Sci-fi writers join war on terror – USATODAY.com Here we go with the US government describing science fiction writers as crazed crackpots. Sheesh.
Looking to prevent the next terrorist attack, the Homeland Security Department is tapping into the wild imaginations of a group of self-described “deviant” thinkers: science-fiction writers.
“We spend our entire careers living in the future,” says author Arlan Andrews, one of a handful of writers the government brought to Washington this month to attend a Homeland Security conference on science and tech.
Those responsible for keeping the nation safe from devastating attacks realize that in addition to border agents, police and airport screeners, they “need people to think of crazy ideas,” Andrews says.The writers make up a group called Sigma, which Andrews put together 15 years ago to advise government officials.
As George Morrow once pointed out to me: the science fictions writers tell good stories but their ability to predict the future is poor. They predicted flying cars and robots and never saw the computer and the way it emerged it began to appear in businesses in the 1960′s. Meanwhile, these people are hardly whack jobs who think in the sixth dimension. They’re writers who work for a living.
found by Roger Strukhof
Front!! And a “fair witness.” Anne, what color is that house? Jubal, on this side it appears to be painted white.
