in science because I didn’t want to be an unpopular “geek” girl – so I majored in art and literature. That was in the 80′s and times have changed. At the higher levels, fantastic science is still being done, but in the meantime at least in the U.S., the weakening of science and math programs in schools is hurting U.S. kids – however, worldwide, it is good to see others coming forward.

I wonder what the most abused biology trope is? Cloning? Real-time evolution (e.g., individuals “evolving”)? We should have a contest.

My vote definitely goes for real-time evolution, especially the horrid misrepresentations of organisms “mutating” right before your eyes into an entirely new phenotype.

C’mon! “Metamorphosis” is a perfectly cromulent word! We know it happens (not to mammals on our world, but at least it happens in other clades)! Just use the word!

In Joyce’s Voices, Hugh Kenner identifies the Pyrrhonic mode as a quintessential Irish voice, then traces the “discourse” of a pub scene in Ulysses from one red-faced insult to the next. The Irish, he comes near saying, believe in nothing but the power of words (I’m Irish, so I claim sanctuary from charges of racism). Not a great insight, but he goes on to say (paraphrase), If you don’t believe in what the words are about, then the exercise of eloquence is just melodious barking. We have become a nation that believes in nothing. So we howl derision at people trying to think.

More accurate SF would be helpful, of course. Perhaps a companion to each Hard SF film/book/animation, explaining the concepts to Mr and Mrs A. Joe?