Saturday, February 3, 2007
An outlook on Science Fiction
I have to say I have never been a big fan of science fiction stories. However, I have to admit I am still intrigued about how these writers choose to portray the world in the future. Some might say that science fiction is just creative work encompassing much imagination. Others see it as more of a realistic presumption on how the future might turn out. In my opinion both these views have some truth to them. I have no doubt that eventually machines and computers will play a role in society that will rival and take over humans capabilities. However, I still have difficulty seeing realistic portrayals in for example the second science fiction story we read. Human interaction and contact is a vital aspect of life I don’t believe even machines or technology can eliminate it. It is imbedded within our nature and cannot be removed. Also the way a machine and its manual can replace religion altogether seems very bleak to me. The old woman chooses to worship her manual like a bible. They appear to no longer worship a higher being, but rather themselves since they are the ones that created the machine and it’s so called “wonders”. No matter what ones take is on science fiction, I believe it remains an important part of literature. It could possibly give us clues into the future or just provide an entertaining read.
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2 comments:
I think the portrayal of the world in the future as some science fiction writers view it serves mostly as an entertaining story, as you suggest, and also a warning of what possibly could happen (although not very likely). A world in which there's intergalactic war and robots trying to wipe out humanity is a much more entertaining story than one that describes how humans and machines will peacefully co-exist and make life better for everyone.
I think, since science fiction got its start largely during the cold war, it reflects more fears about possible outcomes of real world events. I don't think anyone legitimately believes machines will replace other humans and god, but maybe it's a reflection of a fear that people trust machines too much. Or maybe it's hyperbole to warn us.
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