YAM December 2001 - Inside the Blue Book

Previous Columns

November 2001 A philosophical look at death.

Summer 2001 Exploring "girl power."

May 2001 Learning the ins and outs of e-commerce.

April 2001 Delving into depression.

February 2001 A Tercentennial team explores the nature of democracy.

December 2000 Geologists study old shells to learn the art of observation.

November 2000 "Dr. Curveball" teaches the physics of the national game.

October 2000 A writer teaches the art of creating a sense of place.

Inside the Blue Book
Deep Space 101

December 2001
by Jennifer L. Holley

ENAS 111A
Science Fiction and Science Fact
Faculty: Mark Reed, Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Engineering

Science fiction certainly takes a lot of poetic license. The first ten minutes of Star Wars, for example, include both sounds and light pulses in space (both impossible). But for all the fiction, professor Mark Reed still finds plenty of facts. He uses the medium as a jumping-off point for his course, "Science Fiction and Science Fact." Students look at examples of the genre and then dig into the science behind them.

"This is a course for everybody -- and the first of its kind."

The course is Reed's second attempt at teaching science to non-science majors, following "Electronic Society," which he taught after coming to Yale from Texas Instruments in 1990. "I tried to transmit my excitement to the students," Reed says, "but I felt I was missing a connection."

Now in the packed Davies Auditorium, where Reed entertains constant questions, it seems he's made that connection. "This is a course for everybody," says Reed. He believes the course, which looks at science fiction products from a scientific perspective, is the first of its kind. The novels on the reading list span the genre, from Flatland (in which author Edwin Abbott reacts to Victorian society by writing about a two-dimensional world) to the contemporary offering The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman, who recently visited class as a surprise guest lecturer.

The students' final project gives them a chance to put what they've learned from the masters into practice. They write their own science fiction short stories; furthermore, they explain in detail the science they use in their stories. Last year, Reed gave awards to several standouts. A story about the physics of Santa Claus won for "best timeliness" (the story was due in December). And for "best humor," the award went to a Survivor-inspired story that takes place on Mars.

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