Textbook barons Houghton Mifflin have of late proclaimed 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know. But if you’re going to learn obscure words and concepts, it may as well be terms you’re actually likely to use. Thus, we present 75 Words Every Science Fiction Fan Should Know!
Textbook barons Houghton Mifflin have of late proclaimed 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know, probably in an attempt to shame and terrify the average student into purchasing an appropriate SAT study guide. For those of us who grew up reading science fiction and/or comic books, the list reads like the margin notes of every classic supervillain’s world-domination handbook. For some actual enlightenment, I recommend a different guide, Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, the polished dead-tree version of the OED‘s Science Fiction Citations Web site (found via SFSignal).
From the latter resource, with the addition of some personal selections from Wikipedia, I have gathered a list of 75 Words Every Science Fiction Fan Should Know. Because if you’re going to learn obscure words and concepts, it may as well be terms you’re actually likely to use.
The Trivia Geek, known to some by the mysterious alias "Jay Garmon," is an online community entrepreneur trying his luck with some promising Internet startups. To get the real skinny on his wacky business ideas--and his amateurish sci-fi short stories--read his blog, JayGarmon.net. It's like Jay without editorial oversight or decent engineering support. \ \ Jay is also the diabolical mind behind TechRepublic's Geek Trivia newsletter, a former editor of TR's Geekend blog, and until March of 2008 was a project manager for TR site feature development. \ \ In a previous life (read: fresh out of college), he was an ad man, toiling away for low pay and less respect as a copywriter and producer of print ads, radio spots, and TV commercials. No, you've probably never seen his work. Be thankful. \ \ Between his ad days and his life as a TechRepublicist, he worked briefly as a Web developer, mostly using (shudder) FrontPage and SQL Server to build rickety and poorly conceived database-driven Web sites. He was self-taught, and it showed. He's also dabbled in proposal writing, though he wouldn't recommend that as a career choice. \ \ Today, when he's not trying to build the next Internet media giant, Jay reads some comic books, plays tabletop RPGs, helps run a local sci-fi con, tries to launch a career as a fiction author, watches a lot of sports, and keeps his wife and daughter happy. The last part is easiest.
