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Science in Fiction (April 30, 2004, Two)

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Program Summary

When Jules Verne put a man on the moon and a ship under the sea, he was writing pure science fiction—inventing non-existent and truly unimaginable science to create an incredible story. If his stories were written today, however, they would simply be run-of-the-mill adventure tales. Why? Because moon shots and submarines are now everyday things.

Science fiction’s fascination lies in the visions of the future it presents. Buck Roger’s space ship, Ray Bradbury’s men on Mars, Dick Tracy’s wristwatch-video phone—these were all fantastic ideas in their time. Now astronauts pilot the space shuttle, there are mechanical rovers on Mars, and our cell phones take pictures. Science fiction becomes science fact.

Canadian writer Margaret Atwood’s latest work, “Oryx and Crake,”is a genre of science fiction that is often called speculative fiction. Atwood does not invent science for the purposes of her story; she takes real science and runs with it, postulating what humans might do with their scientific power and what the prospects of civilization might be. Her tomorrow is bleak. Genetic engineering, global warming, and deadly viruses spin out of control and spit out a world in which humans are nearly extinct. Jules Verne’s future was exciting; Atwood’s is frightening, and, unlike the submarine and space ship, one that hopefully won’t come to be.

Guests

Margaret Atwood, author of “Oryx and Crake“ (Nan A. Talese, 2003) and “The Handmaid's Tale“ (Anchor, 1998) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Related Links and Resources

For Discussion:

• What science fiction have you read or seen lately? Do you think the science in it was invented or real?
• What ideas or inventions in science fiction do you think are most likely to become reality? What science or technology are they based on?
• Could science fiction serve as a warning to us to use science responsibly?
• What is your vision of the future?

Activities

A fictional future. Get together with the English department for an interdisciplinary project. Choose a science fiction book or story for students to read, and discuss the scientific principles contained in it. You can find reading material at Novels Grades 7-9 (Ramapo College of New Jersey), or you may want to choose a classic by Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, or even the “Star Trek” series. Search for Tomorrow: Science Fiction Literature and Today’s Student and Science Fiction and the Future (Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute) are two excellent units designed specifically for middle school that include sample lesson plans and bibliographies.

Budding Bradburys. Have students write a short science fiction story using current scientific theories, research, technology, etc.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

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