Mission of Gravity
Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity (1954) is a really fun book. It's essentially an exploration and adventure story, but with a crucial difference: the protagonist, Barlennan, is a fifteen-inch long caterpillar-like creature who lives on a planet called Mesklin. The core of the book is in the way that this planet's shape affects its inhabitants, their perceptions of reality, and their science. Their world is not round, but rather a flattened elliptical world, a world in which the gravitational force varies from the pole to the equator, being extremely strong at the pole and much less so at the equator. Barlennan and his crew of sailors have made a deal with human scientists to travel to a stranded experimental rocket of theirs, which is in a location that humans cannot physically visit because of the gravitational force. The book shows the reader that journey, from near the equator to a point close to the southern pole, detailing the various troubles Barlennan and his crew face along the way and giving the reader a new way of thinking about what actions are normal, why the technology we have works or is useful, and the advantages and disadvantages of human biology by presenting all things human from the perspective of the Mesklinites and in contrast to their behavior, technology, and biology.
Hal Clement was a science teacher and this is evident in Mission of Gravity. The novel, much like the more didactic Flatland by Edwin Abbott, teaches while entertaining; it explores and illuminates basic tenets of physics (why boats float, why planes fly, the force of gravity itself, etc.) while telling a good old-fashioned adventure story.
What's more, Clement makes the ultimate goal of both human and Mesklinite characters the thirst for knowledge. Barlennan bargains with the human scientists for knowledge about their technology, saying,We want to start at the beginning, knowing fully that we cannot learn all you know in our lifetimes. We do hope to learn enough to understand how you have found these things out. . . . I want to know why the Bree floats, and why the canoe did the same, for a while. I want to know what crushed the canoe. I want to know why the wind blows down the cleft all the time--no, I didn't understand your explanation. I want to know why we are warmest in winter when we can't see the sun for the longest time. I want to know a fire glows, and why flame dust kills. I want my children or theirs, if I ever have any, to know what makes this radio work, and your tank, and someday this rocket. I want to know much--more than I can learn, no doubt; but if I can start my people learning for themselves, the way you must have--well, I'd be willing to stop selling at a profit. (219)
In this speech, Clement makes his case for education and for curiosity, placing a higher value on knowledge, ultimately, than on money, goods, or fame. To convince your students/readers of such a thing would truly be a teacher's dream come true, after all.
Hal Clement was a science teacher and this is evident in Mission of Gravity. The novel, much like the more didactic Flatland by Edwin Abbott, teaches while entertaining; it explores and illuminates basic tenets of physics (why boats float, why planes fly, the force of gravity itself, etc.) while telling a good old-fashioned adventure story.
What's more, Clement makes the ultimate goal of both human and Mesklinite characters the thirst for knowledge. Barlennan bargains with the human scientists for knowledge about their technology, saying,We want to start at the beginning, knowing fully that we cannot learn all you know in our lifetimes. We do hope to learn enough to understand how you have found these things out. . . . I want to know why the Bree floats, and why the canoe did the same, for a while. I want to know what crushed the canoe. I want to know why the wind blows down the cleft all the time--no, I didn't understand your explanation. I want to know why we are warmest in winter when we can't see the sun for the longest time. I want to know a fire glows, and why flame dust kills. I want my children or theirs, if I ever have any, to know what makes this radio work, and your tank, and someday this rocket. I want to know much--more than I can learn, no doubt; but if I can start my people learning for themselves, the way you must have--well, I'd be willing to stop selling at a profit. (219)
In this speech, Clement makes his case for education and for curiosity, placing a higher value on knowledge, ultimately, than on money, goods, or fame. To convince your students/readers of such a thing would truly be a teacher's dream come true, after all.