By Abram Cordell
Gloria Skurzynski, author of 58 books, kicked off BYU''s Science Fiction and Fantasy Symposium Thursday in the Wilkinson Student Center discussing the ever-present link our culture has to technology.
Skurzynski''s topic was 'ubiquitous connectedness,' which she defined as the prevalence of technology to the point of overwhelming daily life.
Skurzynski used the examples of Youtube and CNN''s coverage of seemingly arbitrary events to stress the fact that society seems to be focusing on the less important.
'We''re getting nibbled to death by all of this little information coming from all of these different sources,' Skurzynski said. 'Are we forgetting the big picture because we are being so inundated with everyone''s personal problems?'
Skurzynski said while many feel that children have lost interest in books, she feels that children do read for pleasure, depending on the media that they have in the home.
'Kids still spend time reading,' Skurzynski said.
Skurzynski pointed to the popularity of the Harry Potter series and graphic novels to illustrate that children are reading.
Skurzynski has found that graphic novels are being read by a wide variety of children, ranging from 'A' students to children of migrant workers who are still trying to learn English.
The heroes portrayed in graphic novels are used to help children cope in times of turmoil and warfare, Skurzynski said.
As Skurzynski began to discuss her books, she spoke about the way technology has affected the science fiction genre.
Many of the current advances in technology have been foreshadowed by the science fiction of the past, Skurzynski said.
'A lot of things we saw originally, we have,' Skurzynski said while showing an image of an episode of Star Trek.
Things that were farfetched in the past are now a part of everyday life, Skurzynski said.
'HAL, the computer, spoke,' Skurzynski said, referring to a character from the movie '2001: A Space Odyssey.' 'Does anyone have a computer that doesn''t speak?'
New technology has presented new ways to create movies and TV shows. Skurzynski mentioned Computer Generated Image technology, also known as CGI, and rotoscoping, which is a technique where live action footage is converted into animation.
'I think in 'A Scanner Darkly' and 'The Fountain' you had directors say that ''everyone is using CGI and special effects, we want to do something more pure.'''
Skurzynski said those directors, who she believes felt that technology has been abused, could have used CGI and other forms of technology in creative ways instead of forsaking them.
Although much of the technology can be overwhelming, there are benefits to the advances being made in technology, she said.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Symposium, entitled 'Life, the Universe and Everything' will continue through Saturday.
For more information on the symposium, go to http://ltue.byu.edu.