Galileo's children : tales of science vs. superstition

Dear friends, do you really want to read and understand Vapurza, then open it to any page, start reading. Do not ever consider to finish reading it in one sitting, from start to end. Never. Have you ever noticed the bottles of perfume lined up on some dressing tables, in some enthusiastic houses? What is the purpose behind having so many bottles lined up together? We use only one at a time. The purpose is to use the fragrance that the mind desires at a particular moment. This book is also like the lined up perfume bottles. Open it to the page that your mind desires. Get enveloped in the fragrance, enjoy it thoroughly. There is no binding of finishing reading that has been started. Enjoy it as and when and how much you wish, without any botheration or anxiety of `what next?`If your mind is taken away by a particular perfume, then do not hesitate, feel it again. You never know what you can come across while trying to find something anew. Keeping all these things in mind, there is no sequence, no index and no references given in this book, with the sole intention of allowing you a free mind for all the ideas, concepts and feelings कोणतंही पान उघडा आणि वाचा! ’वपुर्झा’ हे पुस्तक कोणासाठी? ज्यांना मोत्यातील चमक बघायची आहे अशा वेड्यांसाठी! हे पुस्तक कसं वाचायचं? एका बैठकीत? अथ ते इति? एका दमात? छे! मुळीच नाही. काही हौशी घरांमध्ये ड्रेसिंग टेबलावर निरनिराळ्या अत्तरांच्या बाटल्या असतात. जसा मूड असेल तसं अत्तर वापरायचं किंवा जसा मूड व्हावासा वाटत असेल तसं अत्तर निवडायचं. हे पुस्तक असंच वाचायचं. हवं ते पान आपापल्या मूडनुसार उघडायचं आणि त्या सुगंधाने भारून जायचं.एखादा सुगंध पुन्हा घ्यावासा वाटला तर? पुन्हा शोधायचा. त्या शोधात आणखी काहीतरी सापडेल. म्हणूनच या पुस्तकात अनुक्रमणिका, क्रमांक, संदर्भ काहीही दिलेलं नाही.

From Gardner Dozois' introduction: The battle of science against superstition is still going on, as is the battle to not have to think only what somebody else thinks is okay for you to think.  In fact, in a society where more people believe in angels than believe in evolution, that battle may be more critical than ever.

 One of the major battlefields of that war is science fiction, one of the few forms of literature where rationality, skepticism, the knowledge of the inevitability of change, and the idea that wide-ranging freedom of thought and unfettered imagination and curiosity are good things are the default positions, taken for granted by most of its authors.

 Until some new Inquisition, motivated by ignorance, intolerance, and fear, forces its writers to go underground and mutter "It still moves!" to each other in hiding, science fiction provides one of the few places in modern letters where the battle between science and superstition is openly discussed and debated, and that makes those who write it, as well as those brave characters they write about, embroiled in the age-old struggle to prevent the control of the human mind and the suppression of the human spirit, "Galileo's Children" in a very real way indeed.

 The anthology that follows takes us to many different battlefields in that struggle, from the past to the present to the future, to worlds that never were and never will be to worlds deep in space that someday may come to pass, and introduces us to many different warriors, male and female, rich and poor, young and old, who, in their different ways--some quietly, some defiantly, some reluctantly-fight the kind of battles that we ourselves might someday have to fight if we want our children and our grandchildren to be allowed to read these words.

Stories by:
Arthur C. Clarke
Ursula K. Le Guin
Greg Egan
George R. R. Martin
Mike Resnick
Robert Silverberg
and others

The battle of science against superstition is still going on, as is the battle to not have to think only what somebody else thinks is okay for you to think. In fact, in a society where more people believe in angels than believe in evolution, that battle may be more critical than ever.One of the major battlefields is science fiction, one of the few forms of literature where rationality, skepticism, the knowledge of the inevitability of change, and the idea that wide-ranging freedom of thought and unfettered imagination and curiosity are good things are the default positions, taken for granted by most of its authors.Until some new Inquisition, motivated by ignorance, intolerance, and fear, forces its writers to go underground, science fiction provides one of the few places in modern letters where the battle between science and superstition is openly discussed and debated, and that makes those who write it, as well as those brave characters they write about, embroiled in the age-old struggle to prevent the control of the human mind and the suppression of the human spirit, "Galileo's Children" in a very real way indeed.This anthology takes us to many different arenas in the struggle-from the past to the present to the future, from worlds that never were and never will be to worlds deep in space that someday may come to pass-and introduces us to many different warriors, male and female, rich and poor, young and old, who, in their different ways-some quietly, some defiantly, some reluctantly-fight the kind of battles that we ourselves might someday have to fight if we want our children and our grandchildren to be allowed to read these words. This engrossing anthology of 13 tales shows how scientists struggle toward the truth in spite of opposition from religious and political forces arrayed against them. Authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Silverberg, and George R.R. Martin. Contents 11 Preface; It Still Moves! (Galileo's Children: Tales Of Science vs. Superstition) (2005) essay by Gardner Dozois 17 The Stars Below (1974) shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin 41 The Will of God (1991) novelette by Keith Roberts 73 The Way of Cross and Dragon (1979) novelette by George R. R. Martin 97 The Pope of the Chimps (1982) novelette by Robert Silverberg 123 The World Is a Sphere [Tales of a Darkening World] (1973) novelette by Edgar Pangborn 149 Written in Blood (1999) shortstory by Chris Lawson 167 Falling Star (2004) shortstory by Brendan DuBois 187 Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream (1997) novelette by James Alan Gardner 213 The Star (1955) shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke 221 The Last Homosexual (1996) shortstory by Paul Park 239 The Man Who Walked Home (1972) shortstory by James Tiptree, Jr. 259 When the Old Gods Die [Kirinyaga 9] (1995) novelette by Mike Resnick 289 Oracle (2000) novella by Greg Egan "The battle of science against superstition is still going on, as is the battle to not have to think only what somebody else thinks is okay for you to think. In fact, in a society where more people believe in angels than believe in evolution, that battle may be more critical than ever." "This anthology takes us to many different arenas in the struggle - from the past to the present to the future, from worlds that never were and never will be to worlds deep in space that someday may come to pass - and introduces us to many different warriors, male and female, rich and poor, young and old, who, in their different ways - some quietly, some defiantly, some reluctantly - fight the kind of battles that we ourselves might someday have to fight if we want our children and our grandchildren to be allowed to read these words."--Jacket Thirteen tales dealing with the struggle of scientists toward truth in spite of opposition from religious and political forces arrayed against them. Authors include: George R.R. Martin Arthur C. Clarke Robert Silverberg Ursula K. Le Guin Keith Roberts Edgar Pangborn Chris Lawson Brendan DuBois James Alan Gardner Paul Park James Tiptree, Jr. Mike Resnick Greg Egan At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).