Mastodawn

Mostly, what they read are the old boy's #SciFi stories from around the 1930s and 1940s, where the male uberman genius industrialist, with his girlfriend along for the ride in the rocketship, saves the galaxy, and knows better and does better than stupid governments.

https://mastodonapp.uk/@JdeBP/115826293180493731

Every half-arsed idea that makes for a good boy's story but is terrible science, from greenfingering a planetary climate to swarms of 'AIs' in space, has a precursor of some kind in these tales.

It's not that they've missed LeGuin specifically. It's that they've missed six decades of thoughtful counterpoints to that old stuff beginning in the late 1960s.

#UrsulaLeGuin #EESmith #DocSavage #HarryHarrison

John Griogair Bell Jan 28

“Early in life, he had amassed a tremendous fortune—for one purpose. That purpose was to go here and there, from one end of the world to the other, looking for excitement and adventure, striving to help those who needed help, punishing those who deserved it. To that creed he had devoted his life.” https://library.hrmtc.com/2026/01/28/early-in-life-he-had-amassed-a-tremendous-fortune-for-one-purpose-that-purpose-was-to-go-here-and-there-from-one-end-of-the-world-to-the-other-looking-for-excitement-and-adventure-striv/ #adventure #amassed #book #creed #deserved #Devoted #DocSavage #earlyInLife #endOfTheWorld #excitement #forOnePurpose #fromOne #help #hereAndThere #KennethRobeson #LesterDent #life #looking #needed #pulpNovel #punishing #purpose #quote #Striving #toGo #toTheOther #tremendousFortune

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JdeBP Jan 2

@wordshaper

It wasn't just Heinlein by any means. The boy's fantasy of the male uberman genius industrialist who saved the planet/galaxy when governments were stupid and powerless, and had his girlfriend ride in his rocketship, was proffered from several sources. I mentioned E.E. Smith's 'Skylark' series in a post a couple of days ago. Another example was of course Doc Savage.

https://mastodonapp.uk/@JdeBP/115814849038405905

Of course, in the decades since we've had all sorts of interesting counterpoints of various kinds, from Vagrant Queen through Mara Jade to Harry Harrison's Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers.

Sadly, none of the dolts peddling old juvenile pulp sci-fi as the future appear to have digested the more recent stuff.

@cstross @foone

#SciFi #DocSavage #RobertHeinlein

JdeBP (@[email protected])

It was sad to see a 17-year-old girl in the #RoyalInstitution #ChristmasLectures this year preaching that billionaires have given us access to space and that Elon Musk is a great guy who will take humanity to Mars. The reality is that it is governments who gave us access to space. Billionaires, on the other hand, have given us space *pollution*, the shuttering of NASA and NOAA, wasteful vanity projects, and the extension of the category of 'astronaut' to encompass #KatyPerry. #ElonMusk is meanwhile recycling 20th century boy's fiction sci-fi fantasies about techno-feudal rich-equals-superior inventors-cum-capitalists, not the least of which is E.E. Smith's 'Skylark' series. In these male fantasies the rich industrialist hero's girlfriend sometimes does indeed get to be a passenger in his rocketship. Juvenile pulp sci-fi was not supposed to be the roadmap for the future. #astronomy #SciFi #SpaceTravel

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Dave Fischer Aug 26, 2025

In this bit from Doc Savage: Pirate of the Pacific (1933), Doc uses some bleeding edge tech to spy on his enemies:

*The man might have saved himself a lot of trouble had he taken time to investigate the floating box he had noted. Close scrutiny would have shown the top and sides of the box were fitted with what resembled large camera lenses.*

*Inside the box were other lenses, spinning disks perforated with small holes, sensitive photo-electric cells - a compact television transmitter. Waterproofed electric wires led from this down into the water.*

*Long Island Sound was not deep at this point. The under-the-polar-ice submarine, Helldiver, rested on the bottom. The wires from the television box entered the underseas boat.*

Since this is 1933, that television camera is, of course, MECHANICAL TELEVISION. Flashing lights, spinning disks, and all:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_television

OH. YEAH.

#RetroTech #DocSavage