Silicon Valley fatalism is ruining our planet and more. Kindred
Octavia E. Butler
Gift edition. Beacon Press, 2022 ($27.95)
Afrofuturism is often used as a way to reexamine our world. One of the oldest ways to make sense of an increasingly complex society is by telling stories. A language of dreams and dystopias is explored by Afrofuturist writers. They travel beyond colonial borders and timescales to revisit old gods and traditional narratives.
One of the most celebrated Black speculative-fiction writers is Octavia E.Butler. The author wrote science-based novels and short stories about shape- shifting immortals and psychic explorations. She was able to explore deeply uncomfortable things with clear clarity. When set against the backdrop of competition for resources and survival, her choice of language and setting challenged notions of community and sexuality.
Black women's agency and aesthetic are often denied in a world that often denies the existence of both, but thanks to the work of the first black woman to win a Hugo Award, and the first science-fiction author to be honored with aGenius Grant, this is no longer the case I was introduced to her work in college through her most famous novel, and it changed my life path.
The classic genre convention of time travel has been retooled by the author. Dana, a Black woman newly married to a white man in 1970s California, collapses time to face frightening ancestral legacies at the antebellum Maryland plantation where her family was enslaved. Readers learn that Dana has a special connection to a redheaded child when she is dragged back in history.
Dana needs more than knowledge and privilege to survive. Readers can see how history is not static but a force that lives on in us through her journey and Kevin's. In a way that avoids romanticizing the brutalities of the "peculiar institution", Kindred revises long-held meanings of family, sacrifice and communal stories. The novel reminds us that we can't survive time.
Since its publication, the innovative take on time travel has been reflected in many works. The 1991 film Brother Future, starring Carl Lumbly and Vonetta McGee, is one of those films. Kiese Laymon's Long Division is a novel that shows the influence of Kindred. What a revolutionary looks like was redefined by the creation of characters who encounter profound difficulties but go on to become heroes.
At a time when it was thought that Black people didn't read or write science fiction, it's an impressive footprint for a novel that was published in 1973. The tradition of writing in a literary tradition that goes back nearly 165 years in English began with Martin R. Delany.
Her work is inspiring a renaissance of Afrofuturism. Her influence can be seen in the syllabus of universities across the world, as well as in the TV series and film adaptation of her books. Her presence is present in the works of many authors.
Sixteen years after her death, her legacy is still relevant. The book stands as an icon for recasting today's challenges because it is so illuminating.
Sheree Renée Thomas is a writer, poet and editor who lives in Memphis. Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction will be co-edited by her.
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A Voice in the Wilderness: A Pioneering Biologist Explains How Evolution Can Help Us Solve Our Biggest Problems Joseph L. Graves Jr.
Basic Books, 2022 ($30)
A Voice in the Wilderness is not a traditional memoir because it was almost exclusively white before. The author is Joseph L. Graves, Jr. Graves is the first African American to ever receive a PhD in evolutionary biology in the U.S. Evolutionary science as it is lived and practiced is the subject of his book.
Graves doesn't mask the political and experiential realities of the U.S., authentically narrating a life where robust methodical and theoretical approaches in evolutionary biology can, and should, be involved with the struggle for social justice. He shows an optimistic view of the antiracist promises of evolutionary sciences while confronting their role in the construction of race and the horrible realities of racism. He offers thoughtful insights into the messy dialogue of science and religion and the complicated history of evolutionary biology. He mentioned that Star Trek inspired him and many other researchers who dreamed of science and adventure shaped by the necessity of equity and justice.
This is an engaging book with a lot of cool science. The author introduces us to the amazing Drosophila, the fruit fly at the center of much discovery in genetics research, as well as diving into the mathematical and biological impacts of chaos with surprising clarity.
Graves shared his experiences and practice of science in order to generate a future where evolutionary biology can become a better version of itself. For the many students in this field who do not look like the dominant faces in the textbooks and on the walls of famous museums and academic departments, getting a glimpse of life interwoven with actual scientific engagement, oppression, assistance, failure and success provides a necessary invitation to be where they are, to
Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires by Douglas Rushkoff.
W. W. Norton, 2022 ($26.95)
When the planet they've destroyed becomes uninhabitable, the ultrarich will leave it behind. The influence of the Mindset, a Silicon Valley–style fatalism, has billionaires believing that with enough capitalistic ambition and ruthless follow-through, they can escape their self-caused disaster. The Mindset is an antidemocratic, exploitative infection in society that rewards interdependency over self-interest, according to Michael.
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion by Sean Carroll.
Dutton, 2022 ($23)
It's like taking an introductory physics class with a star professor, but without the tedious problem sets. SeanCarroll gives readers what he calls the real stuff by explaining concepts such as mechanics and general relativity without dumbing them down. The result may feel like a more exciting version of courses, but for those without the background, it may feel like a porthole.
Natural History: Stories by Andrea Barrett.
W. W. Norton, 2022 ($26.95)
The community of scientist characters she introduced in her 1996 debut, SHIP FURNITURE, is back in her graceful short story collection. In a New York State village in the late 1800s, a woman chooses a teaching career over home making. The interwoven stories examine Henrietta's complicated choices as well as those of her friends and relations moving forward in time. They are more interesting because of their friendship, scientific work and passions.
The original title of this article was "Reviews" in Scientific American 327.
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