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Science fiction trivia question

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  • G Gregory Gadow

    We have a winner! The author is Philip K. Dick. He had 44 published novels and around 120 short stories. The movies are:

    • Blade Runner (1982), based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
    • Total Recall (1990, 2012), based on the short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" (The 2012 version is not a remake of the first movie, but a re-adaptation of the short story.)
    • Confessions d'un Barjo (1992), based on the novel "Confessions of a Crap Artist" (filmed in France; released in an English-language version in the US as Barjo)
    • Screamers (1995), based on the short story "Second Variety"
    • Minority Report (2002), based on the short story "The Minority Report"
    • Impostor (2002), based on the short story "Impostor" (The story also served as the basis for the 1962 BBC television series Out of This World.)
    • Paycheck (2003), based on the short story "Paycheck"
    • A Scanner Darkly (2006), based on the novella "A Scanner Darkly"
    • Next (2007), based on the short story "The Golden Man"
    • The Adjustment Bureau (2011), based on the short story "Adjustment Team"

    Movies being planned are an animated adaptation of the short story "The King of the Elves" by Disney, due for release in 2012; Radio Free Albemuth, based on the short story "Radio Free Albemuth", now awaiting distribution; an adaptation of the novel "Ubik", currently in "advanced negotiations"; and announced plans to adapt the novels "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" as a movie and "The Man in the High Castle" as a BBC mini-series. Not including movies, Dick's novel "Valis" has been adapted as an opera, and "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said", "Radio Free Albemuth" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" have been adapted for the stage. The stories "Mr. Spaceship", "Colony" and "The Defenders" have been adapted and broadcast as radio plays. "The Electric Ant" was adapted as a limited edition comic by Marvel. In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer. Where he shined, and the reason why he was put up for so many awards, was his ideas: the fragility of personal identity and a focus on ordinary people. Which is why so many of them have been stolen adapted by other writers.

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    W Offline
    Wjousts
    wrote on last edited by
    #21

    Gregory.Gadow wrote:

    In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer.

    What he was is a stark raving lunatic. Didn't he believe all his stories were true and were told to him by an entity from another dimension or some similar nonsense?

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    • M Marc Clifton

      Chris Losinger wrote:

      Dick

      Tom

      My Blog

      S Offline
      S Offline
      Single Step Debugger
      wrote on last edited by
      #22

      Marc Clifton wrote:

      Chris Losinger wrote:

      Dick

      Tom

      Harriet

      There is only one Vera Farmiga and Salma Hayek is her prophet! Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • G Gregory Gadow

        We have a winner! The author is Philip K. Dick. He had 44 published novels and around 120 short stories. The movies are:

        • Blade Runner (1982), based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
        • Total Recall (1990, 2012), based on the short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" (The 2012 version is not a remake of the first movie, but a re-adaptation of the short story.)
        • Confessions d'un Barjo (1992), based on the novel "Confessions of a Crap Artist" (filmed in France; released in an English-language version in the US as Barjo)
        • Screamers (1995), based on the short story "Second Variety"
        • Minority Report (2002), based on the short story "The Minority Report"
        • Impostor (2002), based on the short story "Impostor" (The story also served as the basis for the 1962 BBC television series Out of This World.)
        • Paycheck (2003), based on the short story "Paycheck"
        • A Scanner Darkly (2006), based on the novella "A Scanner Darkly"
        • Next (2007), based on the short story "The Golden Man"
        • The Adjustment Bureau (2011), based on the short story "Adjustment Team"

        Movies being planned are an animated adaptation of the short story "The King of the Elves" by Disney, due for release in 2012; Radio Free Albemuth, based on the short story "Radio Free Albemuth", now awaiting distribution; an adaptation of the novel "Ubik", currently in "advanced negotiations"; and announced plans to adapt the novels "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" as a movie and "The Man in the High Castle" as a BBC mini-series. Not including movies, Dick's novel "Valis" has been adapted as an opera, and "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said", "Radio Free Albemuth" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" have been adapted for the stage. The stories "Mr. Spaceship", "Colony" and "The Defenders" have been adapted and broadcast as radio plays. "The Electric Ant" was adapted as a limited edition comic by Marvel. In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer. Where he shined, and the reason why he was put up for so many awards, was his ideas: the fragility of personal identity and a focus on ordinary people. Which is why so many of them have been stolen adapted by other writers.

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        G Offline
        GenJerDan
        wrote on last edited by
        #23

        Albemuth isn't a short story. And Ubik will be a bitch to make. :laugh:

        So I rounded up my camel Just to ask him for a smoke He handed me a Lucky, I said "Hey, you missed the joke." My Mu[sic] My Films My Windows Programs, etc.

        S 1 Reply Last reply
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        • G Gregory Gadow

          We have a winner! The author is Philip K. Dick. He had 44 published novels and around 120 short stories. The movies are:

          • Blade Runner (1982), based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
          • Total Recall (1990, 2012), based on the short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" (The 2012 version is not a remake of the first movie, but a re-adaptation of the short story.)
          • Confessions d'un Barjo (1992), based on the novel "Confessions of a Crap Artist" (filmed in France; released in an English-language version in the US as Barjo)
          • Screamers (1995), based on the short story "Second Variety"
          • Minority Report (2002), based on the short story "The Minority Report"
          • Impostor (2002), based on the short story "Impostor" (The story also served as the basis for the 1962 BBC television series Out of This World.)
          • Paycheck (2003), based on the short story "Paycheck"
          • A Scanner Darkly (2006), based on the novella "A Scanner Darkly"
          • Next (2007), based on the short story "The Golden Man"
          • The Adjustment Bureau (2011), based on the short story "Adjustment Team"

          Movies being planned are an animated adaptation of the short story "The King of the Elves" by Disney, due for release in 2012; Radio Free Albemuth, based on the short story "Radio Free Albemuth", now awaiting distribution; an adaptation of the novel "Ubik", currently in "advanced negotiations"; and announced plans to adapt the novels "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" as a movie and "The Man in the High Castle" as a BBC mini-series. Not including movies, Dick's novel "Valis" has been adapted as an opera, and "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said", "Radio Free Albemuth" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" have been adapted for the stage. The stories "Mr. Spaceship", "Colony" and "The Defenders" have been adapted and broadcast as radio plays. "The Electric Ant" was adapted as a limited edition comic by Marvel. In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer. Where he shined, and the reason why he was put up for so many awards, was his ideas: the fragility of personal identity and a focus on ordinary people. Which is why so many of them have been stolen adapted by other writers.

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          L Offline
          Lost User
          wrote on last edited by
          #24

          H. G. Wells (85) and Jules Verne (145) Granted, many are done, re-done, re-made, digitally remastered etc. etc. But still, seems 85 is a lot more than 10 and 145 is even more than that. What is your comparing source?

          Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

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          • W Wjousts

            Gregory.Gadow wrote:

            In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer.

            What he was is a stark raving lunatic. Didn't he believe all his stories were true and were told to him by an entity from another dimension or some similar nonsense?

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            TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
            wrote on last edited by
            #25

            You aren't thinking of L. Ron Hubbard are you? The founder of Scientology?

            If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
            You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

            W 1 Reply Last reply
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            • A AspDotNetDev

              Ian Shlasko

              Somebody in an online forum wrote:

              INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.

              I Offline
              I Offline
              Ian Shlasko
              wrote on last edited by
              #26

              Who? :-D

              Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
              Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

              A 1 Reply Last reply
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              • I Ian Shlasko

                Who? :-D

                Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
                Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

                A Offline
                A Offline
                AspDotNetDev
                wrote on last edited by
                #27

                Nobody you would know, I'm sure. Just some schmuck. :rolleyes:

                Somebody in an online forum wrote:

                INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • T TheGreatAndPowerfulOz

                  You aren't thinking of L. Ron Hubbard are you? The founder of Scientology?

                  If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
                  You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

                  W Offline
                  W Offline
                  Wjousts
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #28

                  No, no I'm not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick[^]

                  Throughout February and March 1974, he experienced a series of visions, which he referred to as "2-3-74", shorthand for February–March 1974. He described the initial visions as laser beams and geometric patterns, and, occasionally, brief pictures of Jesus and of ancient Rome. As the visions increased in length and frequency, Dick claimed he began to live a double life, one as himself, "Philip K. Dick", and one as "Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the 1st century A.D. He referred to the "transcendentally rational mind" as "Zebra", "God" and "VALIS." Dick wrote about the experiences, first in the semi-autobiographical novel Radio Free Albemuth and then in VALIS, The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, i.e., the VALIS trilogy. At one point Dick felt that he had been taken over by the spirit of the prophet Elijah. He believed that an episode in his novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said was a detailed retelling of a story from the Biblical Book of Acts, which he had never read.

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                  • W Wjousts

                    No, no I'm not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick[^]

                    Throughout February and March 1974, he experienced a series of visions, which he referred to as "2-3-74", shorthand for February–March 1974. He described the initial visions as laser beams and geometric patterns, and, occasionally, brief pictures of Jesus and of ancient Rome. As the visions increased in length and frequency, Dick claimed he began to live a double life, one as himself, "Philip K. Dick", and one as "Thomas", a Christian persecuted by Romans in the 1st century A.D. He referred to the "transcendentally rational mind" as "Zebra", "God" and "VALIS." Dick wrote about the experiences, first in the semi-autobiographical novel Radio Free Albemuth and then in VALIS, The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, i.e., the VALIS trilogy. At one point Dick felt that he had been taken over by the spirit of the prophet Elijah. He believed that an episode in his novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said was a detailed retelling of a story from the Biblical Book of Acts, which he had never read.

                    T Offline
                    T Offline
                    TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #29

                    ah, yes, I remember reading about that at one point. Makes me wonder about Roger Zelazny...

                    If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
                    You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L Lost User

                      H. G. Wells (85) and Jules Verne (145) Granted, many are done, re-done, re-made, digitally remastered etc. etc. But still, seems 85 is a lot more than 10 and 145 is even more than that. What is your comparing source?

                      Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                      G Offline
                      G Offline
                      Gregory Gadow
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #30

                      The genre of science fiction is typically considered to have begun in the mid 1920s, which saw the start up of Amazing Stories in 1926 and the release of the movie Metropolis in 1927. The earliest date I've seen is 1920, with the publication of the Czech novel R.U.R (which coined the word "robot"); the latest date is March 1938, when John Campbell took control of Astounding Stories and renamed the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction. Wells and Verne, as proto-science fiction writers, definitely had a strong influence on the early literature. But they are not considered to be writers of science fiction.

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                      • W Wjousts

                        Gregory.Gadow wrote:

                        In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer.

                        What he was is a stark raving lunatic. Didn't he believe all his stories were true and were told to him by an entity from another dimension or some similar nonsense?

                        B Offline
                        B Offline
                        Brady Kelly
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #31

                        They aren't? :omg:

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • W Wjousts

                          Gregory.Gadow wrote:

                          In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer.

                          What he was is a stark raving lunatic. Didn't he believe all his stories were true and were told to him by an entity from another dimension or some similar nonsense?

                          G Offline
                          G Offline
                          Gregory Gadow
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #32

                          It is believed that Dick had some kind of psychotic break in the mid 70s; whether it was a mental condition, a stroke or the result of drug experimentation is a matter of lively debate (I've read reasoned arguments that A Scanner Darkly was a lot more autobiographical than he let on.) The VALIS books, I think, were the only ones he considered himself to have "dictated", though.

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                          • G Gregory Gadow

                            The genre of science fiction is typically considered to have begun in the mid 1920s, which saw the start up of Amazing Stories in 1926 and the release of the movie Metropolis in 1927. The earliest date I've seen is 1920, with the publication of the Czech novel R.U.R (which coined the word "robot"); the latest date is March 1938, when John Campbell took control of Astounding Stories and renamed the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction. Wells and Verne, as proto-science fiction writers, definitely had a strong influence on the early literature. But they are not considered to be writers of science fiction.

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                            L Offline
                            Lost User
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #33

                            Gregory.Gadow wrote:

                            But they are not considered to be writers of science fiction.

                            So let me get this straight... You are saying The Time Machine[^] and War of the worlds[^] are NOT science fiction. You will need to elaborate on this some more because ya know the ol' saying "Looks like a duck, talks like a duck".. Well by golly these stories sure sound like ducks to me (and most everyone that has read them). Not sure why you are citing Amazing stories as the beginning of Sci Fi... [Edit] The only reference I can think of that you are using is Wiki's Sci Fi history. You have mis-interpreted it however. "The development of American science fiction as a self-concious genere dtates in part from 1926, when Huo Gernsback founded Amazing Stories magazine, which was devoted exclusively to science fiction stories". There are multiple things to take from this quote. 1.) Self Consious genre means that the genre now knows it exists, not that it did not exist before 2.) A magizine dedicated exclusively to something implies that, that something existed before the magazine. It may not be fully tracable, but it did clearly exist 3.) Americans did not create Sci-Fiction nor were they the first to have a self-consious genre of sci fi

                            Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                            G 1 Reply Last reply
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                            • G GenJerDan

                              Albemuth isn't a short story. And Ubik will be a bitch to make. :laugh:

                              So I rounded up my camel Just to ask him for a smoke He handed me a Lucky, I said "Hey, you missed the joke." My Mu[sic] My Films My Windows Programs, etc.

                              S Offline
                              S Offline
                              Smithers Jones
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #34

                              GenJerDan wrote:

                              And Ubik will be a bitch to make.

                              Loved the book. Now I know what I will be reading tonight. :thumbsup:

                              "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (DNA)

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                              • L Lost User

                                Gregory.Gadow wrote:

                                But they are not considered to be writers of science fiction.

                                So let me get this straight... You are saying The Time Machine[^] and War of the worlds[^] are NOT science fiction. You will need to elaborate on this some more because ya know the ol' saying "Looks like a duck, talks like a duck".. Well by golly these stories sure sound like ducks to me (and most everyone that has read them). Not sure why you are citing Amazing stories as the beginning of Sci Fi... [Edit] The only reference I can think of that you are using is Wiki's Sci Fi history. You have mis-interpreted it however. "The development of American science fiction as a self-concious genere dtates in part from 1926, when Huo Gernsback founded Amazing Stories magazine, which was devoted exclusively to science fiction stories". There are multiple things to take from this quote. 1.) Self Consious genre means that the genre now knows it exists, not that it did not exist before 2.) A magizine dedicated exclusively to something implies that, that something existed before the magazine. It may not be fully tracable, but it did clearly exist 3.) Americans did not create Sci-Fiction nor were they the first to have a self-consious genre of sci fi

                                Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                                G Offline
                                G Offline
                                Gregory Gadow
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #35

                                Verne and Wells wrote social commentary. "The Time Machine", published in 1895, was not about the theory and science of time travel: it was about where society might end up if it continued along its current trajectory. In that story, time travel is a MacGuffin, a device that lets the plot unfold. By the 1941 publication of Robert Heinlein's By His Bootstraps, time travel was the plot. Likewise in "War of the Worlds", the invasion by Mars was a MacGuffin that let Wells explore the collapse of society, and how different people would respond to that situation. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was a warning against tyranny; in later stories, Captain Nemo spoke against the growing consumerist culture and the need to protect natural areas like the sea from human depredation. Early science fiction was driven by gee-wizzery. Verne and Wells did not write those kinds of stories, so scholars of literature generally do not consider them to have written science fiction.

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                                • G Gregory Gadow

                                  Verne and Wells wrote social commentary. "The Time Machine", published in 1895, was not about the theory and science of time travel: it was about where society might end up if it continued along its current trajectory. In that story, time travel is a MacGuffin, a device that lets the plot unfold. By the 1941 publication of Robert Heinlein's By His Bootstraps, time travel was the plot. Likewise in "War of the Worlds", the invasion by Mars was a MacGuffin that let Wells explore the collapse of society, and how different people would respond to that situation. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" was a warning against tyranny; in later stories, Captain Nemo spoke against the growing consumerist culture and the need to protect natural areas like the sea from human depredation. Early science fiction was driven by gee-wizzery. Verne and Wells did not write those kinds of stories, so scholars of literature generally do not consider them to have written science fiction.

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #36

                                  Gregory.Gadow wrote:

                                  "The Time Machine", published in 1895, was not about the theory and science of time travel: it was about where society might end up if it continued along its current trajectory.

                                  Not sure how this makes it non-Sci-Fi. Most 'good' sci-fi IMO follow this same pattern. A hypothetical situation is made - How does man or a single person react. It does not have to be about the fictional technology. Many modern sci fi follow this same theme. Ditto for the others. I do not see how their story about 'society' makes it non-Sci fi. That is the most common idea of sci fi. Please give citations for these scholars. You didn't respond to where you got the '1920's' info, and if it is from Wiki, well that very site refers to Wells and Verne as Sci Fi writers. Please look at 'The Time Machine' and 'War of the Worlds' links. I would like to see references to the literature scholars that claim these are not Sci-Fi.

                                  Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                                  G 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • G Gregory Gadow

                                    We have a winner! The author is Philip K. Dick. He had 44 published novels and around 120 short stories. The movies are:

                                    • Blade Runner (1982), based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
                                    • Total Recall (1990, 2012), based on the short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" (The 2012 version is not a remake of the first movie, but a re-adaptation of the short story.)
                                    • Confessions d'un Barjo (1992), based on the novel "Confessions of a Crap Artist" (filmed in France; released in an English-language version in the US as Barjo)
                                    • Screamers (1995), based on the short story "Second Variety"
                                    • Minority Report (2002), based on the short story "The Minority Report"
                                    • Impostor (2002), based on the short story "Impostor" (The story also served as the basis for the 1962 BBC television series Out of This World.)
                                    • Paycheck (2003), based on the short story "Paycheck"
                                    • A Scanner Darkly (2006), based on the novella "A Scanner Darkly"
                                    • Next (2007), based on the short story "The Golden Man"
                                    • The Adjustment Bureau (2011), based on the short story "Adjustment Team"

                                    Movies being planned are an animated adaptation of the short story "The King of the Elves" by Disney, due for release in 2012; Radio Free Albemuth, based on the short story "Radio Free Albemuth", now awaiting distribution; an adaptation of the novel "Ubik", currently in "advanced negotiations"; and announced plans to adapt the novels "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" as a movie and "The Man in the High Castle" as a BBC mini-series. Not including movies, Dick's novel "Valis" has been adapted as an opera, and "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said", "Radio Free Albemuth" and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" have been adapted for the stage. The stories "Mr. Spaceship", "Colony" and "The Defenders" have been adapted and broadcast as radio plays. "The Electric Ant" was adapted as a limited edition comic by Marvel. In my opinion, Dick wasn't a great writer. Where he shined, and the reason why he was put up for so many awards, was his ideas: the fragility of personal identity and a focus on ordinary people. Which is why so many of them have been stolen adapted by other writers.

                                    T Offline
                                    T Offline
                                    thrakazog
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #37

                                    I've never read any of the books. But I thought most those movies sucked. I saw Paycheck a couple weeks ago. Wow was that ever a steaming pant load.

                                    Kill some time, play my game Hop Cheops[^]

                                    G 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • L Lost User

                                      Gregory.Gadow wrote:

                                      "The Time Machine", published in 1895, was not about the theory and science of time travel: it was about where society might end up if it continued along its current trajectory.

                                      Not sure how this makes it non-Sci-Fi. Most 'good' sci-fi IMO follow this same pattern. A hypothetical situation is made - How does man or a single person react. It does not have to be about the fictional technology. Many modern sci fi follow this same theme. Ditto for the others. I do not see how their story about 'society' makes it non-Sci fi. That is the most common idea of sci fi. Please give citations for these scholars. You didn't respond to where you got the '1920's' info, and if it is from Wiki, well that very site refers to Wells and Verne as Sci Fi writers. Please look at 'The Time Machine' and 'War of the Worlds' links. I would like to see references to the literature scholars that claim these are not Sci-Fi.

                                      Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                                      G Offline
                                      G Offline
                                      Gregory Gadow
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #38

                                      Collin Jasnoch wrote:

                                      Please give citations for these scholars.

                                      I'll see what I can find. Some of this comes from high school and college lit classes taken years ago; the rest comes from workshops, lectures and conversation (I'm a big SF geek and have gone to lots of conferences over the last 20 years.) I do remember that part of the issue of "When did science fiction start?" was that, with too broad a definition, science fiction could be claimed as one of the original genres of pre-literature. Is Ovid's telling of Icarus and Daedalus science fiction? "The City of Brass" from One Thousand and One Nights? The visions of Ezekiel, where he tries to describe the wheels within wheels of alien beings? Gilgamesh' quest for immortality? Stories that use technology as their MacGuffins have been around ever since humans first developed technology; there will never be a clear demarcation between SF and non-SF, and any such line is going to be a matter of vigorous debate. Which is why I find it so much fun to take classes, attended workshops and lectures, and spend much time in conversation ;P Modern science fiction is usually defined as science being the plot, rather than science being an instrument of the plot. "War of the Worlds" would be essentially the same story if it was prompted by a global plague, or a zombie apocalypse, or demons breaking free from Hell. "Puppet Masters" by Robert Heinlein would would be very different without invading aliens. "Frankenstein" is about the cost of overreaching in the quest for knowledge and the nature of humanity itself; any of a dozen MacGuffins could be used to tell that story. "The Bicentennial Man" -- for that matter, any of Asimov's Robot stories -- depends on positronic brains and the Three Laws. That somewhat subjective distinction is where I most commonly see the dividing line placed.

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                                      • T thrakazog

                                        I've never read any of the books. But I thought most those movies sucked. I saw Paycheck a couple weeks ago. Wow was that ever a steaming pant load.

                                        Kill some time, play my game Hop Cheops[^]

                                        G Offline
                                        G Offline
                                        Gregory Gadow
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #39

                                        As is usually the case, the originals are far better than the movie adaptations. "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" is very different from Total Recall, and "The Minority Report" was actually quite good. "A Scanner Darkly"... if one can read a novel while stoned, that would be one to try.

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                                        • M Marc Clifton

                                          Michael Crichton? Marc

                                          My Blog

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                                          Nueman
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #40

                                          Yes, that is the first person I thought of. If he doesn't have more than Dick, I think he is a close second.

                                          No Worries!

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