Ken MacLeod at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2012
A sunny Saturday
afternoon (18 August, 5-6 pm) saw the Scottish Power Theatre tent filled almost
to capacity for the Wellcome Trust Event 'Putting the Cult into Culture', a discussion on science
fiction and science in fiction. Chaired by Forum Writer in Residence, Pippa Goldschmidt, the discussion featured best-selling SF writer and tech
guru Neal Stephenson, with cell biologist, novelist and LabLit editor Jennifer Rohn.
Rohn began by
explaining that lab lit, as distinct from science fiction, is fiction about
scientists and scientific practice in the real world, historical or
present-day, rather than in imagined or future worlds. The number of novels
that fit this description is suprisingly small - she knew of about 120 in
English, which is not a lot to show for the four centuries (more or less) in
which science and the novel have flourished in the English-speaking world.
Scientists, she
went on, are 'not trusted messengers'. Their views on controversial topics,
even within their own specialty, are seen as just their opinion. By showing
scientists as human beings, and showing their daily work realistically, lab lit
could help to overcome popular suspicion and incomprehension of what scientists
are up to. It could also, of course, be of value and enjoyment to scientists
and science students to see their world and way of life reflected in
literature, and these are among lab lit's most avid readers.
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 August 2012
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