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Scientifictionist, v. 2, issue 2, whole no. 8, March-April 1947
Page 12
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Ackerman's book review was somewhat above his usual standard. It was surprising to see Uncle Olaf still putting the disintegration of Luna and explosion of Sol into his future. These apparently belong to the future history of Last and First Men, the early parts of which have been outmoded by events. He still clung to this history in 1937 when he wrote Star Maker, but I thot that by Darkness and the Light he had discarded it. Never having read Astonishing to any extent, I was glad to get the lazy man's survey of it. Upon reading this I was moved to start an index of prozine reviews. Recently I mentioned to someone that to gain full value book reviews should be entered on the cards of the Great Bib, if not published. It would be useful if prozine reviews also could be indicated in the prozine index now under preparation. These have occurred to me as sufficiently extensive story-by-story reviews of most of the contents of certain prozines to be worth mentioning: S-f mags up to 1942 -- Inspiration April 46; 1939-42, series in Sustaining Program 1941-42; 1941-43, series in Horizons of the period; 1940-43 all pros, contemporary columns by Wollheim and Carter in FFF. Under the heading of particular magazines we could list, for Astounding and Unknown since 1942, departments in Sustaining Program and Horizons; and for Astonishing, Scientifictionist Jan and Apr 1947. In the authors' section, the memorials on Howard, Weinbaum, Wells, and others might be referred to if they contain reviews of many of their stories, or material that would otherwise be justified for indexing. And in the story-index section of the prozine index, FFF's history of the Tumithak series should be indexed, Coslet's summation of Probability Zero in Scientifictionist, and perhaps special articles on particular stories. I don't believe, however, that utility would justify the indexing of stories which are mentioned in articles on "Time travel tales", for instance. The purpose of all this would be to guide the person who has access to a large fanzine collection to reviews in which something is told about a story so that he can decide whether it is worth making special efforts to get hold of, also to provide more information on what a story is about than can be conveyed by the decimal classification, and possibly to meet other uses. Can you or the readers supply other sources of many story-by-story reviews. Stein's article on SGW and GS was worth a page. I remember that remark about Tweel, but it never came to mind while I was reading Science and Sanity. It is almost sufficient answer to the first part of the Hodgkins letter that despite his implied claim to a good acquaintance with the characters involved, he doesn't even know my attitude toward "private enterprise". "His grudging inclusion of "and yes,. the human element" in the factors considered by Technocracy calls for the observation that anyone with any acquaintance with progressive movements must see that human nature is the most refractory by far of all elements in the problem of reform, yet Technocrats toss this aside with little more than the remark that a different environment and training could change "human nature" completely." Not being sure that I have the pertinent portions of my files here, I won't go to the trouble of digging out a refutation of RJH's statement that Technocracy has never set a definite date for the collapse. But I'd like to mark for the record that Hodgkins has put himself on the spot with "Months rather than years" until the final prediction is realized. That's the only way to catch these millenarians." And while we're on this subject, I'd like to point out that the comfortable assumption that the collapse will soon enuf convince people that they must take Technocracy's proffered blueprints is no longer comforting in a world where the collapse, if it comes, will be accompanied by a destruction of most of the capital equipment and a good fraction of the population with which the reign of plenty is to be ushered' in. "As an idle query, what does "economy of abundance" mean in precise terms? That there will be plenty of the necessities of life only? Or that there will be plenty of every conceivable luxury, including powerdriven mimeos for all fankind? If not the latter, then money will be far from "totally useless" -- and I don't care whether you invoke word-magic and call money "energy certificates" or "weetongs". "Russell's analogy of the ocean liner captain is illchosen but appropriate, for there is hardly any dictatorship more absolute than that of the master of a ship at sea, which page 12
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Ackerman's book review was somewhat above his usual standard. It was surprising to see Uncle Olaf still putting the disintegration of Luna and explosion of Sol into his future. These apparently belong to the future history of Last and First Men, the early parts of which have been outmoded by events. He still clung to this history in 1937 when he wrote Star Maker, but I thot that by Darkness and the Light he had discarded it. Never having read Astonishing to any extent, I was glad to get the lazy man's survey of it. Upon reading this I was moved to start an index of prozine reviews. Recently I mentioned to someone that to gain full value book reviews should be entered on the cards of the Great Bib, if not published. It would be useful if prozine reviews also could be indicated in the prozine index now under preparation. These have occurred to me as sufficiently extensive story-by-story reviews of most of the contents of certain prozines to be worth mentioning: S-f mags up to 1942 -- Inspiration April 46; 1939-42, series in Sustaining Program 1941-42; 1941-43, series in Horizons of the period; 1940-43 all pros, contemporary columns by Wollheim and Carter in FFF. Under the heading of particular magazines we could list, for Astounding and Unknown since 1942, departments in Sustaining Program and Horizons; and for Astonishing, Scientifictionist Jan and Apr 1947. In the authors' section, the memorials on Howard, Weinbaum, Wells, and others might be referred to if they contain reviews of many of their stories, or material that would otherwise be justified for indexing. And in the story-index section of the prozine index, FFF's history of the Tumithak series should be indexed, Coslet's summation of Probability Zero in Scientifictionist, and perhaps special articles on particular stories. I don't believe, however, that utility would justify the indexing of stories which are mentioned in articles on "Time travel tales", for instance. The purpose of all this would be to guide the person who has access to a large fanzine collection to reviews in which something is told about a story so that he can decide whether it is worth making special efforts to get hold of, also to provide more information on what a story is about than can be conveyed by the decimal classification, and possibly to meet other uses. Can you or the readers supply other sources of many story-by-story reviews. Stein's article on SGW and GS was worth a page. I remember that remark about Tweel, but it never came to mind while I was reading Science and Sanity. It is almost sufficient answer to the first part of the Hodgkins letter that despite his implied claim to a good acquaintance with the characters involved, he doesn't even know my attitude toward "private enterprise". "His grudging inclusion of "and yes,. the human element" in the factors considered by Technocracy calls for the observation that anyone with any acquaintance with progressive movements must see that human nature is the most refractory by far of all elements in the problem of reform, yet Technocrats toss this aside with little more than the remark that a different environment and training could change "human nature" completely." Not being sure that I have the pertinent portions of my files here, I won't go to the trouble of digging out a refutation of RJH's statement that Technocracy has never set a definite date for the collapse. But I'd like to mark for the record that Hodgkins has put himself on the spot with "Months rather than years" until the final prediction is realized. That's the only way to catch these millenarians." And while we're on this subject, I'd like to point out that the comfortable assumption that the collapse will soon enuf convince people that they must take Technocracy's proffered blueprints is no longer comforting in a world where the collapse, if it comes, will be accompanied by a destruction of most of the capital equipment and a good fraction of the population with which the reign of plenty is to be ushered' in. "As an idle query, what does "economy of abundance" mean in precise terms? That there will be plenty of the necessities of life only? Or that there will be plenty of every conceivable luxury, including powerdriven mimeos for all fankind? If not the latter, then money will be far from "totally useless" -- and I don't care whether you invoke word-magic and call money "energy certificates" or "weetongs". "Russell's analogy of the ocean liner captain is illchosen but appropriate, for there is hardly any dictatorship more absolute than that of the master of a ship at sea, which page 12
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