[Ads-l] Quote: There ’s nothing to be learned from history any more. We =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99re_?=in science fiction now

[Ben Zimmer]

A variation on the theme, from a recent tweet by director Duncan Jones
about the work of William Gibson (@GreatDismal on Twitter):

---
https://twitter.com/ManMadeMoon/status/1657960066874761218
Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon), May 15, 2023
Guessing game-
On what date do you expect @GreatDismal to go from being science fiction
writer to historian?
---

On Wed, May 17, 2023 at 10:17 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
wrote:

> "History is bunk" is a very famous paraphrase of a Ford line in 1916.  See
> the New Yale Book of Quotations for sourcing.  Ginsberg appeared to be
> somewhat confused about the Ford line.  The comment about science fiction
> is clearly Ginsberg not Ford.
>
> I consider "We're in science fiction now" to be one of the great
> quotations of the 20th century, and it is becoming more insightful every
> day.
>
> Fred
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Mark
> Mandel <markamandel at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2023 10:00 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Quote: There’s nothing to be learned from history any more.
> We’re in science fiction now
>
> Ginsberg attributes the quotation, at least the first sentence, to Ford.
> Has anyone searched for that? The second sentence, where science fiction is
> mentioned, seems much less likely for Henry Ford (1863-1947), but not out
> of the question for his grandson Henry Ford II (1917-1987) (dates for both
> from Wikipedia).
>
> Mark Mandel
>
> On Wed, May 17, 2023, 4:04 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
> >
> wrote:
>
> > Fred has an entry about the quotation in the subject line in "The New
> > Yale Book of Quotations". The NYBQ notes that Allen Ginsberg received
> > credit for the quotation in a 1980 book. Here is a 1969 citation.
> >
> > [ref] 1969, Allen Ginsberg in America by Jane Kramer, Part 2, Chapter
> > 1, Quote Page 86, Random House, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > "What I meant," Ginsberg said, "is that the past is bunk for people
> > now. All past consciousness is bunk. History is bunk. Like Henry Ford
> > said about technology—there’s nothing to be learned from history any
> > more. We’re in science fiction now. All the revolutions and the old
> > methods and techniques for changing consciousness are bankrupt. We’re
> > back to magic, to psychic life."
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > I found the above citation while working on an article about this
> > general theme. Below is an overview. Earlier citations (or interesting
> > citations) for this theme would be welcome.
> >
> > https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/05/16/science-fiction/
> > https://quoteinvestigator.medium.com/e35caa6f1f38
> >
> > 1954: We live in a science-fiction age. Yesterday’s fantasy is already
> > today’s fact. - Chester Whitehorn, Editor of short-lived "Science
> > Fiction Digest"
> >
> > 1957 Jan: The bizarre fact that we do live in a science-fiction world.
> > - Canadian Journalist James Cameron (not the moviemaker)
> >
> > 1968 Jun: We do live in a science fiction age. - John M. Connor,
> Librarian
> >
> > 1969: There’s nothing to be learned from history any more. We’re in
> > science fiction now. - Allen Ginsberg, Poet
> >
> > 1971: I have had the disturbing conviction that we are all living in a
> > science-fiction story. - Donald A. Wollheim, Science fiction editor
> >
> > 1974 May: We live in a science fiction age. - Leonard Nimoy, actor who
> > played Spock in “Star Trek”
> >
> > 1975: We live, indisputably, in a science fiction world. -  James E.
> > Gunn, Science fiction scholar and author (not the moviemaker)
> >
> > 1978: Everything is science fiction. And I ought to know. - Ric Ocasek
> > and Greg Hawkes, members of the rock group The Cars
> >
> > 1982: I think we’re living in a science fiction world right now. -
> > Isaac Asimov, Science fiction author
> >
> > Acknowledgement: This article is dedicated to the memory of science
> > fiction fan and librarian extraordinaire Dennis Lien who asked
> > fascinating questions and helped QI on many occasions.
> >
> > The text of the first citation in 1954 within "Science Fiction Digest"
> > is visible in snippets in Google Books, but the citation has not yet
> > been verified with hardcopy or full scans. "The Encyclopedia of
> > Science Fiction" indicates that the publication failed and only two
> > issues were published in February and May 1954. So the year is solid.
> > An unrelated "Science Fiction Digest" was published in the 1930s.
> >
> > Garson O’Toole
> >
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org