The John Hodgman SF Fan Test
I really enjoyed John Hodgman’s speech at the Radio & TV Correspondent’s dinner for the jokes but mostly for the use of Speculative Fiction to communicate complex and emotionally charged political ideas. Before we get into that let us take The John Hodgman are you a SF fan test, are you more of an SF fan then the President? Watch the Video below.
What are the name of all 3 types of hobbits?
Who is the Father of Superman?
Do you have a particular technology addiction?
Do you have a picture of yourself in Cosplay or on a pilgrimage to a SF place?
Can you flash the Vulcan solute?
What was the name of the God that Conan the Barbarian worshiped?
Do you know what the Kwisatz Haderach is?
Bonus points if you know which version of dune the picture is from?
What is the name of the giant sandworm?
What is the name of the machine to summon such a sandworm?
What is the name of the fluid that they expunge from the sandworm?
I love his comment on the Constitution as a big faq for the U.S. and the founding fathers perspective of God as a distant Dungeon Master.
The beauty of John Hodgman’s speech is the use of SF to communicate complex and emotionally charged political ideas in an approachable manner. He was able to reach out to both sides of the political spectrum and get them to think about ideals like
Consensus
Eagerly looking forward to the future
Appreciating our diversity, EDIC
(via Huffington Post)