Farming is the riskiest profession in the world since the fate of the crop is closely linked to the behaviour of the monsoon.
M. S. SwaminathanRead
The future depicted in a good SF story ought to be in fact possible, or at least plausible. That means that the writer should be able to convince the reader (and himself) that the wonders he is describing really can come true... and that gets tricky when you take a good, hard look at the world around you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of plausibility in science fiction writing, where the future portrayed should be believable.
Frederik Pohl's quote highlights the essential quality of science fiction: that it needs to present a future that is not only imaginative but also possible or plausible. The writer's task is to engage the reader's belief in the potential reality of the depicted wonders, which becomes a complex challenge when one reflects critically on the current state of the world. This invites both the writer and the reader to consider the boundaries between imagination and reality.
Themes
Science FictionFuturePlausibilityWritingImagination
In practice
Example use cases
In a panel discussion about literature, I might quote this to highlight the responsibilities of science fiction authors.
Similar quotes
The fact that mathematics does such a good job of describing the Universe is a mystery that we don't understand. And a debt that we will probably never be able to repay.
Lord KelvinRead
In the end, a theory is accepted not because it is confirmed by conventional empirical tests, but because researchers persuade one another that the theory is correct and relevant.
Fischer BlackRead
The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity.
Richard DawkinsRead
Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do - like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language - sign language - and they can use the signs. But when you think of our intellects, even the brightest chimp looks like a very small child.
Jane GoodallRead
As long as our brain is a mystery, the universe, the reflection of the structure of the brain will also be a mystery.
Santiago Ramon Y CajalRead