Science Fiction: A glimpse into our future, a cautionary tale, or both?
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I once knew a rabbi who often used the plots of episodes of Star Trek as the basis for her sermons. She would introduce the story, walk through a plot summary, and then reflect on the deeper lesson offered.
She did this because Star Trek wasn’t really about space—it was about humanity. Its creator, Gene Roddenberry, imagined a future where technological progress went hand in hand with moral progress. A world where diversity (as displayed in the crew) wasn’t just tolerated, but essential. Where people of different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives worked together; not perfectly, but purposefully toward something better.
That vision raises an interesting question:
Is science fiction really about the future… or is it about who we are, and who we might become as our tools evolve?
Good science fiction often uses technology not as the main point, but as the backdrop. The real story is about what humanity does when given new power—how we choose to use it, who benefits, who is left behind, and what it reveals about our values.
Some authors, like Isaac Asimov, explored how technology might elevate humanity or challenge our understanding of intelligence, ethics, and control. He invited his readers as early as the 1940's to imagine what it would be like to live with "thinking machines" aka robots; a future that we are starting to live in now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3teiT--QGzo
Others offered far less optimistic visions. Whether your flavor of dystopia is 1984 by George Orwell or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, these stories don’t just imagine the future—they warn us about it.
The article "why science fiction matters": https://medium.com/illumination/why-science-fiction-matters-68ad669e915d does a great job of summing up why sci fi is important and refences a famous quote by Arthur C. Clarke “Science Fiction is not about predicting the future. It’s about preventing and inventing the future.”
And yet… we keep building, many times without thinking about the ramifications.
In this meetup, we’ll take a personal and exploratory approach:
Has a work of science fiction ever taught you a lasting lesson?
- Is there a story that feels increasingly relevant today?
- Are we moving toward an optimistic future—or drifting into someone else’s cautionary tale?
- Does science fiction shape the future… or just help us recognize it when it arrives?
As always, this will be a facilitated, open conversation—no expertise required, just curiosity and a willingness to think a little more deeply about the world around us.
Come join us as we explore the possibility that science fiction isn’t predicting the future…
…it’s quietly asking us to choose it.
(And yes, references to robots, AI, and “we were warned about this” moments are highly encouraged.)