Sci-fi: speculation as art form

Much of the art around climate is about imagining new futures. Rubbing up against visions of the future is a good way to reconsider the present. Sci-fi is the daddy of that concept, so it's interesting to see EcoGeek doing a series of really excellent in-depth interviews with US sci-fi authors.

Much of the art around climate is about imagining new futures. Rubbing up against visions of the future is a good way to reconsider the present. Sci-fi is the daddy of that concept, so it's interesting to see EcoGeek doing a series of really excellent in-depth interviews with US sci-fi authors.

No 1 is with Tobias Buckell.

No 2 is with Karl Shroeder.

No 3 is with Paolo Bicigalupi.

I can't claim to be the greatest science fiction fan, but a) its prophetic role seems ideally suited to a time in which we have to face up to change, and b) the interview with Bicigalupi is a lot of fun:

I'm not interested in PV cells, or solar paint, or zero emissions cars, or any of a zillion other objects that companies want to sell us so that we can feel good about ourselves while we roar off the cliff. If I had to think of [...] technologies that I greatly admire, I would say... wool sweaters and long underwear are fabulous.

Photo of TH.2058 by Dominique Gonzales-Foerster, 2008, by abrinsky.