Robert A.Heinlein

[jerome]

Je signale cet article sur Heinlein.

However, what truly makes Heinlein one of the great, foundational figures of modern science fiction is his intellectual curiosity, and his willingness to question life and society through his writing. His work in social science fiction was informed by a complex response to culture, and he insisted on following his ideas wherever they took him—even when that meant going against popular opinion or risking book sales. While Starship Troopers was a conservative reaction to nuclear development that stressed social responsibility and militarism verging on fascism, Stranger in a Strange Land focused on progressive stances toward religion and sexuality that were embraced by the counterculture of the 1960s.

[jerome]

Robert A. Heinlein: The Man Who Loved Women

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Nouvel article : Lessons in Chivalry (and Chauvinism): Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein

There are many gateways into science fiction—books that are our first encounter with a world of limitless possibilities. And because we generally experience them when we are young and impressionable, these books have a lasting impact that can continue for a lifetime. In the late 20th Century, among the most common gateways to SF were the “juvenile” books of Robert A. Heinlein. The one that had the biggest impression on me opened with a boy collecting coupons from wrappers on bars of soap, which starts him on a journey that extends beyond our galaxy. Wearing his space suit like a knight of old would wear armor, young Clifford “Kip” Russell sets out on a quest that will ultimately become entangled with the fate of all mankind.

[jerome]

Five Books That Improve Upon Heinlein’s Juveniles
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[jerome]

Robert A. Heinlein and DNA Replication, un article à lire sur Tor.

Heinlein’s late period begins in 1979 after a nearly decade-long hiatus, which included relocating to California, the building of a new house, and repeated bouts with various illnesses, including invasive surgery to correct a perforated bowel, which required a blood transfusion to keep Heinlein alive. The bulk of his efforts from the 1970s until his death centered around activist efforts to increase the pool of volunteer blood donors (particularly at science fiction conventions), as an advocate for the space program, and having his voice heard on the Reagan administration’s Citizens Advisory Board, where he threw his support behind the failed “Star Wars” strategic defense program. During this period, Heinlein wrote five novels, many of which were extensions of his future history series, except with an even stronger didactic style and a focus on the exploration of various sexual taboos, including incest. While his back catalog continued to sell well, Heinlein never returned to form, and after suffering complications from emphysema and congestive heart failure, Heinlein died at home in 1988 at age 81.

While DNA replication may seem like a minor corner of biology, but its importance can’t be overstated: the work in this area illuminated the basis of all genetic variation on earth. Any errors made during DNA replication could explain the spontaneous appearance of new traits in species. Coupled with selective pressure, DNA replication is the stuff of evolution. Not only that, but a revolution in biology occurred in 1983 when Kary Mullis, a chemist working at one of the first biotech companies, built upon Kornberg’s findings to replicate a specific region of DNA in a series of water baths with a technique called Polymerase Chain Reaction, allowing molecular biologists for the first time to copy specific regions of DNA. Mullis would win his own Nobel Prize for this work in 1993, and it is now a standard procedure used in every molecular biology lab around the world.