John W. Campbell (1962) - Interview by Fred Lerner

[@WesNG]

Amazing! First time I heard the great John W. Campbell speak! What a treat! Thank you very much

[@MM-pl5ed]

rare material , amazing upload!

[@Khultan]

Thank you. +1

[@mkaleborn]

Outstanding stuff, thank you! Just finished reading Asimov's introduction to 'The Mammoth Book of Golden Age of Science Fiction'. A very nice confirmation and accompaniment to his descriptions of this giant of Science Fiction.

[@DylanRoth1860]

This is guy is beyond fucking awesome.

[@sonamtipotas8564]

In around he 3:38 he speaks about Odysey by Homer.He says it was written by barbarians.Well it was written by ancient Greeks who created the word barbarian which meant everyone who was not a Greek (because the language of foreigners sounded to them like this: bar-bar-bar-bar... thus barbarians)

[@StrangerHappened]

The word "Berbers" has the same root.

[@johnrobinson4445]

Campbell's voice sounds rather similar to Ronald Reagan's. Not saying it's good or bad, just noticing it.

[@pylgrym]

Isaac Asimov calls Campbell his father.

[@zemxxi2765]

It is too bad that Campbell's own racism put a blot on his legacy. Racism may have been the norm in his time, but time marches on. Hence the renaming of what is now known as the Astounding Award. There is a lesson in there. Unfortunately, he died (in 1971 at only age 61) before he could learn it.

[@gary7vn]

I hope that you live long enough to see some lout condemn you and your beliefs, even though they "may have been the norm at the time". Lincoln was a 'racist'. I know, right?

[@bobbyjosson4663]

How lucky we are to have such a Puritan as yourself pointing out the foibles of another age. You must have done a lot of self work to be such a saint.

[@zemxxi2765]

​@@bobbyjosson4663 It's called being cognizant. You really should try it sometime. You should also look up the word "foible" which is defined (according to Merriam-Webster) as "a minor flaw or shortcoming in character or behavior". Do you really think that racism is just a minor shortcoming of another age? I mean....really. Are you serious?

[@bobbyjosson4663]

@@zemxxi2765 "He that has no sin, let him cast the first stone." For me, it's a minor flaw if he didn't go beat someone up. Growing up, I've had friends of all races tell jokes that wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, sometimes in bars. It's about context. Do you think that it's right to tear down a man, despite the tremendous work he did, for some of his beliefs, when those beliefs usually had no bearing whatsoever on the SF he published? The same applies to Mozart, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many others. For me, what's lacking is compassion, kindness, forgiveness, empathy and understanding. I also think that re-naming an award is easy virtue signaling by folks that usually don't have many virtues. I dislike some of Kipling's views on the Empire but that doesn't diminished his first rank status as an author on the level of Dickens. I might disagree with 5% of his outlook and many other authors, musicians and film-makers of that era but I see them as humans doing the best they could. H. G. Wells was far worse with his views in eugenics, though he still had a ten year span when he wrote some of the most brilliant SF, his later work was rife with his techno-fascism.

[@zemxxi2765]

@@bobbyjosson4663 So from your point of view, we should just continue to ignore these serious flaws because they wrote so many great classics? Should we do the same for the founding fathers as well? The ones who drafted the U.S. Constitution? They certianly didn't go around lynching Blacks. But they still remained slaveowners didn't they? Is a slaveowner who treats his slaves well not still a slaveowner? Renaming an award is a sign of time marching on. And the need to recognize that there are more recent pioneers who have contributed to the progress of a literary field. As far as those old school authors go, we would do well to start taking a seroius look at more recent authors instead of constantly pedestalizing these DWEMs of a Victorian English era that is no longer relevant to most Britons, let alone the rest of the world. It is no longer acceptable for intelligent people to justify racist language by saying "but back in the day we did this...". This is not back in the day. This is 2022 and things have gotten worse in a way. People didn't know better back then. But today, we all realize that there is a world outside of your little hamlet. And that humans come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Africa is no longer the Dark Continent. Yellow Peril is no longer a thing. The days of Cowboy's vs Indians is over and even the American Western genre is struggling to remain relevant. Historic Imperialism and Systematic Discrimination. These are the two elephants in the room.