--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science fiction was rocket-mad for about…" description: "\"Science fiction was rocket-mad for about 40 years until aerospace hit a brick wall about 1970. I would not write off space colonisation or exploration ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/charles-stross-896_boldly_science-fiction-was-rocket-mad-for-about_2514792.jpg" --- # Science fiction was rocket-mad for about 40 years until… ![“Science fiction was rocket-mad for about 40 years until aerospace hit a brick wall about 1970. I would not write off space colonisation or exploration completely, but we are profoundly ill adapted for going boldly into outer space.” quote by Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/charles-stross-896_boldly_science-fiction-was-rocket-mad-for-about_2514792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/charles-stross-896_boldly_science-fiction-was-rocket-mad-for-about_2514792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61e/charles-stross-896_boldly_science-fiction-was-rocket-mad-for-about_2514792.jpg) > “Science fiction was rocket-mad for about 40 years until aerospace hit a brick wall about 1970. I would not write off space colonisation or exploration completely, but we are profoundly ill adapted for going boldly into outer space.” [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We imagined limitless space travel, but technical and biological limits have stalled progress, making human expansion into space extremely challenging. **In simple terms:** Space dreams hit real limits. Key Takeaway Recognize limits, adapt plans. Themes space technology human limits exploration optimism Mood cautious realistic hopeful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - space policy planning - career choices in aerospace - public education on space - designing habitats - training for microgravity Key Concepts Astrobiology engineering psychology risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How can we redesign technology to suit human biology? - What societal changes are needed for space settlement? A Different Perspective Human biology and economics may still prevent large‑scale colonization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boldly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boldly/) [Brick wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brick-wall/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Rocket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-rocket-1192696/) [Outer space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outer-space/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space Colonisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-colonisation-1192695/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [The real origin of science fiction lay in the seventeeth-century novels of exploration in fabulous lands. Therefore Jules Verne's story of travel to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-real-origin-of-science-fiction-lay-in-the-seventeeth-century/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“Sin, but sin boldly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-augustine/sin-but-sin-boldly/) [St. Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-augustine/) > [If you use music boldly at the front of a scene, it creates another level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/if-you-use-music-boldly-at-the-front-of-a-scene-it-creates-another/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [No one lies so boldly as the man who is indignant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-one-lies-so-boldly-as-the-man-who-is-indignant/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It seems, by today's standards, that it's better to seek approval than to tell the truth. It's better to utter sweet nothings than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/it-seems-by-today-s-standards-that-it-s-better-to-seek-approval-than/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [The public has no interest in whether the President acts boldly or timidly in his personal affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/the-public-has-no-interest-in-whether-the-president-acts-boldly-or/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) > [I want women writers to write boldly, wildly, deeply. I want them to feel really liberated to tell the brutal truth, however they see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-want-women-writers-to-write-boldly-wildly-deeply-i-want-them-to/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [“May you become empowered from within – to make your way boldly, along life's unique journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleesha/may-you-become-empowered-from-within-to-make-your-way-boldly-along/) [Eleesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleesha/) > [He is not valiant that dares die, but he that boldly bears calamity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-is-not-valiant-that-dares-die-but-he-that-boldly-bears-calamity/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [An examin'd enterprize goes on boldly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/an-examin-d-enterprize-goes-on-boldly/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The great artists of music have always innovated and boldly changed the game, but the industry itself has not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/the-great-artists-of-music-have-always-innovated-and-boldly-changed/) [Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/) > [Obama behaves like a centrist who leans tentatively left on certain social programs but boldly right on military force and civil liberties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/obama-behaves-like-a-centrist-who-leans-tentatively-left-on-certain/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [He is not valiant that dares lie; but he that boldly bears calamity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-is-not-valiant-that-dares-lie-but-he-that-boldly-bears-calamity/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [“Stand forth, Nayman of Noland (for no longer will I follow you obliquelike through the inspired form of the third person singular and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/stand-forth-nayman-of-noland-for-no-longer-will-i-follow-you/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-burr/law-is-whatever-is-boldly-asserted-and-plausibly-maintained/) [Aaron Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-burr/) ## More by Charles Stross > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Generating ideas isn't some mystical talent that you have to be born with: it's a skill you can develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/generating-ideas-isn-t-some-mystical-talent-that-you-have-to-be-born/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Any replacement to the current copyright position (life plus 70 years) needs to have an answer lined up for this, and similar, messy edge cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/any-replacement-to-the-current-copyright-position-life-plus-70-years/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“- Toma un puro, Sherlock. - Lo siento; sólo echo humo cuando me enchufan a la red eléctrica.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/toma-un-puro-sherlock-lo-siento-s-lo-echo-humo-cuando-me-enchufan-a/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“To boldly go where no uploaded metahuman colony has gone before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/to-boldly-go-where-no-uploaded-metahuman-colony-has-gone-before/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was raised thinking that moral and ethical standards are universals that apply equally to everyone. And these values aren't easily compatible with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-was-raised-thinking-that-moral-and-ethical-standards-are-universals/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Some say the Internet is for porn but you know that in truth the Internet is for spam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/some-say-the-internet-is-for-porn-but-you-know-that-in-truth-the/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [If I forget, then it might as well never have happened. Memory is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-i-forget-then-it-might-as-well-never-have-happened-memory-is/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“If he wakes the ancient sleeping horrors I am going to have to brief the private secretary and the Joint Intelligence Oversight Committee so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-he-wakes-the-ancient-sleeping-horrors-i-am-going-to-have-to-brief/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“A historian who works for a bank: That’s not the most likely background for someone who capers around the cosmos having adventures, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/a-historian-who-works-for-a-bank-that-s-not-the-most-likely/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Explore all 331 Charles Stross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More Boldly quotes > [Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-burr/law-is-whatever-is-boldly-asserted-and-plausibly-maintained/) [Aaron Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-burr/) > [“Stand forth, Nayman of Noland (for no longer will I follow you obliquelike through the inspired form of the third person singular and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/stand-forth-nayman-of-noland-for-no-longer-will-i-follow-you/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He is not valiant that dares lie; but he that boldly bears calamity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-is-not-valiant-that-dares-lie-but-he-that-boldly-bears-calamity/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Obama behaves like a centrist who leans tentatively left on certain social programs but boldly right on military force and civil liberties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/obama-behaves-like-a-centrist-who-leans-tentatively-left-on-certain/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [The great artists of music have always innovated and boldly changed the game, but the industry itself has not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/the-great-artists-of-music-have-always-innovated-and-boldly-changed/) [Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/) > [An examin'd enterprize goes on boldly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/an-examin-d-enterprize-goes-on-boldly/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [He is not valiant that dares die, but he that boldly bears calamity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/he-is-not-valiant-that-dares-die-but-he-that-boldly-bears-calamity/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [“May you become empowered from within – to make your way boldly, along life's unique journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleesha/may-you-become-empowered-from-within-to-make-your-way-boldly-along/) [Eleesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleesha/) > [I want women writers to write boldly, wildly, deeply. I want them to feel really liberated to tell the brutal truth, however they see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-want-women-writers-to-write-boldly-wildly-deeply-i-want-them-to/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [The public has no interest in whether the President acts boldly or timidly in his personal affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/the-public-has-no-interest-in-whether-the-president-acts-boldly-or/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) > [It seems, by today's standards, that it's better to seek approval than to tell the truth. It's better to utter sweet nothings than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/it-seems-by-today-s-standards-that-it-s-better-to-seek-approval-than/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [No one lies so boldly as the man who is indignant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-one-lies-so-boldly-as-the-man-who-is-indignant/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If you use music boldly at the front of a scene, it creates another level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/if-you-use-music-boldly-at-the-front-of-a-scene-it-creates-another/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [“Sin, but sin boldly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-augustine/sin-but-sin-boldly/) [St. Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-augustine/) > [CEOs who boldly lean into fulfilling the dual mandate of earning profits and providing societal benefits will find a receptive public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-edelman/ceos-who-boldly-lean-into-fulfilling-the-dual-mandate-of-earning/) [Richard Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-edelman/) [Browse all 78 Boldly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boldly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science fiction was rocket-mad for about 40 years until aerospace hit a brick wall about 1970. 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