23 thoughts on “Fred Pohl”

1. Whatever the linked writer thinks, there’s no question that he’d evolved away from the socialist nonsense he may have entertained early on. In the late ’80’s or the ’90’s I heard him speak at MIT, and when talking of Asimov’s views, he repeated the old saw about, “when a man is in his 20’s if he isn’t a socialist he doesn’t have a heart; if he’s still a socialist in his 30’s he doesn’t have a head.”

   He said this with fond frustration at where Asimov’s views had gotten stuck…

   And yes, RIP, Fred. The last of the Titans of early sf, I think.

   1. Its difficult to see how someone who worked in the advertising industry and then went on to work as an editor for Popular Science could be regarded as a socialist, especially given how he worked with Robert Heinlein to get his stories published.

      http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/05/working-with-robert-a-heinlein/

      1. It’s even more difficult to see why you imagine that anyone called Pohl a socialist. But nothing new for you.

      2. Um, actually, you should read Pohl’s autobiography, The Way the Future Was; he was quite the socialist / communist in his youth, but eventually got disillusioned by Stalin’s show trials and moved away from both. Left-leaning but fairly realist is how I would describe most of life.

         1. cthulhum,

            I have and as well as the Robert Heinlein biography (Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century). During the same period Robert Heinlein was actually working to have a socialist elected governor of California. The difference was that Fred Pohl was just a naive teenager, a high school drop out who didn’t know any better while Robert Heinlein was in his late twenties and a Naval Academy grad who should have known better what socialism was.

2. His argument seems to be mainly that he wrote a book about an alternate universe in which the Arabs ran the world. I guess he doesn’t understand that is what science fiction is about, asking “what if”, not about what is likely or probable. He then goes on to complain about Michael Crichton’s “Rising Sun” for the same reason. This writer clearly never learned what science fiction is about. Pity Rand also don’t seem to understand or why else would he link to it.

   1. Who is “he”?

      1. Exactly what I was wondering, Rand. The author of your linked article is female.

         1. Pardon me, She. But whoever it is they have no idea what science fiction is which is why its a mystery you would link to them.

            1. Many things are a mystery to you. That’s your problem, not mine.

3. BTW, here is the memorial to him on his blog,

   http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/

4. As others have pointed out, Pohl’s science was often spotty, but even so, Gateway is one helluva ride.

5. Pardon me, She. But whoever she is, she clearly has no knowledge of what Science Fiction is. Which is why it makes no sense why you would link to her blog regarding his death rather than Feed Pohl’s blog. Or were you more interested in making a point of his views than his passing?

6. I think its pretty clear Rand did both.

   It makes good sense to clarify that although Rand held his fiction in great esteem he did not agree with his economics.

   1. Rand,

      Given Rand’s current state of mind he would object to the economics of President Reagan. In fact, come to think of it, he voted against President Reagan in both elections 🙂

      But it still shows a lack of respect to the last of the figures from the golden age of science fiction.

      BTW Fred Pohl’s book, Space Merchants, from 1952 did a pretty good job of predicting the conservation movement would give rise to eco-nuts

      1. I didn’t vote “against” Reagan, any more than I voted “against” Carter and Mondale. I voted for the libertarian candidates. And it didn’t matter, since I was voting in California at the time. If I had any concerns that it would have been close in that state, I would have voted for Reagan.

         1. So you supported President Reagan’s economic views?

            1. What a stupid question.

               Please, describe to me President Reagan’s economic views. I would imagine that I would agree with some and not with others.

               On the other hand, President Obama’s economic views seem to be universally insane.

7. Rand,

   So you no longer support President Obama’s economic views on space?

   1. I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean. Obama has no “economic views on space.”

      1. So you don’t see his subsidies of space commerce as economic policy? Interesting, but it explains a lot about your views on it 🙂

         1. So you don’t see his subsidies of space commerce as economic policy?

            a) They aren’t “his” “subsidies of space commerce” (they aren’t subsidies of space commerce at all, and he’s likely unaware of them, not giving a damn about space policy). b) they aren’t “economic policy.” They’re a means of reducing our reliance on the Russians, and reducing costs of services to the government.

8. Thanks for the notice on that, Rand. Pohl was one of my favorites of the hard-science fiction writers, and truly a master from the Golden Age of S/F.
   I often think I have to write a screenplay based on one of the stories the masters used to write. One of those would be Pohl’s “Man Plus”.
   Ad Astra, Fred!

   Bob Clark

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