Neal Stephenson on SF as a literary genre

[nimbus]

<p>http://fora.tv/2008/05/08/Neal_Stephenson_Science_Fiction_as_a_Literary_Genre</p><p>&nbsp;A talk given to Gresham College. &nbsp;I won't spoil the talk with my personal impressions yet...</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[kelvinzero]

<p>Quite interesting once you get into it.</p><p>There certainly does seem to be a perception among intelectuals that SF is not important.. yet if we look at the books that actually changed the world, I think speculative fiction such as 1984, brave new world,&nbsp;2000 leagues, First men on the moon and others really have transformed humankind's world and our understanding of it more than the stereotypically intelectually worthy book. It is not just literal inventions such as submarines, I expect that books like 'The Time Machine' prepared many young minds to think about history, physics and mathematics, and the relation to the world we experience&nbsp;in a&nbsp;more openminded&nbsp;way.</p>