The 13th episode of the 6th season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is titled “Far Beyond the Stars”. In it, Captain Benjamin Sisko experiences hallucinations in which he is a science fiction writer in the 1950s names Benny Russell,…
Tag: humanism
Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
In the summer of 2012, I read everything that Cory Doctorow had published to date. I was in an internship where I wasn’t particularly busy and I read a lot of public domain books that I could easily access for…
Humanist Science Fiction
I have previously discussed what I’ve termed “optimistic” vs “pessimistic” science fiction, and also stated my very strong preference for optimism in fiction. But certain works even within that category become my special favorites, the works that I love above…
The Martian, Interstellar, and Optimism in Sci-Fi
So, okay, I’m finally ready to talk about this year’s biggest space movie – and as you all know, I have a lot of feelings about space. I mean, after all, this movie was big and bombastic without being over…
Robots, Humanity, and Emotion
“The Encyclopedia Galactica defines a robot as ‘a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man.’ The marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot as ‘Your Plastic Pal Who’s Fun To Be With.’” – The…
The Importance of Fantasy
I read very little realistic fiction. Since I was very young, most of what I’ve read has been fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction. That’s not to say I don’t or won’t read anything “real”, but it makes up a very small…
Space is an Ocean, and the Ocean is Home
A year or two ago, I started working on a sci-fi novel about Mars (as one does). It’s still very much a work in progress, by which I mean, I have written only a little bit more than nothing (this…
Why Does Space Matter?
Space. The final frontier. Space is big. Really big. Space. It seems to go on and on forever. Space is to place as eternity is to time. Space […] can never be conquered. Our destiny is in the stars, so…
Wall-E, Feet of Clay, and What It Means to Be Human
It’s no secret among people who know me that Pixar’s Wall-E is quite possibly my favorite movie of all time. Usually, the most detail I have to give in explaining my love of the film is just squealing “OMG cute…