This is a collection of articles on science fiction culture, community, and social issues. Originally called ‘Sage Scifi,’ the name has changed but the intent is still the same – Science fiction is a weapon in the war against our dystopian reality. It’s still important to me that science fiction continue as an authentic, inclusive genre and community for other kids like me who need a place to go, to be, and to grow.
Happy Monday – let’s talk about scifi and bridging the world of Weird Nerds. Science fiction can’t exist without ‘weird nerds,’ but weird nerds can’t exist without understanding how to co-exist with the world. How do we bridge between them? Who or what, you ask, is a ‘weird nerd?’ All good questions. This recent article…
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Time to get my rant on – Giant Freakin Robot released a scifi essay that misses the point about ‘what’s wrong with science fiction.’ I guess it’s to be expected – science fiction is in a troubled state – you’d have to be blind not to see it. What bothers me is that GFR projects…
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What is cowardice? Would you recognize a coward if you saw one? What’s the difference between a hero and a coward, between cowardice and heroism? Does our modern science fiction unlock our inner heroes or is it enabling our cowardice? I wrestled with those questions over the three-day weekend. Now I’m jotting down some notes…
If you can understand why I’d say ‘no’ to a protein shake made with one drop of poison, you can understand why I’m talking about toxic influencers. All the mental gymnastics in the world can’t change the fact that vitality and venom don’t belong in the same sentence. Solarpunk, green tech, sustainability, and even science…
Stand by for some sage scifi: community lessons in a post-Reddit universe. It’s been eight months since the Reddit blackout. We didn’t know what to expect last June, but we did know that Reddit jumped the shark of Internet relevance. They shut down third party apps, introduced API pricing, and crushed the biggest protest in…
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Some important ‘Sage Scifi’ advice: we should be people who treat kids like people. If we want to live in a world where we get to be mature, enjoy civilized discourse, and anti-racist, then we must acknowledge our responsibility to be persons that young people can feel safe talking to. Let me tell you what…
Today’s wake-up call comes in the form of this letter – Dear Jackson, face everything and recover. Up and at ’em, wipe the sleep outta your eyes. When you started out, you wanted to re-invent your life. Jackson, without the demons and baggage. Jackson without the regrets and self-loathing. Writing, creating, making, doing – those…
Ran across this post by Tom Bottelsen and it encapsulates one of the ‘must haves’ for science fiction: sage scifi should make progress feel possible. Here’s what he said: “If you look at all the other science fiction writers, they always view the world as getting to this post-apocalyptic, dystopian, horrible nightmare … Star Trek…
Let’s talk about another sage scifi idea you need: we must be connected. Simple, right? Deceptively so, for connection is a survival skill. As a species, our ability to cooperate is a must-have, especially as we contemplate whatever is going to happen next in our late-stage capitalism / boring dystopia. Disconnecting from each other will…
Click Here to Read Part One – So yesterday’s blog post was the beginning of a conversation about applying craftsmanship to scifi through the use of a ‘maturity model.’ I spent most of that post talking about ‘why we should think about this.’ Immaturity in science fiction represents an existential threat; ignore the disaster and…
