14.0361 sci-fi and science: Lem & the physician-fantasists

From: by way of Willard McCarty (willard@lists.village.Virginia.EDU)
Date: 10/15/00

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                   Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 14, No. 361.
           Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
                  <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
    
    
    
             Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 10:48:50 +0100
             From: "Eric S. Rabkin" <esrabkin@umich.edu>
             Subject: Re: 14.0342 sci-fi and science: Stanislaw Lem
    
    
    Just FYI, Lem is not a "Humanist Engineer" but, by training, a physician.
    (According to a biography of him, he stopped just short of his degree
    because at
    that time all Polish physicians were, in effect, drafted for life into the
    army,
    and he wished to avoid that.)  There is, I think, a wonderful book to be
    written
    about physician fantasists: think Arthur Conan Doyle.
    
    Cheers.
    
    Eric Rabkin
    
    "Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty )" wrote:
    
      >                Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 14, No. 342.
      >        Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
      >                <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
      >               <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
      >
      >          Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 21:05:18 +0100
      >          From: "P. T. Rourke" <ptrourke@mediaone.net>
      >           >
      >   > For pure enlightenment, not amusement in scifi-fiction, the great
    European
      >   > Humanist Engineer, Stanislaw Lem, is the one to read. Americans 
    have not
      >   > sense of the great tragic human, or true comedy.  I recommend for
    starters
      >   > (and perhaps finishers, too) Lem's masterpiece, FIASCO
      >
      > Though Fiasco is my favorite of Lem's work, I have sometimes thought that
      > the Golem story (in Imaginary Magnitudes) is his masterpiece.  The other
      > "stories" (introductions to books to be written at some point in the 
    future)
      > in Imaginary Magnitudes might also be of interest to readers on
      > "Humanities."
      >
      > On the subject of this thread, though, Lem's criticism of science fiction
      > (especially his readings of Phillip K. Dick, one of the least "scientific"
      > of science fiction writers) would be especially of interest.
      >
      > By the way, I apologize for referring to Clarke's story as "The Lion of
      > Commagene" - it is more like "Commarre."
      >
      > Patrick Rourke
      > ptrourke@mediaone.net
    
    --
    Eric S. Rabkin              734-764-2553 (Office)
    Dept of English             734-764-6330 (Dept)
    Univ of Michigan            734-763-3128 (Fax)
    Ann Arbor MI 48109-1003     esrabkin@umich.edu
    
    http://www-personal.umich.edu/~esrabkin/
    



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