Transcribe
Translate
Scientifictionist, v. 2, issue 2, whole no. 8, March-April 1947
Page 13
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
would never be tolerated in peacetime on land. The analogy of the hydroelectric chief engineer is inappropriate, because the comparison omits the little detail that the dictatorship of the Technate governs not the flow of electricity and water, but the lives of men." In closing, I'd like to refer to the denunciation of forming an opinion about Technocracy without investigating it fully. Hodgkins seems not to realize that there are always countless ideologies calling for our attention and demanding that we make a "full investigation" before judging; at present they range from the Shaver Mystery to General Semantics. Obviously we haven't time for all this. These several schools of thought all have an opportunity to claim a few minutes of our time in one way or another. Unless it can say in that time something that makes us feel that it's worth further investigation (and General Semantics has done that), such an ideology must accept its failure with good grace. In the course of years, Technocracy has had many hours of my time and other scoffers'. It has made little use of that time except to trumpet a special jargon, blare nonsequiturs, paint unworkable futures, and shout that the years of scientific research which are claimed to have gone on behind the scenes have made it infallible. I am not moved to enter a "Study Course". One effective firstpersonarrative by Heinlein comes to mind -- Solution Unsatisfactory. It probably would not have accorded with the plan of the History of the Future to introduce a narrator into it. Methuselah's Children, Logic of Empire, had well defined protagonists; that was enuf. Come to think of it, though, wasn't If This Goes On -- firstpersoned? The concurrence of opinions on the Skylark of Space suggests that science-fiction stories age at a greater rate than most. This would naturally be true of the gadgets, but Skylark isn't condemned on that basis. Yet some few classics do survive the years to provide a full measure of enjoyment upon rereading or reading by some latterday devotee. Somebody ought to write an article and tell us why. Searles had something to say about this at the Newarkon, but I don't believe he hit the nail on the head. Letter section this time was unusually long. Nearly everything in it was good reading, unusually good, but the letters were of somewhat forbidding length. If you have any policy against wholesale exision of comments which aren't of general interest, you'd better abandon it before you print any more letters from me. Jack Speer, 4518 16th N.E., Seattle 5, Washington. Sneary Comments on Animism The last issue was to my way of thinking the best one so far. Just full of worthwhile stuff. Plus Kennedy's article -- which I think is about the best one he has ever done. This is pretty much of a compliment when you realize I don't agree with all that he said. First off, JoKe has never been one of the "Utopian" kind, or at least not since I've known him. And as a result I think he dealt rather roughly with the four groups he mentioned. I've never heard the Technocracy party say when the price system will fail, and the Animist party, as he could easily have learned, is not now like he pictured it. Mr. Madole tells me that his information was based on the plans laid at the beginning when there were only a handful of members and little had been planned. There are now thousands of members (mostly, non-fans) and much better plans. For one thing the "$5 a week" has been done away with. And of course the party will be made up of people other than fans. Mr. Madole wants and hopes to get a great many fans as members, however, because he feels they are more ready to accept the new ideas -- which are really nothing new, just better arrangement of old ideas. You really ought to let an Animist member write an article on it for you. (Not me, tho). I haven't time to review the rest, but it was all good, and much more interesting than the last issue. (poor Coslet). Rick Sneary, 2962 Santa Ana St., South Gate, California. page 13
Saving...
prev
next
would never be tolerated in peacetime on land. The analogy of the hydroelectric chief engineer is inappropriate, because the comparison omits the little detail that the dictatorship of the Technate governs not the flow of electricity and water, but the lives of men." In closing, I'd like to refer to the denunciation of forming an opinion about Technocracy without investigating it fully. Hodgkins seems not to realize that there are always countless ideologies calling for our attention and demanding that we make a "full investigation" before judging; at present they range from the Shaver Mystery to General Semantics. Obviously we haven't time for all this. These several schools of thought all have an opportunity to claim a few minutes of our time in one way or another. Unless it can say in that time something that makes us feel that it's worth further investigation (and General Semantics has done that), such an ideology must accept its failure with good grace. In the course of years, Technocracy has had many hours of my time and other scoffers'. It has made little use of that time except to trumpet a special jargon, blare nonsequiturs, paint unworkable futures, and shout that the years of scientific research which are claimed to have gone on behind the scenes have made it infallible. I am not moved to enter a "Study Course". One effective firstpersonarrative by Heinlein comes to mind -- Solution Unsatisfactory. It probably would not have accorded with the plan of the History of the Future to introduce a narrator into it. Methuselah's Children, Logic of Empire, had well defined protagonists; that was enuf. Come to think of it, though, wasn't If This Goes On -- firstpersoned? The concurrence of opinions on the Skylark of Space suggests that science-fiction stories age at a greater rate than most. This would naturally be true of the gadgets, but Skylark isn't condemned on that basis. Yet some few classics do survive the years to provide a full measure of enjoyment upon rereading or reading by some latterday devotee. Somebody ought to write an article and tell us why. Searles had something to say about this at the Newarkon, but I don't believe he hit the nail on the head. Letter section this time was unusually long. Nearly everything in it was good reading, unusually good, but the letters were of somewhat forbidding length. If you have any policy against wholesale exision of comments which aren't of general interest, you'd better abandon it before you print any more letters from me. Jack Speer, 4518 16th N.E., Seattle 5, Washington. Sneary Comments on Animism The last issue was to my way of thinking the best one so far. Just full of worthwhile stuff. Plus Kennedy's article -- which I think is about the best one he has ever done. This is pretty much of a compliment when you realize I don't agree with all that he said. First off, JoKe has never been one of the "Utopian" kind, or at least not since I've known him. And as a result I think he dealt rather roughly with the four groups he mentioned. I've never heard the Technocracy party say when the price system will fail, and the Animist party, as he could easily have learned, is not now like he pictured it. Mr. Madole tells me that his information was based on the plans laid at the beginning when there were only a handful of members and little had been planned. There are now thousands of members (mostly, non-fans) and much better plans. For one thing the "$5 a week" has been done away with. And of course the party will be made up of people other than fans. Mr. Madole wants and hopes to get a great many fans as members, however, because he feels they are more ready to accept the new ideas -- which are really nothing new, just better arrangement of old ideas. You really ought to let an Animist member write an article on it for you. (Not me, tho). I haven't time to review the rest, but it was all good, and much more interesting than the last issue. (poor Coslet). Rick Sneary, 2962 Santa Ana St., South Gate, California. page 13
Hevelin Fanzines
sidebar
