Unique Home Furniture, Home Decorating and Home Decoration Store
Discussing The History Of Science: Since the mid-17th century science fiction writers have been prophesying, often with amazing accuracy, the technological advances of the last 300 years. In discussing the history of science fiction, the author—a scientist as well as a writer of science fiction—considers the extent to which contemporary "tomorrow seekers," living as they do at the dawn of the Space Age, present to this generation an imaginative and accurate picture of future scientific endeavors.
But science fiction, whether predicting what will come or predicting what must not come, is not a strictly present-day phenomenon. It was not born with the atomic bomb, or even with the airplane. It can be traced far back into the 19th century and beyond; indeed, since it is so easy to confuse science fiction with writings that are merely speculation, some find it existing even in ancient times.
Take, for instance, "True History," a tale written in the 2nd century A.D. by a Greek-speaking Syrian satirist, Lucian of Samosata. Its hero reaches the moon by way of a giant waterspout, takes part in wars between the inhabitants of the sun and the moon, visits Venus, and so on. This has the panoply of science fiction, and is often described as such, but it is not true science fiction. It lacks the essential understanding of science.
The study of German, Russian, or French is also recommended. Although English is important as a language of science, essential scientific information is often available only in these other languages. Moreover, knowledge of at least one other language besides English is also a requirement for most graduate degrees in science. And finally, it is important for a high school student not to neglect study in fields other than science—such as English, history, and art—for these are equally important if a student is to achieve a weJI-rounded intellectual outlook. |
|
