r/sciencefiction

Hi r/solarpunk,

I'm a PhD researcher at the University of Kerala, India working on something I think this community will recognise instinctively: fantasy literature as a training ground for ecological imagination.

Tolkien's Shire can be restored. Jemisin's Stillness must be endured. Sanderson's Roshar adapts to perpetual storms. VanderMeer's Area X refuses human interpretation. These are four very different "ecological grammars" — and they may teach readers to feel very differently about the real ecological crises we're living through.

I've built a short pilot survey to test this. **6–8 minutes, fully anonymous, ethics-approved.** You'll read one ~500-word excerpt and share your response.

Two versions — please pick by birth month:

- **Jan–June:** https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekTjBW_pTIYFnhKznrqGY8ugoumXKXyaCHnALqS0woOAuK7g/viewform

- **July–Dec:** https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSZCLCB0Vi_yHh6tuQJYHZ3m19AUWC87us1cOvJrpaYfMlOw/viewform

Given this sub's interest in how we imagine and build ecological futures, your responses would be especially valuable. I'll share findings back here when the pilot closes.

Thanks!

This was the book that made cyberpunk really click for me — more so than Neuromancer (which was groundbreaking but didn’t pull me in the same way).

Snow Crash is fast-paced, action-packed and genuinely fun. It feels like Neil Stephenson set out to make cyberpunk enjoyable — and it works.

I remember Y.T. even more vividly than Hiro. Both were great, but she really stood out to me.

How did you like it? Does it still feel like cyberpunk to you — or already something beyond it?

I just started rewatching The Umbrella Academy, and it’s just as insane as it was the first time around. I love the cast, the style, and the soundtrack. I also really appreciate how the show handled Elliot Page’s transition. Very classy.

What are your thoughts on the series, and how many of you haven’t seen it yet?

It’s time to create something from nothing.

Formula: x / 0 = lost energy of x

x can be anything.

How to check: for example, if you take 2 and divide it by 0, you have already spent energy related to the number 2 just by attempting the operation. This means the actual result should represent the lost energy of 2.

Something is missing in this formula, which is why I need smart people to improve it.

I honestly don’t care if you say it’s not correct—I need someone to make this formula work.

Do whatever you want with this idea, and remember: our future depends on the things we do and create.

#Science #Physics #Innovation #FutureThinking #DeepThoughts

If you could pitch a plot for a new Star Trek series, what would it be? The possibilities are essentially infinite. Please, do share.

I would lean toward a Star Trek anthology series, with each episode featuring different stories, characters, and locations. One episode could follow a Federation news crew caught behind enemy lines during the Dominion War. Another might center on a Tal Shiar operative disguised as a high ranking Klingon stationed on Qo'noS during the TOS era. There could even be an episode depicting the birth and exile of Armus.

I can see, why Neuromancer has been so influential. But reading it never gave me that "flow" feeling my favorite books do.

Maybe it's because I can't really connect to Case, maybe it's because of Gibson's dense language - I don't even really know.

Still one of the best openers in history: "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

I'm curious how this one felt for you. Did you admire it? Or love reading it?