Cosmic Stories Blog
This blog exists to explore conceptions and representations of science or science communication through the medium of fiction. A new blog entry is posted every two weeks. For updates follow me on Twitter @Tiylaya, mastodon, bluesky or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CosmicStoriesSF.
There for the taking
Looking at resource mining beyond the constraints of the familiar earth.
The Predictability of People
Looking at stories of population manipulation and the statistical predictability of people.
Swords of Damocles
The fiction and threat of swords of Damocles hanging over all our heads - orbital weapons platforms.
Monsters in the Dark
Space Nazis... enough said
I am Become Death
The Manhattan Project developed the first atomic bombs, and in doing so changed the world. Here we look at representations of the Project in SF.
Error and Trial
Trial and error is an essential element of the scientific process, but it is seldom portrayed accurately in popular culture. Here we take a look at the relatively rare representations of less clear cut and more fallible scientific investigations.
Weather Control
The ability to control the weather has been one of the goals of science for decades - with limited success - and, inevitably, science fiction has explored its possibilities and possible consequences.
Atomic Futures
In the science fiction of the 1940s, 50s and 60s atomic power is ubiquitous, to the extent that it permeates domestic as well as industrial and military settings. But just how common is this atomic future in science fiction, and what can we learn from its rise and fall?
Appointment in Tomorrow
Exploring a 1950s short story and radio play which itself critiques the relationship between science and science fiction
Aquatic Humanity
Tales of people under the sea are likely as old as humanity. In more recent times, fantasy has been succeeded by science fiction which explores what it would mean for humanity to live as natives in water, and how that might be achieved.
Journey of (more than) a Lifetime
In a universe in which faster-than-light travel is, to the best of our current underssanding, impossible, journeys to other stars are likely to be measured in decades or centuries rather than days or weeks.
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The visual imagery of humans struggling with everyday objects many times their own size, or encountering usually benign animals as terrifying monsters, captures the imagination. Hence the popularity of the SF of miniaturisation.
Areoforming Earth
Many science fiction stories consider the possibility of terraforming Mars - but what about the reverse: areoforming Earth?
The Alternate History of Science
Alternate histories are one of the mainstays of science fiction. A subset of these are notable for the attention they pay to our scientific history, and how it influenced the development of modern culture.
Religion and the Preservation of Knowledge in SF
The role of organised religion in the preservation of knowledge across extended time periods has been explored in the science fiction of religious futurisms.
Technocracy and Scientism in SF
Looking at science fiction which considers rule by science in a variety of forms.
Who Wants to Live Forever
The quest for highly extended or eternal life, in the form of longevity treatments, technological solutions or genetic improvement, has been a staple of science fiction almost since it started
Year of the Burn Up
The 1970s children's television SF drama "Timeslip" posed questions of scientific ethics which are still relevant to the current day.
This blog exists to explore conceptions and representations of science or science communication through the medium of fiction. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction in literature, film and television, as well as other adventure fiction and their various paratexts. I decided to create this space as a forum in which to present my own views and activities in this area, which are - inevitably - presented from the point of view of an active research astrophysicist, rather than a literary theorist or specialist in communications or media. Nonetheless, I choose to make these thoughts public in case they provide entertainment or interest to others, and in the hope of stimulating conversations in the interface between the realities of our Universe and the ways in which we choose to represent and explore it in fiction. A new blog entry is posted every two weeks. For updates follow me on Twitter @Tiylaya, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CosmicStoriesSF.
Comments are very welcome, including those disagreeing with my views or conclusions, but should be phrased respectfully and will be moderated before posting.
The views and ideas expressed in this blog are my own and do not in any way represent the views of the University of Warwick.