I am a conventional science fiction author. But that said, once your work is published, it no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the readers and they will derive all sorts of interpretations.
Liu CixinRead
The main difficulty is finding an idea that really excites me. We live in an age when miracles are no longer miracles, and science and the future are losing their sense of mystery. For science fiction, or at least the type of science fiction I write, this development is almost fatal, but I'm still giving it all I've got.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The author expresses difficulty in finding inspiration due to diminished wonder in science and the future.
Liu Cixin reflects on the challenge of discovering exciting ideas in a world where science has become commonplace and miraculous events no longer evoke awe. He suggests that this mundane perception of science could be detrimental to the genre of science fiction he pursues, yet he remains committed to his craft despite these hurdles.
Themes
ScienceIdeasFutureMysteryInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the future of technology, one might use this quote to stress the importance of maintaining a sense of wonder.
More from Liu Cixin
All quotes →Perhaps in ten thousand years, the starry sky that humankind gazes upon will remain empty and silent. But perhaps tomorrow we'll wake up and find an alien spaceship the size of the Moon parked in orbit.
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In the century-long history of Chinese science fiction, apocalyptic themes were mostly absent. This was especially true in the period before the 1990s, when Chinese science fiction, isolated from the influence of the West, developed on its own.
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I'm absolutely positive about human survival. We will continue to develop our civilisation and expand not just on Earth, but also across the solar system, the galaxy, even the entire universe.
Liu CixinRead
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