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Ada Palmer is a professor of European history at the University of Chicago. Her four-volume science fiction series, Unknown land, Inspired by 18th-century philosophers such as Voltaire and Diderot.
“I want to write a story that Voltaire might write if Voltaire could read the science fiction of the past 70 years and have all these tools at his disposal,” Palmer said in episode 495. Geek Galaxy Guide podcast.
Palmer said that Voltaire could actually be considered the first science fiction writer, thanks to an article he wrote in 1752. The earth, they are huge, they explore the earth but it is difficult to find life forms, because to them, whales are as big as fleas,” she said. “They finally realized that the little piece of wood on the ground is a ship. It was full of creatures, and they began to touch. So this is a story of first contact. “
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein Usually considered to be the first science fiction novel. Voltaire wrote earlier than Shelley, so is he worthy of this title? It depends on your definition of science fiction.
“[‘Micromégas’] No technology involved,” Palmer said, “So if you define science fiction as relying on technology — and it’s about, in Frankenstein In a sense,’Does human knowledge give us unprecedented power? what does that mean? ‘-Not asking that. But aliens and the first contact is a very core science fiction element. “
Therefore, there is no clear answer to the question of who should be regarded as the first science fiction writer.Given that the definition of the term is loose enough, even the writers of the 2nd century, such as Lucian of Samosa It may be a candidate. In the end, Palmer said that asking questions is more important than getting any specific answer.
“I don’t want to argue,’Yes, everyone’s history of science fiction should start with Voltaire,'” she said. “But I do want to argue that by discussing whether Voltaire is the beginning of science fiction, or earlier or later, everyone will have a richer history of science fiction. Because this involves the question of what science fiction is.”
Listen to the full interview with Ada Palmer in episode 495 Geek Galaxy Guide (more than). And check out some of the highlights in the discussion below.
Ada Palmer’s promise on science fiction:
Unlike many other literary genres, the wonderful thing about science fiction and fantasy fans is that when you attend a meeting, the author does not hang out in the green room, but occasionally appears at an event and then disappears; the author hangs out in the lobby, You can chat with people, and you can meet people through the Internet. So I met a lot of writers at the conference and became a member of the group before I became a writer-because I can talk about music, or I can talk about history, or I can talk about anime and manga and role-playing, these are all my work field of. So I got to know people, and to be known by people, through that wonderful and often so supportive world.
Ida Palmer Unknown land series:
This global network of flying cars is so fast that they can take you from anywhere on earth to any other place on earth in about two hours. So suddenly every place on the earth is commuting distance. You can live in the Bahamas, have lunch in Tokyo, eat in a restaurant in Paris, and your spouse-who also lives in the Bahamas-can have lunch in Toronto and another in Antarctica, which is a perfect choice. Reasonable travel days, especially for self-driving cars that let you work in the car. So once this is true for several generations, people no longer live in one place because they have political connections there, they live in one place, because there is a great house there, and they buy it from their parents At the time, their parents liked a house very much, and geography was no longer a determinant of political identity.
Ida Palmer Transforming Mars board game:
The players are all a company, and the United Nations is providing you with funds to incentivize this, but you can also make your own profit, and you are competing with other companies to best transform Mars… I pay attention when playing “Transforming Mars” If you play it competitively, and then you play it alone, you’ll say, “Well, we will ignore competing for points. We will work together to ensure that all resources will ultimately be mastered in the most effective use of them. In the hands of the company, “You can transform Mars better and faster. So the board game aims to celebrate this capitalist space model, but in fact it also shows that as long as everyone is united and everyone helps everyone succeed, everyone can score higher and achieve more Martian transformations.
Ida Palmer of Diderot:
[Jacques the Fatalist] It is a peculiar philosophical novel written by Diderot in the 18th century. It tells the story of a man drifting along with the crowd in the company of his master. It has this exquisite and warm prose style in which Diderot speaks directly to the reader with great intimacy and fragility…Reading this book feels like reading a time capsule, where you will meet Diderot and become him Friend, another book I have read in a different way from anyone. You come out of the ending, and it feels like Diderot shared with you his original, incomplete, uncertain, deep, and profound human thoughts and feelings, and asked you in a very delicate way. Thoughts and opinions in return.
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