Due to technical difficulties I’m a little short on time this week, so I’m sharing a nice little video about the significance of the late Theodore Sturgeon on the development of Science Fiction.
As the video notes, Sturgeon played an important role in raising the bar for SF’s literary standards. He’s probably best known today for the retort that became Sturgeon’s Law, usually paraphrased as “ninety percent of everything is crap.”
Sturgeon developed this rule of thumb after growing tired of defending SF from literary critics who would pick some of the worst SF material and then compare it to some of the best literary fiction in order to argue that SF had no value.
I’ve always been interested in the historical roots and evolution of science fiction and fantasy, so expect some more posts on influential ideas and figures later on.
Final reminder: there are only a few days left to submit an entry to the “What’s in the Box?” writing contest, so if you’ve got an idea get it in now. The contest ends midnight, August 31, 2013.