Short story written from alien perspective with this line: “It's too bright to look at, so they don't”Name of short story told from perspective of mechanical alien?Story Identification: science fiction/fantasy, short story for high school English classShort story about humans from alien perspectiveScientists accidentally breed super-intelligent miceStory about someone serving a life sentence when their life has been extended indefinitelyLooking for the name of a Werewolf thriller set in or near the ArcticShort story search: reverting back to primitive languageSeeking a short story about psychologically curing a human serviceman of his obsession with an alien female's affectionIdentify a short story involving art thieves given a device which can significantly slow timeShort story about alien intelligence testing
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Short story written from alien perspective with this line: “It's too bright to look at, so they don't”
Name of short story told from perspective of mechanical alien?Story Identification: science fiction/fantasy, short story for high school English classShort story about humans from alien perspectiveScientists accidentally breed super-intelligent miceStory about someone serving a life sentence when their life has been extended indefinitelyLooking for the name of a Werewolf thriller set in or near the ArcticShort story search: reverting back to primitive languageSeeking a short story about psychologically curing a human serviceman of his obsession with an alien female's affectionIdentify a short story involving art thieves given a device which can significantly slow timeShort story about alien intelligence testing
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In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.
story-identification short-stories
add a comment |
In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.
story-identification short-stories
5
This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
– Valorum
May 30 at 6:44
add a comment |
In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.
story-identification short-stories
In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.
story-identification short-stories
story-identification short-stories
asked May 30 at 1:18
Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron
1,567423
1,567423
5
This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
– Valorum
May 30 at 6:44
add a comment |
5
This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
– Valorum
May 30 at 6:44
5
5
This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
– Valorum
May 30 at 6:44
This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
– Valorum
May 30 at 6:44
add a comment |
1 Answer
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I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.
Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:
"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.
"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."
15
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.
Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:
"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.
"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."
15
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
add a comment |
I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.
Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:
"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.
"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."
15
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
add a comment |
I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.
Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:
"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.
"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."
I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.
Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:
"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.
"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."
edited May 30 at 12:17
answered May 30 at 7:35
Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman
44.3k13127163
44.3k13127163
15
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
add a comment |
15
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
15
15
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
– Invisible Trihedron
May 30 at 12:45
add a comment |
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5
This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
– Valorum
May 30 at 6:44