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Author Topic: Science fiction subgenres: hard vs soft vs mushroom fiction :D  (Read 5622 times)

Wicked Woodpecker of West
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Re: Science fiction subgenres: hard vs soft vs mushroom fiction :D
« Reply #30 on: December 08, 2020, 01:40:49 PM »
Quote
I believe the film you are talking about is Solaris, which I believe is based on very well regarded russian Sci-fi (Stanislaw Lem?)...

Polish sci-fi.
I deeply advice to read "Solaris" it's excelent mix of speculative scientific prose describing centuries of mankind trying to understand Solaris (due to it's anomalous nature) with personal trial of main hero, which is described in more dry less romanticised fashion - Lem was not much for romanticism.
I'd definitely put it as like 90% in hard part, 40% into Mushroom part, 0% soft

rytrasmi

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Re: Science fiction subgenres: hard vs soft vs mushroom fiction :D
« Reply #31 on: December 10, 2020, 05:35:00 PM »
I like this idea...a lot. If I may ramble...

Mushroom Sci-Fi embraces the fact that the future is unpredictable. We can't predict future science and technology as we try to do with Hard Sci-Fi. It's like a bronze-age farmer trying to predict an autonomous combine harvester. We can't take for granted that present day themes, morality, desires, etc. will be the same in the future as we do with Soft Sci-Fi. We no longer wage war for sake of personal honor or perform ritual animal/human sacrifice, but some bronze-age aspiring Soft Sci-Fi author probably would not have considered that. And that's only 3000 years ago!

Mushroom Sci-Fi throws out the idea of trying to predict future science and technology or show that human stories are timeless. (But, regarding the latter, there's only so much of present day themes etc. that you can toss before it becomes uninteresting to the present day reader.)

I would offer up Zardoz and Fantastic Planet as two examples of Mushroom Sci-Fi.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2020, 05:36:56 PM by rytrasmi »
The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your teeth fall out
Your brains come tumbling down your snout
Be merry my friends
Be merry

Ghostmaker

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Re: Science fiction subgenres: hard vs soft vs mushroom fiction :D
« Reply #32 on: December 15, 2020, 08:14:21 AM »
I like this idea...a lot. If I may ramble...

Mushroom Sci-Fi embraces the fact that the future is unpredictable. We can't predict future science and technology as we try to do with Hard Sci-Fi. It's like a bronze-age farmer trying to predict an autonomous combine harvester. We can't take for granted that present day themes, morality, desires, etc. will be the same in the future as we do with Soft Sci-Fi. We no longer wage war for sake of personal honor or perform ritual animal/human sacrifice, but some bronze-age aspiring Soft Sci-Fi author probably would not have considered that. And that's only 3000 years ago!

Mushroom Sci-Fi throws out the idea of trying to predict future science and technology or show that human stories are timeless. (But, regarding the latter, there's only so much of present day themes etc. that you can toss before it becomes uninteresting to the present day reader.)

I would offer up Zardoz and Fantastic Planet as two examples of Mushroom Sci-Fi.
Zardoz is more like LSD Sci-Fi to be honest :D

Trond

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Re: Science fiction subgenres: hard vs soft vs mushroom fiction :D
« Reply #33 on: December 18, 2020, 08:03:16 PM »
I like this idea...a lot. If I may ramble...

Mushroom Sci-Fi embraces the fact that the future is unpredictable. We can't predict future science and technology as we try to do with Hard Sci-Fi. It's like a bronze-age farmer trying to predict an autonomous combine harvester. We can't take for granted that present day themes, morality, desires, etc. will be the same in the future as we do with Soft Sci-Fi. We no longer wage war for sake of personal honor or perform ritual animal/human sacrifice, but some bronze-age aspiring Soft Sci-Fi author probably would not have considered that. And that's only 3000 years ago!

Mushroom Sci-Fi throws out the idea of trying to predict future science and technology or show that human stories are timeless. (But, regarding the latter, there's only so much of present day themes etc. that you can toss before it becomes uninteresting to the present day reader.)

I would offer up Zardoz and Fantastic Planet as two examples of Mushroom Sci-Fi.

Makes sense to me.

consolcwby

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Re: Science fiction subgenres: hard vs soft vs mushroom fiction :D
« Reply #34 on: December 20, 2020, 11:05:09 PM »
I like this idea...a lot. If I may ramble...

Mushroom Sci-Fi embraces the fact that the future is unpredictable. We can't predict future science and technology as we try to do with Hard Sci-Fi. It's like a bronze-age farmer trying to predict an autonomous combine harvester. We can't take for granted that present day themes, morality, desires, etc. will be the same in the future as we do with Soft Sci-Fi. We no longer wage war for sake of personal honor or perform ritual animal/human sacrifice, but some bronze-age aspiring Soft Sci-Fi author probably would not have considered that. And that's only 3000 years ago!

Mushroom Sci-Fi throws out the idea of trying to predict future science and technology or show that human stories are timeless. (But, regarding the latter, there's only so much of present day themes etc. that you can toss before it becomes uninteresting to the present day reader.)

I would offer up Zardoz and Fantastic Planet as two examples of Mushroom Sci-Fi.
Zardoz is more like LSD Sci-Fi to be honest :D
Zardoz is more like James Bond in a diaper to be honest :D
*FIX'D!*
I gotta admit, I love me some Zardoz, and not just for da BEWBS! But, I never consider most of this 'Mushroom Sci-Fi' to be anything other than a niche part of Sci-Fi. However, I am a more classics reader (Asimov, Heinlein, Ellison, Dick, etc.) But I did like Ender's Game and loved The Forever War! But the Shroom as a vital part of Sci Fi? Nope. Not buying it!
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