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New Fandom, v. 1, issue 6, 1939

Page 15

NEW FANDOM 15

S̲C̲I̲E̲N̲C̲E̲ ̲F̲I̲C̲T̲I̲O̲N̲,̲ ̲T̲H̲E̲ ̲S̲P̲I̲R̲I̲T̲ ̲O̲F̲ ̲Y̲O̲U̲T̲H̲
(as given by "New Fandoms" especially chosen guest or honor, artist

F̲R̲A̲N̲K̲ ̲R̲.̲ ̲P̲A̲U̲L̲

Fell«w Science Fiction Fans:

I an mighty glad be here among as fine a crowd of live wires and go-getters that has.ever assembled under one roof. I always pictured you Science Fans just as you are. Always ready for any adventure and  argue any question at the drop of a hat.
     In every age there have been people whose natural inclination and curiosity urged them on to decipher and analyze the riddles of the universe, notwithstanding the sneers and jeers of the less active minded.   You see, in a well ordered society you are supposed to think only the thoughts approved by contemporary authorities.
     When the.earth was considered flat, it was folly to think it otherwise, and to suggest that by some chance it might be round, was nothing less then blasphemy, And since the majority was of the "flat" opinion, inspired by the leading minds of the time, it was much easier and less dangerous to be on the jeering side than to profess rebellious ideas. 
     However, there were devil-may-care free thinkers who had the audacity to question accepted "Facts."
     After many of these nebulous "Facts" had been proven humbugs, people began to feel more and more tolerant of the rebels, and thanks to that tolerance, the world has seen more progress in research of all branches of science and utilization of findings for the good of all mankind in the last 50 years than during the preceeding 500 years.
     Two thousand years ago, a meeting such as this, with all these rebellious, adventurous minds would have been looked upon as a very serious psychological phenomenon, and the leaders would have been put in chains or at least burned at the stake. But today it may well be considered the healthiest sign of youthful, wide-awake minds — to discuss subjects far beyond the range of the average provincial mind.
    The Science Fiction Fan may well be called the advance guard of progress,   We are the fellows who are willing to give every new
idea a chance for a tryout, without ridicule. We did not mind in the least to be called Nuts and Hams in the early   days of radio, when we
were liberally relegated to the   doghouse with our home-made squealing and yowling sets — but, oh boy, what a thrill when we got a few dots
and dashes!   We are the ones who popularized the new Radio vocabulary.
     To my mind, a Science Fiction Fan is intensely interested in everything going on around him, differing radically from his critic.
His critic is hemmed in by a small provincial horizon of accepted orthodox and humdrum realities and either does not dare or is too lazy to reach beyond that horizon.  
     The Science Fiction Fan, on the other hand, has a horizon as big as the universe itself and has been
known to peek even beyond that, a fascinating hobby sharpening the Imagination and incidentally absorbing a lot of knowledge, and familiarizes him with Scientific terms, which so mystifies his critics.
     You have often heard them proudly proclaim: "Don't expect m̲e̲ to know any of   that stuff" or "I don't want to know anything like

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NEW FANDOM 15 S̲C̲I̲E̲N̲C̲E̲ ̲F̲I̲C̲T̲I̲O̲N̲,̲ ̲T̲H̲E̲ ̲S̲P̲I̲R̲I̲T̲ ̲O̲F̲ ̲Y̲O̲U̲T̲H̲ (as given by "New Fandoms" especially chosen guest or honor, artist F̲R̲A̲N̲K̲ ̲R̲.̲ ̲P̲A̲U̲L̲ Fell«w Science Fiction Fans: I an mighty glad be here among as fine a crowd of live wires and go-getters that has.ever assembled under one roof. I always pictured you Science Fans just as you are. Always ready for any adventure and argue any question at the drop of a hat. In every age there have been people whose natural inclination and curiosity urged them on to decipher and analyze the riddles of the universe, notwithstanding the sneers and jeers of the less active minded. You see, in a well ordered society you are supposed to think only the thoughts approved by contemporary authorities. When the.earth was considered flat, it was folly to think it otherwise, and to suggest that by some chance it might be round, was nothing less then blasphemy, And since the majority was of the "flat" opinion, inspired by the leading minds of the time, it was much easier and less dangerous to be on the jeering side than to profess rebellious ideas. However, there were devil-may-care free thinkers who had the audacity to question accepted "Facts." After many of these nebulous "Facts" had been proven humbugs, people began to feel more and more tolerant of the rebels, and thanks to that tolerance, the world has seen more progress in research of all branches of science and utilization of findings for the good of all mankind in the last 50 years than during the preceeding 500 years. Two thousand years ago, a meeting such as this, with all these rebellious, adventurous minds would have been looked upon as a very serious psychological phenomenon, and the leaders would have been put in chains or at least burned at the stake. But today it may well be considered the healthiest sign of youthful, wide-awake minds — to discuss subjects far beyond the range of the average provincial mind. The Science Fiction Fan may well be called the advance guard of progress, We are the fellows who are willing to give every new idea a chance for a tryout, without ridicule. We did not mind in the least to be called Nuts and Hams in the early days of radio, when we were liberally relegated to the doghouse with our home-made squealing and yowling sets — but, oh boy, what a thrill when we got a few dots and dashes! We are the ones who popularized the new Radio vocabulary. To my mind, a Science Fiction Fan is intensely interested in everything going on around him, differing radically from his critic. His critic is hemmed in by a small provincial horizon of accepted orthodox and humdrum realities and either does not dare or is too lazy to reach beyond that horizon. The Science Fiction Fan, on the other hand, has a horizon as big as the universe itself and has been known to peek even beyond that, a fascinating hobby sharpening the Imagination and incidentally absorbing a lot of knowledge, and familiarizes him with Scientific terms, which so mystifies his critics. You have often heard them proudly proclaim: "Don't expect m̲e̲ to know any of that stuff" or "I don't want to know anything like