Reading the future: an update

Science fiction author Ann Leckie in her Publisers Weekly article 10 Best Science Fiction Books writes, “Any attempt to list the ten best science fiction novels is doomed to failure.”

Given that I have read only two of the ten on her list, I would expect that most readers will disagree with any list I post as well. Fine with me.

As I described in an old blog post, I like science fiction that predicts a future society impacted by science - a logical extension of current trends. So while the first half dozen or so of these are from my original 2005 list, I've added a few...

1. Neuromancer by William Gibson was my first look at a cyberworld that felt as real as the physical world.
2. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card demonstrates learning through gaming, as well as predicting the Internet as a tool for political discourse. One of my all-time favorite books on lots of levels.
3. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson explores the possibilities of real e-book on a child’s life. And the $100 laptop project.
4. The Handmaiden’s Tale and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood are the worthy successors to George Orwell's 1984 in describing dystopias - made by either religious fervor or science gone awry.
5. Futureland by Walter Mosely (of Easy Rawlings mystery fame) is a series of linked short stories exploring corporate power taken to the extreme.What happens when every thing is leased from companies not owned by individuals - are we really buying our Kindle e-books?
6. Hyperion/Endymion and Illium/Olympus by Dan Simmons. I love these two-book series, having read them all twice now, but mostly for the fine writing, action, and imagination. I suppose the social commentary is there, but it’s not at the forefront. He is worried about AI gone bad,
7. The Circle by Dave Eggers is one of the very best near future scare stories I've read for some time. You will never answer a customer satisfaction survey or see a security camera again without thinking of the book.
8. Prey by Michael Crichton. Nanotechnology gone wild is the topic of this novel. Perhaps not his best, but typical of taking an emerging technology and developing it to a possible future. Very readable. I miss Crichton.
9. The Martian by Andy Weir is a great example of "hard" science fiction. No magic here, but a great tale of ingenuity, grit, and getting things done despite organization politics. The antithesis of one of my other favorite books set on Mars, Burroughs's A Princess of Mars. Weir's dry humor gave the book five stars for me.
10. Daemon and Freedom by Daniel Suarez are a great take on GoogleGlass and rating systems (especially Freedom). Imagine looking at person and seeing a visual scale over their heads indicating their integrity based on the ratings of others. We also get a "worse case scenario" of computer security gone bonkers.
11. Forever War by Joe Haldeman is a re-write of the lessons learned in Vietnam but set in space. Great book that I need to re-read soon.
12. Hiero’s Journey by Sterling Lanier tells of a far-distant post-apocalyptic future. Re-read this recently and the language feels a little stilted, but still an enjoyable read.
13. This Perfect Day by Ira Levin presents a dystopian world of conformity and ease. More Brave New World than 1984, authoritarianism can take different forms.
14. Old Man's War Jon Scalzi is the first of a series of humanity vs aliens. Good space opera, to me reminiscent of the best of Heinlein's Starship Trooper-like books I loved as a kid.
15. Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson just goes to show what happens when Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are ignored. And there is a sequel to it on my to-read list, since this first was great fun.
16. 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks. All too probable future in which cancer is cured causing overpopulation in the U.S. I don't want to be there when this happens. Maybe renegade robots are the solution?
17. World War Z by Max Brooks is proof you should never judge the book by the movie. This is an intelligent set of interconnected zombie stories. Wait is intelligent and zombie OK to use in the same sentence? Anyway...
18. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was a fun, fast read, probably best loved by those who grew up playing '80s computer games.
19. Little Brother by Cory Doctrow. Authored by a former director for the Electronic Freedom Foundation, the book is a cautionary/action/YA novel about a young San Franciso hacker pursued by the Department of Homeland Security after the Bay Bridge suffers a 9/11-type attack. My blog review of it actually got a comment from the author himself. Very cool.
20. Wall-E. OK, it's a movie not a book. But it still one of my favorite pieces of science fiction.

What must-reads should go next on my list? Do you have a link to some of your favorite science fiction books? And what are the qualities of a great science fiction novel?

Image sources 1, 2

Programming or history?

Before he left office last month, Australia’s education minister Christopher Pyne approved a new curriculum that made the teaching of programming central. No longer will students be required to learn history or geography. Audrey Watters

I’ve always been a bit skeptical of the need for all students to learn to program (See A Little Steamed about STEM, August 11, 2014.) So when I read the note about about Australia dropping history and geography for computer programming, I shuddered a little. Or maybe a lot.

As the happy product of a liberal arts curriculum K-18, I tend to take the view that the purpose of education is, as Sydney Harris reminds us, “to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s leisure.” That is perhaps a bit glib, but I cannot but hope education is more than simply vocational training. That we learn not just so we can feed our bodies and house our families, but that we also learn so we can nourish our souls and better our communities.

Proponents will argue that in learning to code, children will learn a systematic way of thinking. Sort of an if/then understanding of the world. I suppose some of this is good. It may well entice more girls and culturally-diverse students into the computer science field. I can't say that my one semester hour of basic programming class in grad school or my three semester hour class in Logo programming post graduation has added immeasurably to the quality of my internal life nor vocational possibilities, but they didn't hurt and weren't the worst things I've ever been asked to do.

But to mandate computer programming seems to me to be the same as mandating Latin (it encourages systematic thinking as well when deal with cases and genders); auto-mechanics (it builds an understanding of what goes on under the hood); or calculus (sorry, I can’t think of a single reason why everyone should know calculus).

Justifying history and geography and probably literature is probably as difficult for those with a science/math bent that understanding programming needs is for me.  My experience that the social sciences and arts expand one’s knowledge of and appreciation for humanity is not universally shared and as impossible to empirically demonstrate as measuring the efficacy of prayer, knocking on wood, or positive thinking.

Here's the thing. Why do we feel to need to mandate a single set of skills for every student? A single definition of "cultural literacy" or "real-world ready" or "21st century skills." The world is an amazingly complex place which no one has the ability to master completely. We are and will continue to be codependent on the specific skill sets of others.

Let kids and adults and families choose what things they need to know to be educated. You can ask me about Dostoyevsky if I can ask you about binomials. Deal?

BFTP: 7 opportunities: Google Apps and librarians

It was five years ago this fall that I helped roll GoogleApps for Education to all our students in the Mankato schools. (Teachers had been using it for about nine months. 

GAFE has been probably the most successful technology adoption I have experienced in my nearly 40 years in education. Used on a daily basis by staff and students alike, costing the taxpayer little or nothing to run, and providing a means of genuine communication and collaboration, I remain glad my district was among the earlier adopters (first launched in 2006 at the university level) and I can't imagine why any school would not provide this resource to its students and staff. Here are a couple posts from the early days...

7 opportunities: Google Apps and librarians

As we roll out GoogleApps for Education to our students this fall, I am just thinking about the implications for our school librarians. Off the top of my head, seven opportunities "MAPS Apps" present to us include:

1. This is our chance to be staff development gurus - again! It's a great chance not only to teach F2F at staff development sessions, but serve as role models: sharing documents, collaborating, and using these tools as teachers. You don't need to know much to be the expert in your school on GoogleApps for education. And such a reputation is gold.
2. We can teach students these tools as part of our IT/IL curriculum, using them for activities we would have used Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for in the past. We can accept responsibility for helping students use these resources safely and responsibly.
3. We can create templates and tools to help students during the research process. (I suspect Apps may be less cumbersome than managing wikis, blogs, etc. for project-long documentation.)
4. We can be the "go-to" support for students for one-on-one help with the apps including using Docs for file storage/portfolios, sharing documents for viewing and editing, using collaboration techniques, finding, making and sharing templates and solving any log-on/access problems.
5. We can use the tools for our own library information gathering efforts - conducting surveys, tracking classes (via calendar), and organizing data.
6. We can use e-mail, Groups and chat for communication with staff and students - information in real time rather than just newsletters.
7. We can use GoogleDocs for curriculum writing, lesson planning, and collaboration with teachers. We can use (and model) self-made video tutorials shared via GoogleVideo. We can create and use templates to share with our fellow librarians and teachers.

We can model a shift to a paperless, social, ubiquitous learning environment where doing stuff takes precedence over learning how to do stuff.

If we don't, who will?

Original post August 17, 2010

MAPS Apps: Letter to Students

Fall 2010

Dear ISD77 Student:

This fall you will be given a “MAPS Apps” account that will give you access to some exciting and useful online tools. These tools will include:

• an individual e-mail account
• a personal calendar
• a contacts list where you can store names, addresses and telephone numbers
• a word processor and a collection of helpful templates
• a spreadsheet and chart maker
• a presentation program
• a drawing tool
• a storage space for your documents

All of these tools will available through a web browser (like Firefox, Explorer or Netscape Safari) from any computer, anywhere, that is connected to the Internet. You will also be able to share your documents with your teachers and other students within the district. You will be able, with permission, to view and edit others’ work and have others view and edit your work. All tools and files you create will be stored on the Internet rather than on any specific computer or server.

Your library media specialist will be working with you to learn how to use these tools, will be reviewing the district’s policies related to the tools, and will give you your username and password (and help you if you forget them).

Please keep in mind that everyone must use these tools responsibly. This responsible use includes:

• using MAPS Apps for school purposes
• using MAPS Apps in ways that do not bully, harass or make others feel uncomfortable
• using “school appropriate” language and images in all your communications and creations
• respecting the work and privacy of others using the tools

You will find MAPS Apps to be very helpful in your daily work and give you practice using skills that will last a lifetime. Use it wisely and have fun!

Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology

Original post August 13, 2010