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Pogorus, v. 1, issue 1, 1942
Page 5
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Is fandom doomed? You figure it out for yourself. There are millions of science fiction readers, and only a handful of fans in fandom, mostly in their teens. Int he callow naivete of the very young, they have imagined themselves to be not only the cream of science fiction readers, but also representative of this horde of paying guests on the stf bandwagon. Some have even had the arrogance to write in to editors (with the pundit finality and unassilibility[[?]] of a Doctor Johnson) rating stories down tot he last decimal point of excellence. Such and such a story rates 9 point 8. Not more. not a jet[[?]] less. Not even 9.899999999 plus. No siree. No explanation of how they arrive at that exact figure. Just the bald fact. Take it or leave it. We are the law and the prophets. After us, the deluge. How well I remember when I was very young, too. At sixteen, I too was a genius, a slan, a Buck Rogers -- my, my ! What changes 18 more years can make. And don't think that the years won't take their toll of you, too, dear twerps. Now the world is your oyster. You are a giant stalking shout a pint-sized asteroid called Tellus. Never fear, little slan. You won't grow too big for it. It will grow in size as you grow up. This is an expanding universe. It will grow up to you, and beyond you, till you are less than a germ crawling on a dust-mote on a mountain on Jupiter. You will still read science fiction, no doubt, if you have a real liking for the stuff, but you will also read westerns, whodunits, and a host of other kinds
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Is fandom doomed? You figure it out for yourself. There are millions of science fiction readers, and only a handful of fans in fandom, mostly in their teens. Int he callow naivete of the very young, they have imagined themselves to be not only the cream of science fiction readers, but also representative of this horde of paying guests on the stf bandwagon. Some have even had the arrogance to write in to editors (with the pundit finality and unassilibility[[?]] of a Doctor Johnson) rating stories down tot he last decimal point of excellence. Such and such a story rates 9 point 8. Not more. not a jet[[?]] less. Not even 9.899999999 plus. No siree. No explanation of how they arrive at that exact figure. Just the bald fact. Take it or leave it. We are the law and the prophets. After us, the deluge. How well I remember when I was very young, too. At sixteen, I too was a genius, a slan, a Buck Rogers -- my, my ! What changes 18 more years can make. And don't think that the years won't take their toll of you, too, dear twerps. Now the world is your oyster. You are a giant stalking shout a pint-sized asteroid called Tellus. Never fear, little slan. You won't grow too big for it. It will grow in size as you grow up. This is an expanding universe. It will grow up to you, and beyond you, till you are less than a germ crawling on a dust-mote on a mountain on Jupiter. You will still read science fiction, no doubt, if you have a real liking for the stuff, but you will also read westerns, whodunits, and a host of other kinds
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