As for the literary elite, postmodernists despise science fiction
because of the word "science," while their older colleagues -- steeped
in Aristotle's "Poetics" -- find anathema the underlying assumption
behind most high-quality SF: the bold assertion that there are no
"eternal human verities." Things change, and change can be
fascinating. Moreover, our children might outgrow us! They may become
better, or learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. And if they
don't learn, that could be a riveting tragedy far exceeding
Aristotle's cramped and myopic definition. "On the Beach," "Soylent
Green" and "1984" plumbed frightening depths. "Brave New World," "The
Screwfly Solution" and "Fahrenheit 451" posed worrying questions. In
contrast, "Oedipus Rex" is about as interesting as watching a hooked
fish thrash futilely at the end of a line. You just want to put the
poor doomed King of Thebes out of his misery -- and find a way to
punish his tormentors.  David Brin




"Any sufficiently advanced technology becomes a Greg Egan story." 
-- Clarke's Fourth Law. 
(I don't see why Arthur should be the only Clarke who gets to formulate them.)
-- Paul Clarke, rec.arts.sf.written