Enabling Science Fiction

Patent law promotes innovation by giving inventors 20-year-long exclusive rights to their inventions. To be patented, however, an invention must be “enabled,” meaning the inventor must describe it in enough detail to teach others how to make and use the invention at the time the patent is filed. When inventions are not enabled, like a perpetual motion machine or a time travel device, they are derided as “mere science fiction”—products of the human mind, or the daydreams of armchair scientists, that are not suitable for the patent system. This Article argues that, in fact, the literary genre of science fiction has its own unique—albeit far laxer—enablement requirement. Since the genre’s origins, fans have demanded that the inventions depicted in science fiction meet a minimum standard of scientific plausibility. Otherwise, the material is denigrated as lazy hand-waving or, worse, “mere fantasy.” Taking this insight further, the Article argues that, just as patents positively affect the progress of science and technology by teaching others how to make and use real inventions, so too can science fiction, by stimulating scientists’ imagination about what sorts of technologies might one day be possible. Thus, like patents, science fiction can have real world impacts for the development of science and technology. Indeed, the Article reveals that this trajectory—from science fiction to science reality—can be seen in the patent record itself, with several famous patents tracing their origins to works of science fiction

A Paradox of Fact and Fiction: Cultivating the \u27Literary Imagination\u27 Through Quiet Rebellion

The dissertation explores the problems that patterned and processed teaching and learning poses for implementing principles of critical pedagogy in English Literature courses. I apply multiple theoretical frameworks including literary theory, critical theory and post-humanism to place my own experiences amidst the on-going conversations about standardization and democracy. I draw upon the work of educational theorists such as Maxine Greene, Martha Nussbaum, Louise Rosenblatt, and Mary Aswell Doll to explore the ways that literature can enrich students’ lives and society, and Geneva Gay and Lisa Delpit to explore how cultural bias regarding linguistics can function when teaching literature and language in a standardized setting. I also refer to John Dewey, Paulo Freire, Gert Biesta, and bell hooks to explore the ways that current practices can compromise democratic values in the classroom, and post-human theorists, such as Hayles, Braidotti, and Weaver to explore the consequences of sacrificing these qualities as science and technology continue to change our environment. Within these speculative essays I analyze the works of fiction from authors, Colson Whitehead, Lesley Nineka Arimah, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and various authors of fantasy series to discuss how speculative fiction can help us understand these concepts. Through fictionalized vignettes based on real classroom experiences paired with speculative essays, I attempt to make connections between perceived binaries of fact and fiction and science and literature. I provide a discussion focused on the power of fiction to develop a sense of identity, both collective and individual, build empathy, and foster critical thinking skills, and address how these are lost when measurement takes precedence over learning opportunities that allow for exploration and creation. The study particularly addresses the ways science fiction and fantasy work to engage students while building important literacy skills necessary for success in the discipline. The inquiry explores the struggle teachers feel when attempting to meet district and state testing requirements while also providing students with meaningful learning opportunities

Sci-fEAST: Science fiction genre in Polish and Czechoslovakian cinema

This article is based on research done as part of Sci-fEAST: the Science Fiction Genre in Central and Eastern Europe project initiated by the students of Charles University in Prague and continued also by the academic staff of the University of Łódź since September 2012. The goal of the project was to create a comprehensive database of science fiction films specific for particular national cinemas and so far all of the Czech and Polish full-length feature films have been collected. It is planned that the Hungarians and Slovaks will join the project as well, adding to the database both works of Hungarian cinema and films made after the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The http://www. sci-feast.eu webpage, also available in English, is being gradually updated as new TV-productions as well as short-feature films are added. The latter, especially in the case of Polish cinema, constitute a significant part of all the works of the genre. This freely accessible database provides descriptions of the films together with technical data and a short synopsis of the plot, but its intended purpose is to be a discussion platform (of thought exchange) between the particular universities and scholar communities.This book was financially supported by the National Programme for the Development of Humanities: project “Cinema: Intercultural Perspective. Western-European Cinema in Poland, Polish Cinema in Western Europe. Mutual Perception of Film Cultures (1918–1939)”

Explicit and Implicit Religion in \u3cem\u3eDoctor Who\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eStar Trek\u3c/em\u3e

It has often been proposed that the original series of Star Trek reflected a modern, enlightenment perspective on religion, and that subsequent spinoffs like Deep Space Nine moved in a more post-modern direction. Doctor Who, the longest running science fiction show, provides an interesting basis for comparison. Both television shows offer similar tropes, and in both instances, the rhetoric that claims to explain away religion in scientific terms ends up treating it as literally true. Both shows depict our universe as populated with “natural gods” which are sometimes explicitly identified with the gods and demons of ancient human religious literature

The Placement of Lucian’s Novel True History in the Genre of Science Fiction

Among the works of the ancient Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata, well-known for his scathing and obscene irony, there is the novel True History. In this work Lucian, being in an intense satirical mood, intended to undermine the values of the classical world. Through a continuous parade of wonderful events, beings and situations as a substitute for the realistic approach to reality, he parodies the scientific knowledge, creating a literary model for the subsequent writers. Without doubt, nowadays, Lucian’s large influence on the history of literature has been highlighted. What is missing is pointing out the specific characteristics that would lead to the placement of True History at the starting point of Science Fiction. We are going to highlight two of these features: first, the operation of “cognitive estrangement”, which aims at providing the reader with the perception of the difference between the convention and the truth, and second, the use of strange innovations (“novum”) that verify the value of Lucian’s work by connecting it to historicity

Abstract

In this project, I would like to expose the reality happening in the Indonesian society through Science fiction graphic novel script and samples. This project focuses on how the live of my main character that represent particular condition of an individual in the society. It also focuses on the surival of the character as the individual in changing her future. The theme that is used in this project is the survival of the individual. I would also explore how fear distorted human in making a crucial decision in order to survive the adverse and unusual circumstance. To depict this reality through fiction, I am using the Timepunk, a sub-genre of science fiction as the genre of my work and bringing out the issue of the cure of leukemia as the main concern of my main character

Evaluative Conditioning: Arti-fact or -fiction?—A Reply to Baeyens, De Houwer, Vansteenwegen, and Eelen (1998)

Baeyens et al.(1998) claim that Field and Davey's (1997) controversial study of conceptual conditioning offers little threat to current conceptions of evaluative conditioning. This article addresses some of the questions posed by Baeyenset al.First, some criticisms of the conceptual conditioning study appear to be based on a misunderstanding of the procedure. Second, we address the issues surrounding the so-called Type-X procedure. Specifically, we begin by reviewing the status of studies that have used a procedure different from the Type-X procedure. It is then argued that, although the Type-X procedure has been used in only a portion of EC research, it has been used primarily in those studies whose outcome has been used to argue that evaluative conditioning (EC) is functionally distinct from autonomic conditioning. We then review the evidence from non-Type-X procedures that EC is a distinct form of learning. Finally, an attempt is made to explain why between-subject controls should be used as a matter of course in this field of research

Why Your Academic Library Needs a Popular Reading Collection Now More Than Ever

Do popular reading materials belong in college and university libraries? Although some librarians think not, others believe there are compelling reasons for including them. The trend towards user-focused libraries, the importance of attracting patrons to libraries in the age of the Internet, and, most importantly, the need to promote literacy at a time when it has reached its lowest levels are all reasons why academic librarians are reconsidering their ideas about popular reading materials. Librarians who decide to implement a leisure reading collection should consider a number of key issues