Free Republic

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I was a big fan in the early 80's. I had a week long correspondence with him in the mid 90's. I loved reading his Chaos Manner column in Byte magazine along with Garcia s circuit cellar. It was a great mag. I've been rereading some of his works lately and just reminiscing. Jerry Pournelle s Iron law: ...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach...

Larry Niven is one of the old guard of hard science fiction writers. His ringworld Novels are some of the most widely read science fiction novels of all time. It was our pleasure to interview him for the site.

A good science-fiction writer will stay away from focusing on the 'shiny technology', and instead focus on how the technology would affect people. Humankind is the one constant in most science-fictin stories, and it is the one constant we can identify with. Whether carrying a sword, a flintlock, a Glock, or a proton-blaster, a human is a human, replete with human emotions, motivations, and behaviors.Larry Niven was one of the better science-fiction writers, because he would introduce a technology, then focus on how it changed society. One story becomes particularly relevant today: The Last Days of the Permanent Floating Riot...