Big Dumb Object

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In discussion of science fiction, a Big Dumb Object (BDO) is any mysterious object, usually of extraterrestrial or unknown origin and immense power, in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder by its mere existence. To a certain extent, the term deliberately deflates the intended grandeur of the mysterious object.

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The term was not in general use until Peter Nicholls included it in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as a joke in 1993, [1] while its creation has been attributed to reviewer Roz Kaveney in 1981. [2]

Edward Guimont and Horace A. Smith propose that the origins of the Big Dumb Object trope can be found in H. P. Lovecraft's novellas At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Out of Time , both of which feature human expeditions to immense ancient alien cities in remote parts of the Earth, and both of which were early influences on Arthur C. Clarke. [3]

Big Dumb Objects often exhibit extreme or unusual properties, or a total absence of some expected properties: [4]

Such unexpected properties are usually used to rule out conventional origins for the BDO and increase the sense of mystery, and even fear, for the characters interacting with it.

See also

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References

  1. Nicholls, Peter, 2000, Big Dumb Objects and Cosmic Enigmas: The Love Affair between Space Fiction and the Transcendental, in Westfahl, Gary (ed), Space and Beyond: The Frontier Theme in Science Fiction, Greenwood Press, p. 13. "... I decided to write an April Fool's entry. I would pretend that a phrase I’d always liked, originated by the critic Roz Kaveney but not in general use, was actually a known critical term. I would write an entry called 'Big Dumb Objects' in a poker-faced style, suggesting an even more absurd critical term to be used in its place, 'megalotropic sf.'"
  2. Kaveney, Roz, 1981, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction , issue 22.
  3. Guimont, Edward; Smith, Horace A. (2023). When the Stars Are Right: H. P. Lovecraft and Astronomy (First ed.). New York City: Hippocampus Press. pp. 305–07. ISBN   9781614984078.
  4. Palmer, Christopher (2006). "Big Dumb Objects in Science Fiction: Sublimity, Banality, and Modernity". Extrapolation. 47 (1): 95–111. doi:10.3828/extr.2006.47.1.10. ISSN   0014-5483.
  5. https://www.collativelearning.com/2001%20chapter%