Frederik Pohl – Quote Investigator®

Frederik Pohl? Robert Heinlein? Isaac Asimov? Connie Willis? Ed Bryant? George Zebrowski? Ben Bova? Robert J. Sawyer? Sam Moskowitz?

Dear Quote Investigator: Predicting the primary effects of a new technology is difficult but feasible. Anticipating all the secondary effects is nearly impossible. Here are two statements of a viewpoint that has achieved popularity amongst science fiction aficionados:

In the nineteenth century a machine enthusiast could have predicted the automobile, but an SF writer could have predicted the traffic jam.

It is easy to predict the automobile but difficult to predict the traffic jam.

Would you please explore this saying?

Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI occurred in a 1953 essay by prolific science and SF author Isaac Asimov titled “Social Science Fiction”. Asimov discussed three different types of SF stories:^[1]1953, Modern Science Fiction: Its Meaning and Its Future, Edited Reginald Bretnor, Chapter: Social Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov, Start Page 157, Quote Page 171, Coward-McCann, New York. (Verified … Continue reading

Let us suppose it is 1880 and we have a series of three writers who are each interested in writing a story of the future about an imaginary vehicle that can move without horses by some internal source of power; a horseless carriage, in other words.

According to Asimov, gadget SF, the first type of tale, highlights the struggle to invent such a device and climaxes with its successful demonstration. Adventure SF, the second type, presents a romantic tale that hinges on using the device during action packed scenes. Social SF, the third type, explores the complex ramifications of the device as it is deployed within a society.

Asimov remarked that automobiles catalyzed the construction of suburbs. He also observed that vast networks of busy roadways resulted in large numbers of injuries and deaths. These indirect consequences of automobile usage would not have been easy to foresee. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[2]1953, Modern Science Fiction: Its Meaning and Its Future, Edited Reginald Bretnor, Chapter: Social Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov, Start Page 157, Quote Page 172, Coward-McCann, New York. (Verified … Continue reading

It is easy to predict an automobile in 1880; it is very hard to predict a traffic problem. The former is really only an extrapolation of the railroad. The latter is something completely novel and unexpected.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading It Is Easy To Predict an Automobile in 1880; It Is Very Hard To Predict a Traffic Problem

References

References
↑1	1953, Modern Science Fiction: Its Meaning and Its Future, Edited Reginald Bretnor, Chapter: Social Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov, Start Page 157, Quote Page 171, Coward-McCann, New York. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive)
↑2	1953, Modern Science Fiction: Its Meaning and Its Future, Edited Reginald Bretnor, Chapter: Social Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov, Start Page 157, Quote Page 172, Coward-McCann, New York. (Verified with scans; Internet Archive)

Frederik Pohl? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Frederik Pohl was an influential award-winning science-fiction author and editor. Apparently, Pohl’s Law states:

Nothing is so good that somebody somewhere won’t hate it.

Would you please examine this linkage?

Quote Investigator: Multiple statements have been labeled “Pohl’s Law” over the years. In 1966 Pohl was the editor of the science fiction (SF) magazine “Worlds of IF”, and he responded to letters from readers in a section called “Hue and Cry”. Pohl crafted an adage and affixed his name to it. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1966 December, Worlds of IF, Volume 16, Number 12, Edited by Frederik Pohl, Hue and Cry (Letters to the Editor), Start Page 160, Quote Page 162, Galaxy Publishing Corporation, New York. (Verified … Continue reading

Pohl’s Law: The more hysterically any entity reacts to criticism, the more you’re likely to find to criticize about it.—Editor

In 1977 SF author Spider Robinson published a review column in “Galaxy Magazine”. He printed a version of “Pohl’s Law” that matched the one specified by the questioner:^[2]1977 September, Galaxy Magazine, Edited by James Patrick Baen, Volume 38, Number 7, Galaxy Bookshelf by Spider Robinson, Start Page 118, Quote Page 122, UPD Publishing Company: Subsidiary of … Continue reading

Although Pohl’s Law states that nothing is so good that someone somewhere won’t hate it, I can hardly imagine anyone failing to enjoy this delightful album. Oh, and the George Barr cover is lovely.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Pohl’s Law: Nothing Is So Good that Somebody Somewhere Won’t Hate It

References

References
↑1	1966 December, Worlds of IF, Volume 16, Number 12, Edited by Frederik Pohl, Hue and Cry (Letters to the Editor), Start Page 160, Quote Page 162, Galaxy Publishing Corporation, New York. (Verified with scans)
↑2	1977 September, Galaxy Magazine, Edited by James Patrick Baen, Volume 38, Number 7, Galaxy Bookshelf by Spider Robinson, Start Page 118, Quote Page 122, UPD Publishing Company: Subsidiary of Universal Publishing & Distributing Corporation, Scarsdale, New York. (Verified with scans)