A few years ago I was at a family reading festival and my book club was present, giving away free books… it’s how we roll. So, as the day progresses, we talk to people to find out their reading preferences to guide them to either what they’re looking for or something close. I remember chatting with one person who looked at the books and at me with an air of superiority and said “I only read NON-fiction,” and rolled their eyes as they walked away. I remember feeling a little dirty and wanting to challenge them to a duel, but they left quickly and dueling is currently illegal so… 

Anyway, I was thinking about that interaction earlier this week and realized something. Without fiction, fantasy or imagination, we would never progress as a people. I mean, for the most part, people see imagination as kids’ stuff, lacking any real world application. But the late 60s communicator on Star Trek becomes the cell phone 30 years later. Dick Tracy’s two-way wrist radio is now a real thing too. We need to be willing to think outside of the box to move our culture forward. So the next time you hear someone putting down fantasy or sci-fi as a waste of time, just remember that you’re listening to someone who will probably be responsible for the slow decline of human culture!