First, I see that my memory failed me. _The Lights in the Sky are Stars_ is
_not_ a novel about First Contact with a relatively unsophisticated alien
race which leads to them being taught Copernicanism by Earthmen,
written by Leigh Brackett.
No, it's by Frederic Brown, and it's about a former astronaut fighting to
keep the space program alive.
Given _that_, perhaps my reaction to the title was mistaken.

And what _was_ my reaction to the title?

Well, "stars" where what we called the lights in the sky... even back
when we didn't know that they were anything else but lights in the
sky.
So the words of the title made no sense, or at least, being tautological,
they conveyed no information. Presumably, the title was supposed to
_mean_ "The Stars in the Sky are Other Suns"...
But, for some reason, that sounded flat, while the actual title sounded
poetic... and still managed to convey the intended meaning despite
not actually saying anything.

And that inspired me to ask the question: Why?

John Savard

On Monday, 15 August 2022 at 18:03:09 UTC+1, Quadibloc wrote:
> First, I see that my memory failed me. _The Lights in the Sky are Stars_ is
> _not_ a novel about First Contact with a relatively unsophisticated alien
> race which leads to them being taught Copernicanism by Earthmen,
> written by Leigh Brackett.
> No, it's by Frederic Brown, and it's about a former astronaut fighting to
> keep the space program alive.
> Given _that_, perhaps my reaction to the title was mistaken.
>
> And what _was_ my reaction to the title?
>
> Well, "stars" where what we called the lights in the sky... even back
> when we didn't know that they were anything else but lights in the
> sky.
> So the words of the title made no sense, or at least, being tautological,
> they conveyed no information. Presumably, the title was supposed to
> _mean_ "The Stars in the Sky are Other Suns"...
> But, for some reason, that sounded flat, while the actual title sounded
> poetic... and still managed to convey the intended meaning despite
> not actually saying anything.
>
> And that inspired me to ask the question: Why?

We know what stars are. So "The lights in the sky
are stars" is meaningful. It's different from "The lights
in the sky are called stars".

You can go on to explain what stars are, in either case.

The Sun is a star, and Dictionary.com tolerates calling
other stars "suns" but I am reluctant to agree. With a
dictionary. I know how I sound.

Anyway: See 50 percent of episode titles of original
_Star Trek_. And 70 to 80 percent of _Babylon 5_'s.

https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2020/03/22/book-review-fredric-browns-the-lights-in-the-sky-are-stars-variant-title-project-jupiter-1953-m-a-fosters-waves-1980-eric-frank-russells-the-great-explosion-1962/
(sic)

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/439056.The_Lights_in_the_Sky_Are_Stars

A thought: is a female Senate candidate a creature of
speculative fiction in 1953? (I gather the story is set
in 1997.)

On 15/08/2022 13.57, Robert Carnegie wrote:

> https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/439056.The_Lights_in_the_Sky_Are_Stars
>
> A thought: is a female Senate candidate a creature of
> speculative fiction in 1953? (I gather the story is set
> in 1997.)

Apparently not:
<https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-elected-female-senator>

--
Michael F. Stemper
Deuteronomy 10:18-19

On Monday, August 15, 2022 at 3:27:38 PM UTC-4, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 15/08/2022 13.57, Robert Carnegie wrote:
>
> > https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/439056.The_Lights_in_the_Sky_Are_Stars
> >
> > A thought: is a female Senate candidate a creature of
> > speculative fiction in 1953? (I gather the story is set
> > in 1997.)
> Apparently not:
> <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-elected-female-senator>
>
> --

....and in the late 40s, through the 70s.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Chase_Smith

--
Kevin R

On Monday, August 15, 2022 at 2:57:29 PM UTC-4, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Monday, 15 August 2022 at 18:03:09 UTC+1, Quadibloc wrote:
> > First, I see that my memory failed me. _The Lights in the Sky are Stars_ is
> > _not_ a novel about First Contact with a relatively unsophisticated alien
> > race which leads to them being taught Copernicanism by Earthmen,
> > written by Leigh Brackett.
> > No, it's by Frederic Brown, and it's about a former astronaut fighting to
> > keep the space program alive.
> > Given _that_, perhaps my reaction to the title was mistaken.
> >
> > And what _was_ my reaction to the title?
> >
> > Well, "stars" where what we called the lights in the sky... even back
> > when we didn't know that they were anything else but lights in the
> > sky.
> > So the words of the title made no sense, or at least, being tautological,
> > they conveyed no information. Presumably, the title was supposed to
> > _mean_ "The Stars in the Sky are Other Suns"...
> > But, for some reason, that sounded flat, while the actual title sounded
> > poetic... and still managed to convey the intended meaning despite
> > not actually saying anything.
> >
> > And that inspired me to ask the question: Why?
> We know what stars are. So "The lights in the sky
> are stars" is meaningful. It's different from "The lights
> in the sky are called stars".
>
> You can go on to explain what stars are, in either case.
>
> The Sun is a star, and Dictionary.com tolerates calling
> other stars "suns" but I am reluctant to agree. With a
> dictionary. I know how I sound.
>
> Anyway: See 50 percent of episode titles of original
> _Star Trek_. And 70 to 80 percent of _Babylon 5_'s.
>
> https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2020/03/22/book-review-fredric-browns-the-lights-in-the-sky-are-stars-variant-title-project-jupiter-1953-m-a-fosters-waves-1980-eric-frank-russells-the-great-explosion-1962/
> (sic)
>
> https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/439056.The_Lights_in_the_Sky_Are_Stars
>
> A thought: is a female Senate candidate a creature of
> speculative fiction in 1953? (I gather the story is set
> in 1997.)

This is one of the very few SF books which was in my house growing up
which I didn't buy. My father brought in when he married.

I can't recall much of the plot, but there was one scene where the protag
was (drunkenly) celebrating the Millennium.

Pt

On 2022-08-15 11:03 a.m., Quadibloc wrote:
> First, I see that my memory failed me. _The Lights in the Sky are Stars_ is
> _not_ a novel about First Contact with a relatively unsophisticated alien
> race which leads to them being taught Copernicanism by Earthmen,
> written by Leigh Brackett.
> No, it's by Frederic Brown, and it's about a former astronaut fighting to
> keep the space program alive.
> Given _that_, perhaps my reaction to the title was mistaken.
>
> And what _was_ my reaction to the title?
>
> Well, "stars" where what we called the lights in the sky... even back
> when we didn't know that they were anything else but lights in the
> sky.
> So the words of the title made no sense, or at least, being tautological,
> they conveyed no information.

Not if you are talking to a very young child.