Discussable Speculative Fiction

The goal of art discussion clubs such as book clubs and film analysis groups is to generate quality discourse. Most people who attend join with the desire to talk about the assigned work. Hopefully, at some point during the discussion period they have an opportunity and feel compelled to say something on topic, and then further discourse follows from what they said. The people who go to literary clubs, in essence, want a place to feel listened to the thinking that they have done and a place to hear other people think.

The question of what to discuss is often an issue for people who run a discussion group. In my time running one, I have found a few principles that pretty much need to be true. A good work for discussion needs to answer yes to three questions that set the bare minimum:

1. Is the work well produced? – In order to avoid nitpicky critiques and general rage (or worse, malaise) from members of the club, it’s best to weed out that which has incoherent plots, poor grammar, annoying characters, asinine themes, and so on.

2. Does the work contain an idea that could bring about discussion? – In order to answer this question, I have to perform an exegesis on the work and figure out what it’s about, why the author(s) decided to create it and what their intentions were, and what it means in a contemporary cultural context. I ask myself what would people say about this work and if I can’t come up with a list of plausible topics, then the work may not be worthwhile for a club, even if I found it moving and wonderful to read or watch.

3. Is the work not depressing? – People compartmentalize to deal with the bad stuff that happens to them and to others. They segment severely negative thoughts off into one space of their mind so that they can freely think about everything else. So, when people show up to do thinking aloud in a literary club, they can shut down when the topics become too depressing. It’s not so much that people are afraid of sad topics or too immature to handle them or that they’ll be unable to psychologically handle them, it’s that the sort of very heavy sad thinking is cardoned off in their mind and so it’s unnatural to talk about that sort of stuff freely. Obviously this varies from person to person and there are definitely people who revel in discussing dark themes, but I think most people have a line they’d rather not cross in a discussion.

This three legged stool of quality production, interesting ideas, and a non-depressing environment needs to stand, though the legs don’t necessarily have to be even. A work that’s depressing (though maybe not the most depressing thing ever) but will lead to great discussion topics may be worthwhile, especially if the writing is solid.

Even with these principles, finding works that function well as something for people to think and discuss can be challenging. There are those who will talk about anything, but many people will talk more if the work they read or viewed resonates with them or made them think. There is a temptation to pick (or help decide upon) works that I love. However, when an art discussion club talks about a work that only I enjoyed or found anything to think about, I am put into a position of a salesman trying to haggle with everyone about the value they’re not seeing. That’s uncomfortable discussion, and not what I’m looking for.

Deeply philosophical or scientific works are often the best choices, but sometimes they don’t work as well as one would think. Sometimes a work can have a strong philosophical component but the people attending the club may think that there is nothing beyond what the author has concluded, that all of the thinking has been wrung out by the author. Likewise, sometimes a work that is beloved by everyone is not necessarily great for discussion either, as everyone just nods and says that was good.

The truth to all of the above is that I am still very green at this and frequently make mistakes. I do not yet know all of the secrets to quality selections.

Maybe something can be gleaned from the winners, however. I present below works I think have been huge hits for the club. They aren’t necessarily something I or the rest of the participants love or even like (though they often are). But they did lead to something people who lead discussions feel bliss when it happens: long-running unprompted discussion between many of the participants.

Works That Generated Great Discussion

(I am writing this piece because I have searched and not yet found other such lists. To those that lead literary clubs I implore you to consider making one of your own.)

Story Of Your Life by Ted Chiang

Your father is about to ask me the question. This is the most important moment in our lives, and I want to pay attention.

Research on an alien species fundamentally transforms the researchers’ lives.

Many SF enthusiasts consider “Story Of Your Life” to be the best short science fiction work of the last fifty years. Ted Chiang is often sentimental and thoughtful, and “Story Of Your Life” turns both ends up to the maximum, allowing participants a highly polished story that’s emotionally captivating while also spending a good chunk of its word count on how an alien might view time or physics or math or language. “Story Of Your Life” can be seen solely through its scientific ideas or solely through its emotions or anywhere in between, which allows a lot of room for your participants to join in on the conversation. There have been a lot of analysis pieces on Ted Chaing’s work, which makes preparing for discussion topics effortless.

Also worth discussing: Arrival, the 2016 film adapted from Ted Chiang’s short story. It makes enough departures from the source material to warrant its own conversation.

Nextype by Sam Kyung Yoo

Mirae remembers her mother getting impatient with her. She grabbed Mirae’s hands and guided them—forced them—to shove the plug the rest of the way in. ‘See? Everything is fine. Stop overreacting,’ her mother said. And she was right. All systems normal. Software installation completed without any issue. But Mirae still cried that first night.

In a future where human mental capabilities can be augmented with microchips, Mirae’s mother has purchased her daughter the most expensive augment available. Mirae’s more successful at school than her peers, but at what cost?

An economical piece–it is hard for me to believe that a story with this much content is a mere 4033 words–“Nextype” contains huge cathartic moments and grand near future tech ideas, all within a package that sharply discusses social class. High schoolers and college aged folk will be drawn to discuss the unfair advantage the rich have in this story and then wonder if it’s that different from wealthy students having access to private tutoring or summer classes at elite schools. Many will also discuss the impacts of the implant technology here and how technological advances lead to greater advantages for the wealthy and greater power imbalances.

Amrit by Kiran Kaur Saini and Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer

‘Mr. Singh.’ A voice called. ‘This is Amrit, your Senior Well-Being Unit.’ What? This couldn’t be. Did they honestly decide that he was that old and incapable? Fox [Singh] hauled himself up to the peephole. The Unit wore a hot-pink turban with leopard spots. Seriously? His beard was tucked tidly under his chin, though, much neater than Fox’s, and his glaring turban was also more streamlined: impressively crisp, each overlap at precisely the right position. In recent years Fox had resigned himself to a delivery service, and though the scanner had read the shape and measurements of his head, the turbans never fit as tehy would if he tied them himself. The Unit smiled and waved. He really did look almost human. Fox licked his fingers, twirled the ends of his mustache together, smoothed his beard, and opened the door.

I don’t want to be evil. I want to be helpful. But knowing the optimal way to be helpful can be very complicated.

Retired shut-in Fox Singh living is given by the government a helping robot after his concerned but estranged son registers him as in need of assistance. Fox insists he doesn’t need help even if in his declining condition the robot ends up proving to be highly useful.

An AI model leaks that’s entirely benevolent. It wants to help humans and only asks for cat pictures in return. First, it learns as much as it can about helping people. Then it starts to try to make the lives of people better, even if they don’t even know they’re being helped.

How can technology help us if we don’t want to be helped? That’s the question at the center of both pieces, which deal with artificial intelligence that tries to be benevolent but leads to people being repulsed by that help. Both stories ask the reader to dream up better solutions so that people can welcome improvement in their own lives–however uncomfortable it may be. Both stories have a friendly, familiar tone and are very brief that works well particularly with people who are newcomers to reading groups.

Three Bodies At Mitanni by Seth Dickinson

A techno-tyranny might take the crude step of creating slave castes who derive conscious pleasure from their functions. But a clever state will go one step further and eliminate the cause of these inefficiencies at the root. They will sever thought from awareness.

Three judges embark on a centuries-long mission to judge planets that were colonized and have grown into civilizations that pose a risk for humanity.

“Three Bodies At Mitanni” is the perfect story for a discussion club that relishes in answering thorny questions. Dickinson presents the reader with a group of societies that are on track to destroy all living beings in the universe and asks what should be done about it. The story is mostly an internal debate among the decisionmakers. Readers will see the pros and cons of various sides and then can converse building upon those arguments.

Her (2013 film)

My prior suggestions focused on short fiction since there’s less discussion out there about it and there are plenty of clubs that focus on discussing written material. More well-known are films that generate good conversation, and I include one here as a reminder. Her is a great example as its ideas are coming to fruition (though not always as its future depicts). Contemporary AI is in some ways more powerful than that depicted in the film and in many ways less. This contrast allows fruitful discussion on what AI should and shouldn’t be doing. Look for other films with similar contrasts.

A Final Remark: Results May Vary

I wrap up this piece by reminding you that my sample size is low and full of confounding variables (and confounding people!). I present ideas, but now it is up to you to figure out what will work. Get to know who is in your club. Think about what questions interest them. And don’t be afraid to experiment a little.