From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!wildbill Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Title: SF vs. classic literature Article-I.D.: ucbvax.944 Posted: Wed Feb 23 19:00:07 1983 Received: Thu Feb 24 02:26:17 1983 The opinion stated in a recent submission to this newsgroup that 5 percent of SF compares favorably with "classic" literature is not as bad as it sounds. Applying Sturgeon's revelation ("90 percent of everything is crud") to SF indicates that only 10% of SF is worth comparing to these works in the first place, since "classics" are works which have presumably survived because they are not crud. What this all boils down to is approximately a tautology: SF is a form of literature which is just as valid as any other. Half of it which is worth comparing compares well with other forms of literature, and half of it doesn't.