Re: What is the minimum amount of physics that an SF author needs to know?

In article <hec9a25vaa8e8u3e5ja93sgc7cm5t15of1@xxxxxxx>,
Arthur T. <arthur@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In
Message-ID:<1151639875.898664.125660@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"MajorOz" <MajorOz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I don't see some minimally experienced author saying:"I think I will
write science fiction, but need to learn some science".
The fundamental precept for writers is: "write what you know"

So, I think the problem is self-solving.

If only it were so.

I don't have the author or story name, but I read the
short-fiction Hugo nominees a few years ago. One of them dealt
with a space ship making a long, STL voyage. The engines had to
keep going to maintain the ship's top speed. (Yes, with the
engines going full thrust, the ship no longer went any faster;
however, that didn't mean the interior was in free-fall.) There
were also ridiculous errors in timing as the ship passed the
orbits of the planets on its outward trip.

There was more horrible science in that short story, but I no
longer have my list of bloopers for it. If it actually *won* the
Hugo, I don't want to know. It's depressing enough that it was
printed, much less nominated, and I'd really hate to know that it
won.

"Stealing Alabama", Allen Steele? Lost to "Fast Times at Fairmont
High" by Vernor Vinge.

Steele apparently taught a course on world-building last year.

This is why I think a would-be SF writer should aim at hard SF.
The standards are clearly so low that even a mediocre writer can stand
out.

--
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll
.

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