NCERT Textbook: Non-Fiction: On Science Fiction | Class 12 English Kaleidoscope - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

 Page 1


191/ON SCIENCE FICTION
On S On S On S On S On Science Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction
Isaac Asimov was a Russian born American author
and biochemist. He was a highly successful and
exceptionally prolific writer best known for his
works on science fiction and for his popular
science books.
Most of Asimov’s popularised science books
explain science concepts in a historical way,
going back as far as possible to a time when
the science in question was at its simplest
stage. He also lent his name to the magazine,
Asimov’s Science Fiction.
I
The Prescientific Universe
Foreword
To every history there is a prehistoric period. In the
case of science fiction, the prehistory lingers on even
today in some of the aspects of the field.
But what of that? Just as Ice Age art can hold up its
head with any form of art produced by sophisticated
modern man, so can the prehistoric aspects of
science fiction prove an accomplished literary form.
I have often made the point that true science fiction is a
creature of the last two centuries. Science fiction cannot
exist as a picture of the future unless, and until, people
get the idea that it is science and technology that produce
the future; that it is advances in science and technology
6 6
6 6 6
Isaac Asimov
1920-1992
2024-25
Page 2


191/ON SCIENCE FICTION
On S On S On S On S On Science Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction
Isaac Asimov was a Russian born American author
and biochemist. He was a highly successful and
exceptionally prolific writer best known for his
works on science fiction and for his popular
science books.
Most of Asimov’s popularised science books
explain science concepts in a historical way,
going back as far as possible to a time when
the science in question was at its simplest
stage. He also lent his name to the magazine,
Asimov’s Science Fiction.
I
The Prescientific Universe
Foreword
To every history there is a prehistoric period. In the
case of science fiction, the prehistory lingers on even
today in some of the aspects of the field.
But what of that? Just as Ice Age art can hold up its
head with any form of art produced by sophisticated
modern man, so can the prehistoric aspects of
science fiction prove an accomplished literary form.
I have often made the point that true science fiction is a
creature of the last two centuries. Science fiction cannot
exist as a picture of the future unless, and until, people
get the idea that it is science and technology that produce
the future; that it is advances in science and technology
6 6
6 6 6
Isaac Asimov
1920-1992
2024-25
192/KALEIDOSCOPE
(or, at the very least, changes in them) that are bound to
make the future different from the present and the past,
and that thereby hangs a tale.
Naturally, no one could possibly get that idea until
the rate of scientific and technological change became great
enough to be noticed by people in the course of their
lifetime. That came about with the Industrial Revolution
say, by 1800—and it was only thereafter that science fiction
could be written.
And yet there must have been something that came
before science fiction, something that was not science fiction
and yet filled the same emotional needs. There must have
been tales of the strange and different, of life not as we
know it, and of powers transcending our own.
Let’s consider—
The respect that people have for science and for
scientists (or the fear that people have or a combination of
both) rests on the certain belief that science is the key to
the understanding of the Universe and that scientists can
use science to manipulate that key. Through science, people
can make use of the laws of nature to control the
environment and enhance human powers. By the steadily
increasing understanding of the details of those laws,
human powers will be greater in the future than in the
past. If we can imagine the different ways in which they
will be greater, we can write our stories.
In previous centuries, however, most men had but a
dim understanding, if any at all, of such things as laws of
nature. They did not know of rules that were unbreakable;
of things-as-they-must-be that could serve neither to help
us nor to thwart us but that might allow themselves to be
ridden to glory, if we but knew how.
Instead, there was the notion that the Universe was
the plaything of life and the will; that if there were events
that seemed analogous to human deeds but that were far
greater in magnitude, they were carried through by life-
form’s resembling those we know but greater in size and
power.
2024-25
Page 3


191/ON SCIENCE FICTION
On S On S On S On S On Science Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction
Isaac Asimov was a Russian born American author
and biochemist. He was a highly successful and
exceptionally prolific writer best known for his
works on science fiction and for his popular
science books.
Most of Asimov’s popularised science books
explain science concepts in a historical way,
going back as far as possible to a time when
the science in question was at its simplest
stage. He also lent his name to the magazine,
Asimov’s Science Fiction.
I
The Prescientific Universe
Foreword
To every history there is a prehistoric period. In the
case of science fiction, the prehistory lingers on even
today in some of the aspects of the field.
But what of that? Just as Ice Age art can hold up its
head with any form of art produced by sophisticated
modern man, so can the prehistoric aspects of
science fiction prove an accomplished literary form.
I have often made the point that true science fiction is a
creature of the last two centuries. Science fiction cannot
exist as a picture of the future unless, and until, people
get the idea that it is science and technology that produce
the future; that it is advances in science and technology
6 6
6 6 6
Isaac Asimov
1920-1992
2024-25
192/KALEIDOSCOPE
(or, at the very least, changes in them) that are bound to
make the future different from the present and the past,
and that thereby hangs a tale.
Naturally, no one could possibly get that idea until
the rate of scientific and technological change became great
enough to be noticed by people in the course of their
lifetime. That came about with the Industrial Revolution
say, by 1800—and it was only thereafter that science fiction
could be written.
And yet there must have been something that came
before science fiction, something that was not science fiction
and yet filled the same emotional needs. There must have
been tales of the strange and different, of life not as we
know it, and of powers transcending our own.
Let’s consider—
The respect that people have for science and for
scientists (or the fear that people have or a combination of
both) rests on the certain belief that science is the key to
the understanding of the Universe and that scientists can
use science to manipulate that key. Through science, people
can make use of the laws of nature to control the
environment and enhance human powers. By the steadily
increasing understanding of the details of those laws,
human powers will be greater in the future than in the
past. If we can imagine the different ways in which they
will be greater, we can write our stories.
In previous centuries, however, most men had but a
dim understanding, if any at all, of such things as laws of
nature. They did not know of rules that were unbreakable;
of things-as-they-must-be that could serve neither to help
us nor to thwart us but that might allow themselves to be
ridden to glory, if we but knew how.
Instead, there was the notion that the Universe was
the plaything of life and the will; that if there were events
that seemed analogous to human deeds but that were far
greater in magnitude, they were carried through by life-
form’s resembling those we know but greater in size and
power.
2024-25
193/ON SCIENCE FICTION
The beings who controlled natural phenomena were
therefore pictured in human form, but of superhuman
strength, size, abilities, and length of life. Sometimes they
were pictured as superanimal, or as supercombinations of
animals. (The constant reference to the ordinary in the
invention of the unusual is only to be expected, for
imaginations are sharply limited, even among the best of
us, and it is hard to think of anything really new or
unusual—as Hollywood ‘Sci-fi’ constantly demonstrates.)
Since the phenomena of the Universe don’t often make
sense, the gods are usually pictured as whimsical and
unpredictable; frequently little better than childish. Since
natural events are often disastrous, the gods must be easily
offended. Since natural events are often helpful, the gods
are basically kindly, provided they are well-treated and
that their anger is not roused.
It is only too reasonable to suppose that people would
invent formulas for placating the gods and persuading them
to do the right thing. Nor can the validity of these formulas
be generally disproven by events. If the formulas don’t work,
then undoubtedly someone has done something to offend
the gods. Those who had invented or utilised the formulas
had no problems in finding guilty parties on whom to blame
the failure of the formula in specific instances, so that
faith in the formulas themselves never wavered. (We needn’t
sneer. By the same principle, we continue to have faith in
economists, sociologists, and meteorologists today, even
though their statements seem to match reality only
erratically at best.)
In prescientific times, then, it was the priest,
magician, wizard, shaman (again the name doesn’t matter)
who filled the function of the scientist today. It was the
priest, etc., who was perceived as having the secret of
controlling the Universe, and it was advances in the
knowledge of magical formulas that could enhance power.
The ancient myths and legends are full of stories of
human beings with supernormal powers. There are the
legendary heroes, for instance, who learn to control winged
horses or flying carpets. Those ancient pieces of magic
2024-25
Page 4


191/ON SCIENCE FICTION
On S On S On S On S On Science Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction
Isaac Asimov was a Russian born American author
and biochemist. He was a highly successful and
exceptionally prolific writer best known for his
works on science fiction and for his popular
science books.
Most of Asimov’s popularised science books
explain science concepts in a historical way,
going back as far as possible to a time when
the science in question was at its simplest
stage. He also lent his name to the magazine,
Asimov’s Science Fiction.
I
The Prescientific Universe
Foreword
To every history there is a prehistoric period. In the
case of science fiction, the prehistory lingers on even
today in some of the aspects of the field.
But what of that? Just as Ice Age art can hold up its
head with any form of art produced by sophisticated
modern man, so can the prehistoric aspects of
science fiction prove an accomplished literary form.
I have often made the point that true science fiction is a
creature of the last two centuries. Science fiction cannot
exist as a picture of the future unless, and until, people
get the idea that it is science and technology that produce
the future; that it is advances in science and technology
6 6
6 6 6
Isaac Asimov
1920-1992
2024-25
192/KALEIDOSCOPE
(or, at the very least, changes in them) that are bound to
make the future different from the present and the past,
and that thereby hangs a tale.
Naturally, no one could possibly get that idea until
the rate of scientific and technological change became great
enough to be noticed by people in the course of their
lifetime. That came about with the Industrial Revolution
say, by 1800—and it was only thereafter that science fiction
could be written.
And yet there must have been something that came
before science fiction, something that was not science fiction
and yet filled the same emotional needs. There must have
been tales of the strange and different, of life not as we
know it, and of powers transcending our own.
Let’s consider—
The respect that people have for science and for
scientists (or the fear that people have or a combination of
both) rests on the certain belief that science is the key to
the understanding of the Universe and that scientists can
use science to manipulate that key. Through science, people
can make use of the laws of nature to control the
environment and enhance human powers. By the steadily
increasing understanding of the details of those laws,
human powers will be greater in the future than in the
past. If we can imagine the different ways in which they
will be greater, we can write our stories.
In previous centuries, however, most men had but a
dim understanding, if any at all, of such things as laws of
nature. They did not know of rules that were unbreakable;
of things-as-they-must-be that could serve neither to help
us nor to thwart us but that might allow themselves to be
ridden to glory, if we but knew how.
Instead, there was the notion that the Universe was
the plaything of life and the will; that if there were events
that seemed analogous to human deeds but that were far
greater in magnitude, they were carried through by life-
form’s resembling those we know but greater in size and
power.
2024-25
193/ON SCIENCE FICTION
The beings who controlled natural phenomena were
therefore pictured in human form, but of superhuman
strength, size, abilities, and length of life. Sometimes they
were pictured as superanimal, or as supercombinations of
animals. (The constant reference to the ordinary in the
invention of the unusual is only to be expected, for
imaginations are sharply limited, even among the best of
us, and it is hard to think of anything really new or
unusual—as Hollywood ‘Sci-fi’ constantly demonstrates.)
Since the phenomena of the Universe don’t often make
sense, the gods are usually pictured as whimsical and
unpredictable; frequently little better than childish. Since
natural events are often disastrous, the gods must be easily
offended. Since natural events are often helpful, the gods
are basically kindly, provided they are well-treated and
that their anger is not roused.
It is only too reasonable to suppose that people would
invent formulas for placating the gods and persuading them
to do the right thing. Nor can the validity of these formulas
be generally disproven by events. If the formulas don’t work,
then undoubtedly someone has done something to offend
the gods. Those who had invented or utilised the formulas
had no problems in finding guilty parties on whom to blame
the failure of the formula in specific instances, so that
faith in the formulas themselves never wavered. (We needn’t
sneer. By the same principle, we continue to have faith in
economists, sociologists, and meteorologists today, even
though their statements seem to match reality only
erratically at best.)
In prescientific times, then, it was the priest,
magician, wizard, shaman (again the name doesn’t matter)
who filled the function of the scientist today. It was the
priest, etc., who was perceived as having the secret of
controlling the Universe, and it was advances in the
knowledge of magical formulas that could enhance power.
The ancient myths and legends are full of stories of
human beings with supernormal powers. There are the
legendary heroes, for instance, who learn to control winged
horses or flying carpets. Those ancient pieces of magic
2024-25
194/KALEIDOSCOPE
still fascinate us today, and I imagine a youngster could
thrill to such mystical methods of aeronavigation and long
for the chance to partake in it, even if he were reading the
tales while on a jet plane.
Think of the crystal ball, into which one can see things
that are happening many miles away, and magic shells
that can allow us to hear the whisperings of humans many
miles away. How much more wonderful than the television
sets and the telephones of today!
Consider the doors that open with ‘Open sesame’ rather
than by the click of a remote-control device. Consider the
seven-league boots that can transport you across the
countryside almost as quickly as an automobile can.
Or, for that matter, think of the monsters of legend,
the powerful travesties of life invented by combining animal
characteristics: the man-horse Centaur, the man-goat
Satyr, the woman-lion Sphinx, the woman-hawk Harpy,
the eagle-lion Gryphon, the snake-woman Gorgon, and so
on. In science fiction we have extraterrestrials that are
often built up on the same principle.
The goals of these ancient stories are the same as
those of modern science fiction—the depiction of life as we
don’t know it.
The emotional needs that are fulfilled are the same—
the satisfaction of the longing for wonder.
The difference is that the ancient myths and legends
fulfil those needs and meet those goals against the
background of a Universe that is controlled by gods and
demons who can, in turn, be controlled by magical formulas
either in the form of enchantments to coerce, or prayers to
cajole. Science fiction, on the other hand, fulfils those needs
against the background of a Universe that is controlled by
impersonal and unswervable laws of nature, which can,
in turn, be controlled by an understanding of their nature.
In a narrow sense, only science fiction is valid for
today since, as far as we can tell, the Universe does follow
the dictates of the laws of nature and is not at the mercy of
gods and demons.
2024-25
Page 5


191/ON SCIENCE FICTION
On S On S On S On S On Science Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction cience Fiction
Isaac Asimov was a Russian born American author
and biochemist. He was a highly successful and
exceptionally prolific writer best known for his
works on science fiction and for his popular
science books.
Most of Asimov’s popularised science books
explain science concepts in a historical way,
going back as far as possible to a time when
the science in question was at its simplest
stage. He also lent his name to the magazine,
Asimov’s Science Fiction.
I
The Prescientific Universe
Foreword
To every history there is a prehistoric period. In the
case of science fiction, the prehistory lingers on even
today in some of the aspects of the field.
But what of that? Just as Ice Age art can hold up its
head with any form of art produced by sophisticated
modern man, so can the prehistoric aspects of
science fiction prove an accomplished literary form.
I have often made the point that true science fiction is a
creature of the last two centuries. Science fiction cannot
exist as a picture of the future unless, and until, people
get the idea that it is science and technology that produce
the future; that it is advances in science and technology
6 6
6 6 6
Isaac Asimov
1920-1992
2024-25
192/KALEIDOSCOPE
(or, at the very least, changes in them) that are bound to
make the future different from the present and the past,
and that thereby hangs a tale.
Naturally, no one could possibly get that idea until
the rate of scientific and technological change became great
enough to be noticed by people in the course of their
lifetime. That came about with the Industrial Revolution
say, by 1800—and it was only thereafter that science fiction
could be written.
And yet there must have been something that came
before science fiction, something that was not science fiction
and yet filled the same emotional needs. There must have
been tales of the strange and different, of life not as we
know it, and of powers transcending our own.
Let’s consider—
The respect that people have for science and for
scientists (or the fear that people have or a combination of
both) rests on the certain belief that science is the key to
the understanding of the Universe and that scientists can
use science to manipulate that key. Through science, people
can make use of the laws of nature to control the
environment and enhance human powers. By the steadily
increasing understanding of the details of those laws,
human powers will be greater in the future than in the
past. If we can imagine the different ways in which they
will be greater, we can write our stories.
In previous centuries, however, most men had but a
dim understanding, if any at all, of such things as laws of
nature. They did not know of rules that were unbreakable;
of things-as-they-must-be that could serve neither to help
us nor to thwart us but that might allow themselves to be
ridden to glory, if we but knew how.
Instead, there was the notion that the Universe was
the plaything of life and the will; that if there were events
that seemed analogous to human deeds but that were far
greater in magnitude, they were carried through by life-
form’s resembling those we know but greater in size and
power.
2024-25
193/ON SCIENCE FICTION
The beings who controlled natural phenomena were
therefore pictured in human form, but of superhuman
strength, size, abilities, and length of life. Sometimes they
were pictured as superanimal, or as supercombinations of
animals. (The constant reference to the ordinary in the
invention of the unusual is only to be expected, for
imaginations are sharply limited, even among the best of
us, and it is hard to think of anything really new or
unusual—as Hollywood ‘Sci-fi’ constantly demonstrates.)
Since the phenomena of the Universe don’t often make
sense, the gods are usually pictured as whimsical and
unpredictable; frequently little better than childish. Since
natural events are often disastrous, the gods must be easily
offended. Since natural events are often helpful, the gods
are basically kindly, provided they are well-treated and
that their anger is not roused.
It is only too reasonable to suppose that people would
invent formulas for placating the gods and persuading them
to do the right thing. Nor can the validity of these formulas
be generally disproven by events. If the formulas don’t work,
then undoubtedly someone has done something to offend
the gods. Those who had invented or utilised the formulas
had no problems in finding guilty parties on whom to blame
the failure of the formula in specific instances, so that
faith in the formulas themselves never wavered. (We needn’t
sneer. By the same principle, we continue to have faith in
economists, sociologists, and meteorologists today, even
though their statements seem to match reality only
erratically at best.)
In prescientific times, then, it was the priest,
magician, wizard, shaman (again the name doesn’t matter)
who filled the function of the scientist today. It was the
priest, etc., who was perceived as having the secret of
controlling the Universe, and it was advances in the
knowledge of magical formulas that could enhance power.
The ancient myths and legends are full of stories of
human beings with supernormal powers. There are the
legendary heroes, for instance, who learn to control winged
horses or flying carpets. Those ancient pieces of magic
2024-25
194/KALEIDOSCOPE
still fascinate us today, and I imagine a youngster could
thrill to such mystical methods of aeronavigation and long
for the chance to partake in it, even if he were reading the
tales while on a jet plane.
Think of the crystal ball, into which one can see things
that are happening many miles away, and magic shells
that can allow us to hear the whisperings of humans many
miles away. How much more wonderful than the television
sets and the telephones of today!
Consider the doors that open with ‘Open sesame’ rather
than by the click of a remote-control device. Consider the
seven-league boots that can transport you across the
countryside almost as quickly as an automobile can.
Or, for that matter, think of the monsters of legend,
the powerful travesties of life invented by combining animal
characteristics: the man-horse Centaur, the man-goat
Satyr, the woman-lion Sphinx, the woman-hawk Harpy,
the eagle-lion Gryphon, the snake-woman Gorgon, and so
on. In science fiction we have extraterrestrials that are
often built up on the same principle.
The goals of these ancient stories are the same as
those of modern science fiction—the depiction of life as we
don’t know it.
The emotional needs that are fulfilled are the same—
the satisfaction of the longing for wonder.
The difference is that the ancient myths and legends
fulfil those needs and meet those goals against the
background of a Universe that is controlled by gods and
demons who can, in turn, be controlled by magical formulas
either in the form of enchantments to coerce, or prayers to
cajole. Science fiction, on the other hand, fulfils those needs
against the background of a Universe that is controlled by
impersonal and unswervable laws of nature, which can,
in turn, be controlled by an understanding of their nature.
In a narrow sense, only science fiction is valid for
today since, as far as we can tell, the Universe does follow
the dictates of the laws of nature and is not at the mercy of
gods and demons.
2024-25
195/ON SCIENCE FICTION
Nevertheless, there are times when we shouldn’t be
two narrow or haughty in our definitions. It would be wrong
to throw out a style of literature that has tickled the human
fancy for thousands of years for the trivial reason that it is
not in accord with reality. Reality isn’t all there is, after all.
Shall we no longer thrill to the climactic duel of Achilles
and Hector because people no longer fight with spears and
shields? Shall we no longer feel the excitement of the naval
battles of the War of 1812 and of the Napoleonic Wars
because our warships are no longer made of wood and are
no longer equipped with sails?
Never!
Why, then, shouldn’t people who enjoy an exciting
science fiction adventure story not enjoy a rousing
mythological fiction adventure story? The two are set in
different kinds of Universes but follow analogous paths.
So though I am sufficiently stick-in-the-muddish to be
narrow in my definition of science fiction and would not be
willing to consider sword-and-sorcery examples of science
fiction, I am willing to consider it the equivalent of science
fiction set in another kind of Universe—a prescientific
Universe.
I don’t even ask that they be wrenched out of context
and somehow be made to fit the universe of reality by being
given a scientific or pseudoscientific gloss. I ask only that
they be self-consistent in their prescientific Universe—
and that they be well-written and exciting stories.
Stop and Think Stop and Think Stop and Think Stop and Think Stop and Think
1. What is the parallel drawn between myths and legends
of the past and science fiction?
2.   What gives science fiction its validity?
3. Which literary works does the author have in mind
when he refers to ‘Open Sesame’ or the concept of
winged horses or flying carpets?
2024-25