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  • (Homeward) The Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Anderson

    From James Nicoll@3:633/10 to All on Tue Apr 21 12:11:45 2026
    The Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories by Poul Anderson

    How much of the universe does *science as we know it* open to us?

    https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/by-klonos-superalloy-slide-rule
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Thu Apr 23 08:28:19 2026
    On Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:11:45 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

    How much of the universe does *science as we know it* open to us?

    Is there any other kind of science?

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From James Nicoll@3:633/10 to All on Thu Apr 23 12:53:24 2026
    In article <10scl73$2sltg$4@dont-email.me>,
    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:11:45 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

    How much of the universe does *science as we know it* open to us?

    Is there any other kind of science?

    What Spinrad called "rubber science", the made-up or grossly
    misunderstood nonsense most SF depends on.
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@3:633/10 to All on Thu Apr 23 07:00:21 2026
    On 4/23/2026 5:53 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
    In article <10scl73$2sltg$4@dont-email.me>,
    Lawrence D˜Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:11:45 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

    How much of the universe does *science as we know it* open to us?

    Is there any other kind of science?

    What Spinrad called "rubber science", the made-up or grossly
    misunderstood nonsense most SF depends on.

    But we still know about it.

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Scott Dorsey@3:633/10 to All on Thu Apr 23 15:20:26 2026
    James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:11:45 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

    How much of the universe does *science as we know it* open to us?

    Is there any other kind of science?

    What Spinrad called "rubber science", the made-up or grossly
    misunderstood nonsense most SF depends on.

    This is also "Science as students think they know it."
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Thu Apr 23 22:10:48 2026
    On Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:53:24 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

    In article <10scl73$2sltg$4@dont-email.me>,
    Lawrence D˜Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    On Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:11:45 -0000 (UTC), James Nicoll wrote:

    How much of the universe does *science as we know it* open to us?

    Is there any other kind of science?

    What Spinrad called "rubber science", the made-up or grossly
    misunderstood nonsense most SF depends on.

    Don?t call it ?science?, then; call it ?extrapolations from science?.
    It doesn?t become ?science? unless and until it is established as
    fact.

    In fact, I think the adjective ?extrapolative? is a good description
    of SF in general -- more accurate than ?speculative?, certainly.

    By contrast, regular fiction can be considered ?interpolative? -- it
    stays within the bounds of fact, occupying gaps within it if you will,
    instead of looking to see what may lie beyond.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)