Sturgeon's Law is an adage derived from a quote by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon: "Ninety percent of everything is crud". Sturgeon himself commented that Sturgeon's Law was originally "Nothing is always absolutely so"; the former quote was originally known as Sturgeon's Revelation. However, almost all modern uses of the term Sturgeon's Law actually refer to the former quote, including the definition currently listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. An adage (IPA ) is a short, but memorable saying, which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or it has gained some credibility through its long use. ... Note that this partial list contains some authors whose works of fantastic fiction would today be called science fiction, even if they predate, or did not work in that genre. ... Theodore Sturgeon (February 26, 1918 Staten Island, New York – May 8, 1985) was an American science fiction author. ... Look up Crap in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is generally regarded as the most comprehensive and scholarly dictionary of the English language. ...

Origins

Both the original and current forms of Sturgeon's Law are referenced in Theodore Sturgeon's 1972 interview with David G. Hartwell (published in The New York Review of Science Fiction #7 and #8, March and April 1989): "Sturgeon's Law originally was 'Nothing is always absolutely so.' The other one was known as 'Sturgeon's Revelation.'" 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... David Geddes Hartwell is an editor of science fiction and fantasy. ...

The first reference to what was then called Sturgeon's Revelation appears in the March 1958 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine, where Sturgeon wrote: Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 1958 issue of Venture; the last issue of the first version of the magazine. ...

"I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud."

According to William Tenn, Sturgeon made this remark in about 1951, at a talk at NYU at which Tenn was present. William Tenn is the pseudonym for the science fiction work of Philip Klass (born May 9, 1920). ...

Corollaries

Sturgeon's Revelation/Law is sometimes expanded as follows:

• The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud.
• Corollary: The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and it is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere.

Alternative phrasing

Sturgeon's Law is often cited using crap or shit instead of crud. The percentage figure also sometimes varies, having been in print as "94%" and even "98%". Look up Crap in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Shit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The current phrasing of the Law is often taken as the second clause of a longer saying: "Ninety percent of science fiction is crud, but that's because ninety percent of everything is crud."

Very rarely, a more optimistic second clause is added, "...but the remaining 10% is worth dying for".

Interpretations

The meaning of Sturgeon's Law was explicitly detailed by Sturgeon himself. He made his original remarks in direct response to ill-conceived attacks against science fiction that used "the worst examples of the field for ammunition". Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. are crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crud is ultimately uninformative, because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other artistic artifacts do.

Sturgeon's Law may be regarded as an instance of the Pareto principle. The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many phenomena, 80% of the consequences stem from 20% of the causes. ...

See also

• Finagle's Law
• Hanlon's Razor
• Gresham's law
• Law (principle)
• Adages named after people
• Murphy's Law

The adage Finagles Law of Dynamic Negatives is a version of Murphys law, and usually rendered: One variant (known as OTooles Corollary of Finagles Law) favored among hackers is (but see also Hanlons Razor). ... Hanlons razor, a corollary of Finagles law, is an adage which reads: Also worded as: A similar epigram has been attributed to William James among others. ... Greshams law is commonly stated as: When there is a legal tender currency, bad money drives good money out of circulation. Greshams law applies specifically when there are two forms of commodity money in circulation which are forced, by the application of legal tender laws, to be respected... For law within legal systems see law. ... This is a list of adages named after people (eponymous adages). ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Murphys law It has been suggested that Murphys laws of combat be merged into this article or section. ...

External links

• Sturgeon's Law Citations for the OED