(no subject)

[ursula]

Does anyone know if there's an actual correlation between reading science fiction as a child and choosing a scientific or technical profession? That is, is there an academic study out there somewhere?

Comments

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know if I'm exactly a 'sci-fi' fan, because I've never read a lot of scifi for scifi's sake, but my favorite things ever are Star Trek and Dune. On the other hand, I really never got into the X-Files, I find Arthur C. Clarke just plain annoying, and have never read Asimov. And I am completely *not* a science or technical profession person - I am way, way over into the Arts side of things.

I suppose it depends, if you read or see things as what they are or as a work of fiction. So, if you are science-minded, you might watch Star Trek and it would make you think about all these possibilities, and this would make you want to get into a scientific field, whereas a humanities-based person like myself would be more about 'Good stories! Cool characters!' and appreciate scifi because it is(I think) an advanced form of extended metaphor that allows social and thematic commentary. Yep. :)

[ursula]

Arthur C. Clarke drives me up the wall, too-- it's that whole thing about being a sexist, racist bastard who thinks he's really progressive. So I think that just makes you a sane reader, who might be sensitive to social cues.