why you should read science fiction

two bits from literary saturday: science fiction is a genre that everyone should read by walter russell mead:

'science fiction is perhaps best understood by an alternative name for the genre: speculative fiction. it is fiction that asks questions about the human condition and the meaning of life by taking us beyond everyday life. we go to strange planets, far distant futures or even to our own past — in order to learn about who we really are. science fiction takes its readers to far off galaxies in order to help them understand life on earth more clearly.'

and

'we are locked into twentieth century institutions and twentieth century habits of mind. science fiction is the literary genre (ok, true, sometimes a subliterary genre) where the social imagination is being cultivated and developed. young people should read this genre to help open their minds to the extraordinary possibilities that lie before us; we geezers should read it for the same reason. the job of our times is to build a radically new world; speculative fiction helps point the way.'

read the rest...

via io9