I knew he was a Mormon and a writer. Not much else.

But yesterday I discovered he was a mentor to Jamie Ford, author of "The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet".

Reading up on Card, as a never-mo, I'm wondering how someone so well read, intelligent, educated, and apparently intellectually generous, could continue, not only with his MoMo beliefs, but find them inspiring to his fiction.

Any comments?

I knew Orson back when he had braces on his teeth (seriously-a friend of mine who was attending BYU at the time was very good friends with him).

If you think about Kolob, the BoA, and so many Mormon beliefs, it’s not far from science fiction.

I think that many people compartmentalize when it comes to religion. If you think about it, many of the religious stories/dogmas are ridiculous. But you grow up with them, your parents accept them, and you are indoctrinated from an early age. I also think there is a subset of people who don't worry about it too much. They do what is expected without questioning.

This was in the 80's, and I took a junior level course called "Introduction to Science Fiction." He was a guest lecturer for one class period. We read "Ender's Game" as part of the assignments.

My 30-year old memories are hazy, but I remember I wasn't impressed. I recall the professor had a hard time with the whole genre as well. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" had been a "counter-culture must-read" for young idealists, but it didn't hold up to critical analysis (it's a satire, folks). The same was true of most of the other books; the one SF work that "held its own" was "Canticle for Leibowitz."

Card has been criticized for his bigoted stance on homosexuality among other issues. Hmmm, I see from Wiki he has five children... Definitely LDS in that respect.,.

Looking back, I think the professor failed to make a nuanced distinction between "Science Fiction," and "Science Fantasy." Card's work clearly belongs in the latter category.

Interesting story. I read science fiction in my teens, but not since. I'd like to revisit it at some point. I did find "The Expanse" TV series quite interesting as a mildly dystopian vision of a possible future.

I saw the "Ender's Game" movie, and was rather moved by it.

As for his views on homosexuality, IMO views can often change when a close friend, colleague, or family member is found to be homosexual. I'm guessing he didn't get out into the world enough for this to happen to him. Of course, some people are resistant to change no matter what.

Twinker Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm wondering
> how someone so well read, intelligent, educated,
> and apparently intellectually generous, could
> continue, not only with his MoMo beliefs...

Well-read, intelligent, educated people are able to use all their knowledge and intellect to invent better sounding reasons for irrational beliefs.

+1

There's a difference between tactical intelligence and strategic intelligence. If the former wants something to be true, it will find reasons to believe it is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2021 02:02PM by Lot's Wife.

Card is an asshole.

Over-rated

For my discussion and criticism of Card as a defender of the Book of Mormon, see:

http://packham.n4m.org/card-bom.htm

Scott and I worked at the BYU press at the same time, when we were both undergrads
He was quiet, nice, and nerdy. Sometimes I wondered if he could be gay. Just my own take, but this could explain his extra bigotry against gays
He comes from a very prominent Mormon family after which Cardston, Alberta was named