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| John Carter and Dejah Thoris (Gutenberg) |
Note: Tarzan wasn't the only "manly man" created by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Meet John Carter, veteran Civil War officer and beloved of a Martian princess!
Get Ready: Do you fell "cheated" when an author makes something happen (like being transported to Mars and back) without explaining how?
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| Artist's concept of the surface of Venus (Wikimedia) |
Note: Ray Bradbury's story reminds us that even if we find a planet with the conditions necessary for life, they may not be conducive to good mental health. Kids can be so cruel!
Get Ready: Have you ever really, really looked forward to something--and then been disappointed when it didn't happen?
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| The Cardiff Giant is "exhumed" in 1869. (Wikipedia) |
Note: Someone said "There's a sucker born every minute"--and many manufactured OOPArts prove this statement to be true!
Get Ready: What would you think if you heard evidence of, say, dinosaurs and humans existing side-by-side? Or the discovery of a 10-foot tall petrified giant human? Would you believe it? Doubt it? Want more evidence?
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| The group encountering Iguanodon (Wikipedia) |
Note: Step aside, Sherlock. You're not the only famous character to spring from the fertile mind of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Meet Professor George Edward Challenger!
Get Ready: Do you think it's possible that somewhere in the world dinosaurs still exist?
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| Poster from the 1933 film version (Wikipedia) |
Note: H. G. Wells created a "creature" who is often grouped with Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Werewolf--not an easy thing to do! Dozens of films and TV shows have been derived from his idea.
Get Ready: With the advent of stealth technology, we have come closer and closer to achieving invisibility. Do you think this will ever become a reality, and be available to the common person?
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| Spock, Kirk, and McCoy from The Original Series (Wikipedia) |
Note: Sometimes a TV series transcends its humble origins and becomes an important cultural phenomenon. That's what happened with the show Star Trek.
Get Ready: Which would you rather see in a leader: action (sometimes without thinking), cold logic, or warm compassion? Why?
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| A Martian shooting a death ray (Wikipedia) |
Note: Of his many books--in many genres--nothing by H. G. Wells has had a bigger impact than The War of the Worlds, for reasons that will become clear.
Get Ready: Does science fiction have any useful function, aside from entertainment? How can it be of some benefit to society?
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| Poster for the 1960 film version (Wikipedia) |
Note: In one of literature's great "firsts," Englishman H.G. Wells explores the idea of time travel, while effectively commenting on the results of current trends in society.
Get Ready: What effects do you think result from the gap in society between rich and poor, or upper and lower classes?
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| George Reeves as Superman (Wikipedia) |
Note: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's the first modern superhero, the "gold standard" for all others.
Get Ready: Why must even the strongest of heroes, like Achilles and his heel, need a weakness, a vulnerability?
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| These dunes in Oregon helped inspire the books (Wikipedia) |
Note: When you gotta have spice, nothing else will do, so when House Atreides gains control of it, everyone comes gunning for them.
Get Ready: Part of the struggle in this story is between social classes. Do you think the "nobility" have an obligation to take care of the working class (here, the Fremen)?
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| The Nautilus (Wikipedia) |
Note: The mysterious Captain Nemo (meaning "no one") cruises the world under the sea--long before that technically became possible!
Get Ready: Are you interested in marine biology--undersea life and so on?
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| Victor displays disgust at his creation (Wikipedia) |
Note: Most people are familiar with the figure some call Frankenstein, actually Frankenstein's monster, who was made by Doctor Victor Frankenstein. Most of us think of Mary Shelley's novel of that name as a cautionary tale about the abuses of science and technology. But the author herself hinted that the 1818 horror story--which she wrote in an informal competition with her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and the great Lord Byron--had a different, deeper, meaning, though she never explicitly stated what that was.
For another version of this story, see Lesson #01-014.
Get Ready: What kind of rules should there be to limit scientists from going "too far"?
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| Drawing of an alleged UFO from a CIA file (Wikipedia) |
Note: July 2, 1947. Something strange happens in the skies over Roswell, New Mexico, and the rumors begin almost instantly, resulting in... is a holiday!
Get Ready: Do you believe that some UFOs are piloted by visitors from outside of the earth? Why or why not?
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