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Scientifictionist, vol. 1, issue 5, June-July 1946

Page 14

Norman Stanley made me want to read that story, BEYOND PLUTO. Methinks he should make a good author. Anybody want to see a WSQ Summer '32!

It is getting harder to pick the best in Stfist these last issues. Therefore I won't try to do so. I'll just jot down my thots as they come to me.

Let's have more Readers Comments. We don't agree about anything but it's lots of fun just the same. --K. Martin Carlson, 1028 3rd Ave. South, Moorhead, Minn.

Ye Ed on the Spot!
In your lead article, you ask what are you (meaning us- we- me!) going to do about it. I ask you what can we do about it! Start a new political party! As I see it, that's the only way we could get ourselves heard. For decades people have said the country is going to the dogs, only the dogs wouldn't have it. But so far we haven't quite made it. You might say we progress even in our degression.

Wishful thinking. Why do you read science-fiction! Don't you sorta wish you could take part in all those exciting adventures! I do. And it's a natural reaction to want to live in a Utopian civilization as we think the future will be. You ask how will we achieve that glorious future. People have been trying to find that out for years. If you have an answer, tell me. Have you heard of inertia! That's when you plan something for a while, then when the time comes, you can't quite bring yourself to do it. It's more fun planning it and perfecting it than actually doing it. It's the same with everything. It was a long time before people junked the horse and buggy, and turned to shifting the gears. There were some people, there always are, who can change their ideas and concepts as you or I would change socks. Those are the leaders, those who can see the future as it should be. But for every far-seeing man there are millions of people who can't quite bring themselves to make the change. So find such a leader! Could you do it! I don't think I could. I'm just one of the many millions who lean back and say, "Let the other fellow do it." I'm safe and secure here. Why should I be a Radical! I'm doing all right. Why endanger myself!

There is your problem. What are YOU going to do about it!

Tucker's book review was very interesting. I wonder if I could get it around here.

POINT OF VIEW was good. Seems Bridges likes Astounding, hmmm! I haven't been around long enough to comment on SLOGANS OF THE PROZINES.

THE URBANATE was lost on me. Phooey!!--To put it mildly.

Liked AMONG THE CLASSICS. Boy, that must have been a very long novel. Sounded good, too.

The letter section was good. I didn't get the first three issues so I can't blast the letters.

THE HUMOR SHORT. I couldn't find any humor and it wasn't short enough. --Tom Jewett, 670 George St., Clyde, Ohio.

What Speer Gets Out of Science-Fiction
Which brings me to #4. The multicolor cover is very effective.

Hah, yet another who says that Gernback thought he would educate readers into being scientists. Well, maybe so; either a lot of people have been borrowing delusions from each other, or Gernback actually said that. But I don't remember it.

What do I get out of science-fiction! The adventure-thrill, to a very small extent. I also get a little fun out of picking errors, though they're more often grammatical than scientific. Away from the humdrum workaday world! I doubt that that plays any important part; I find it hard to imagine a more fascinating, it at times frightening, time than this. Of course, one enjoys reading about the futuristic utopias. But I don't think it's any of that, nor the last thing you mention, literary criticism. Campbell's introduction to tBoSF divides stories into prophecy, philosophy, and adventure, and his comments on those three types pretty well explain why I read the stuff. I think the biggest single reason is that fantasy provides a way of nail-

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Norman Stanley made me want to read that story, BEYOND PLUTO. Methinks he should make a good author. Anybody want to see a WSQ Summer '32! It is getting harder to pick the best in Stfist these last issues. Therefore I won't try to do so. I'll just jot down my thots as they come to me. Let's have more Readers Comments. We don't agree about anything but it's lots of fun just the same. --K. Martin Carlson, 1028 3rd Ave. South, Moorhead, Minn. Ye Ed on the Spot! In your lead article, you ask what are you (meaning us- we- me!) going to do about it. I ask you what can we do about it! Start a new political party! As I see it, that's the only way we could get ourselves heard. For decades people have said the country is going to the dogs, only the dogs wouldn't have it. But so far we haven't quite made it. You might say we progress even in our degression. Wishful thinking. Why do you read science-fiction! Don't you sorta wish you could take part in all those exciting adventures! I do. And it's a natural reaction to want to live in a Utopian civilization as we think the future will be. You ask how will we achieve that glorious future. People have been trying to find that out for years. If you have an answer, tell me. Have you heard of inertia! That's when you plan something for a while, then when the time comes, you can't quite bring yourself to do it. It's more fun planning it and perfecting it than actually doing it. It's the same with everything. It was a long time before people junked the horse and buggy, and turned to shifting the gears. There were some people, there always are, who can change their ideas and concepts as you or I would change socks. Those are the leaders, those who can see the future as it should be. But for every far-seeing man there are millions of people who can't quite bring themselves to make the change. So find such a leader! Could you do it! I don't think I could. I'm just one of the many millions who lean back and say, "Let the other fellow do it." I'm safe and secure here. Why should I be a Radical! I'm doing all right. Why endanger myself! There is your problem. What are YOU going to do about it! Tucker's book review was very interesting. I wonder if I could get it around here. POINT OF VIEW was good. Seems Bridges likes Astounding, hmmm! I haven't been around long enough to comment on SLOGANS OF THE PROZINES. THE URBANATE was lost on me. Phooey!!--To put it mildly. Liked AMONG THE CLASSICS. Boy, that must have been a very long novel. Sounded good, too. The letter section was good. I didn't get the first three issues so I can't blast the letters. THE HUMOR SHORT. I couldn't find any humor and it wasn't short enough. --Tom Jewett, 670 George St., Clyde, Ohio. What Speer Gets Out of Science-Fiction Which brings me to #4. The multicolor cover is very effective. Hah, yet another who says that Gernback thought he would educate readers into being scientists. Well, maybe so; either a lot of people have been borrowing delusions from each other, or Gernback actually said that. But I don't remember it. What do I get out of science-fiction! The adventure-thrill, to a very small extent. I also get a little fun out of picking errors, though they're more often grammatical than scientific. Away from the humdrum workaday world! I doubt that that plays any important part; I find it hard to imagine a more fascinating, it at times frightening, time than this. Of course, one enjoys reading about the futuristic utopias. But I don't think it's any of that, nor the last thing you mention, literary criticism. Campbell's introduction to tBoSF divides stories into prophecy, philosophy, and adventure, and his comments on those three types pretty well explain why I read the stuff. I think the biggest single reason is that fantasy provides a way of nail- page 14