Ted Chiang's Counterphysical Stories and History of Science Pedagogy
(2023) p.151-168- Abstract
- Counterfactual history constitutes a prominent subgenre of speculative fiction. Nevertheless, though diverging from actual historical events, such works tend to otherwise be highly realistic. Other speculative fiction goes much further, creating not only an alternative timeline but an alternate reality governed by different physical laws. This chapter coins the term “counterphysical” to describe literature that plays with the very laws of physics or nature, but remains within a rules-based, science-inspired paradigm. Examining two counterphysical stories by Ted Chiang, “Seventy-Two Letters” (2000) and “Omphalos” (2019), it argues that such works can serve as a useful tool for teaching the history of science. Counterphysical fiction can... (More)
- Counterfactual history constitutes a prominent subgenre of speculative fiction. Nevertheless, though diverging from actual historical events, such works tend to otherwise be highly realistic. Other speculative fiction goes much further, creating not only an alternative timeline but an alternate reality governed by different physical laws. This chapter coins the term “counterphysical” to describe literature that plays with the very laws of physics or nature, but remains within a rules-based, science-inspired paradigm. Examining two counterphysical stories by Ted Chiang, “Seventy-Two Letters” (2000) and “Omphalos” (2019), it argues that such works can serve as a useful tool for teaching the history of science. Counterphysical fiction can help train students to suspend their present-day understanding of science in order to comprehend the worldview and mindset of historical scientists. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/23fab9c5-f66f-4c38-ab5f-f85e80507d84
- author
- Hennessey, John L. LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Ted Chiang, counterphysical, counterfactual, science fiction, speculative fiction, history of science, pedagogy
- host publication
- History and Speculative Fiction
- editor
- Hennessey, John L.
- pages
- 18 pages
- publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan
- ISBN
- 978-3-031-42234-8
- 978-3-031-42237-9
- 978-3-031-42235-5
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-031-42235-5_8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 23fab9c5-f66f-4c38-ab5f-f85e80507d84
- date added to LUP
- 2024-01-19 09:36:35
- date last changed
- 2024-01-22 11:54:51
@inbook{23fab9c5-f66f-4c38-ab5f-f85e80507d84, abstract = {{Counterfactual history constitutes a prominent subgenre of speculative fiction. Nevertheless, though diverging from actual historical events, such works tend to otherwise be highly realistic. Other speculative fiction goes much further, creating not only an alternative timeline but an alternate reality governed by different physical laws. This chapter coins the term “counterphysical” to describe literature that plays with the very laws of physics or nature, but remains within a rules-based, science-inspired paradigm. Examining two counterphysical stories by Ted Chiang, “Seventy-Two Letters” (2000) and “Omphalos” (2019), it argues that such works can serve as a useful tool for teaching the history of science. Counterphysical fiction can help train students to suspend their present-day understanding of science in order to comprehend the worldview and mindset of historical scientists.}}, author = {{Hennessey, John L.}}, booktitle = {{History and Speculative Fiction}}, editor = {{Hennessey, John L.}}, isbn = {{978-3-031-42234-8}}, keywords = {{Ted Chiang; counterphysical; counterfactual; science fiction; speculative fiction; history of science; pedagogy}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{151--168}}, publisher = {{Palgrave Macmillan}}, title = {{Ted Chiang's Counterphysical Stories and History of Science Pedagogy}}, url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/169885791/Hennessey_-_Ted_Chiang_s_Counterphysical_Stories_and_History_of_Science_Pedagogy.pdf}}, doi = {{10.1007/978-3-031-42235-5_8}}, year = {{2023}}, }