James Mustich's 1000 Books to Read Before You Die discussion

Please discuss here the first part of the book, made of chapters 1–7.

Is the portrayal of the Scientific People straining anyone else's credulity? I am having a hard time understanding how a group depicted as so culturally and sociologically primitive is able to survive on an asteroid.

Remember, it’s fiction, and it was written in 1956 before the miniaturisation that came with transistors, which only “took off” in the sixties.
But, yes, it’s straining credulity.

Have started, but not finished, the first section.

I'd never really thought about the believability of the Scientific People--I've always been pretty amenable to the world-building that an author attempts, ready to suspend (dis)belief fairly quickly.

On the other hand, it may not be as unbelievable as it sounds at first--remember this was a group of highly educated people who devolved culturally and mentally over the course of two hundred years with no outside contact. Their lives were stripped of everything other than what was needed survival, and initially those who were still advanced enough would have had to get things put into place to ensure that continuation. It would probably be a daily struggle, and the absolute requirements for survival would have been passed down to their children, who would have not had their parents background knowledge--only what it took to maintain existence.

It only took the boys in The Lord of the Flies a few months to descend into utter savagery--I thought that was fairly believable. How much more so after two hundred years?

But if the author didn't convince you the first time around, then it probably wasn't an effective piece of writing.

Carlton wrote: "Remember, it’s fiction, and it was written in 1956 before the miniaturisation that came with transistors, which only “took off” in the sixties.
But, yes, it’s straining credulity.

Have started, bu..."

That is a good point about this being a pre-Sputnik work, so I can see how the disconnect between their knowledge and their environment might have been more plausible then.