Big Dumb Object
Encyclopedia
In discussion of science fiction
, a Big Dumb Object (BDO) is any mysterious object (usually of extraterrestrial
or unknown origin and immense power) in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder
just by being there; to a certain extent, the term deliberately deflates this. Probably coined by reviewer Roz Kaveney
, the term was not in general use until Peter Nicholls
included it in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
as a joke.
Big Dumb Objects often exhibit extreme or unusual properties, or a total absence of expected properties:
Such unexpected properties are usually used to rule out conventional origins for the BDO and increase the sense of mystery, and even fear, for the characters interacting with it.
J.G. Ballard's short story, "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" (1982) may be regarded as an exploration of the metaphor of the BDO: in each successive report, the artifact's estimated size increases, people become lost within it.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, a Big Dumb Object (BDO) is any mysterious object (usually of extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
or unknown origin and immense power) in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder
Sense of wonder
A sense of wonder is an intellectual and emotional state frequently invoked in discussions of science fiction. It is an emotional reaction to the reader suddenly confronting, understanding, or seeing a concept anew in the context of new information....
just by being there; to a certain extent, the term deliberately deflates this. Probably coined by reviewer Roz Kaveney
Roz Kaveney
Roz Kaveney is a British writer of both fiction and non-fiction, and editor. She was born male but changed to and thereafter has lived as a female...
, the term was not in general use until Peter Nicholls
Peter Nicholls (writer)
Peter Nicholls is an Australian literary scholar and critic. He is the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ....
included it in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
as a joke.
Big Dumb Objects often exhibit extreme or unusual properties, or a total absence of expected properties:
- The object discovered in Quatermass and the PitQuatermass and the PitQuatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the character would reappear in a 1979 ITV production simply entitled Quatermass...
was made of a material of extreme hardness, such that diamondDiamondIn mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
-tipped drills and acetyleneAcetyleneAcetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
torches would not damage it. At the same time nothing would adhere to it. - In the movieSphere (film)Sphere is a 1998 science fiction psychological thriller film, starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. Sphere was based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and The Lost World...
based on Michael CrichtonMichael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
's novel SphereSphere (novel)Sphere is a science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1987. It was made into the film Sphere in 1998.The novel follows Norman Johnson as a psychologist who is engaged by the United States Navy to join a team of scientists assembled by the U.S. Government to examine an...
, the eponymous object would reflect everything in its presence except people. If it did reflect someone, they were alone, and the individual was accepted as worthy to harness the device's power. - In Iain M. Banks's novel Against a Dark BackgroundAgainst a Dark BackgroundAgainst a Dark Background is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1993.It was his first science fiction novel not to be based or set in the Culture.-Plot summary:...
, the Lazy Guns have a lot of mass and yet little weight, and weigh three times as much upside-down as upright.
Such unexpected properties are usually used to rule out conventional origins for the BDO and increase the sense of mystery, and even fear, for the characters interacting with it.
J.G. Ballard's short story, "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" (1982) may be regarded as an exploration of the metaphor of the BDO: in each successive report, the artifact's estimated size increases, people become lost within it.
Selected examples
- RingworldRingworldRingworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
- Apparently inert yet powerful alien artifacts, such as the monolith in Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's Odyssey series, the object from the film, EpochEpoch (film)Epoch is a 2001 science fiction film directed by Matt Codd, starring David Keith, Stephanie Niznik, and Brian Thompson. In it, a strange monolith is discovered, and the team sent to study it encounters repeated disasters.-Marketing:...
, and the ExcessionExcessionExcession, first published in 1996, is Scottish writer Iain M. Banks's fourth science fiction novel to feature the Culture. It concerns the response of the Culture and other interstellar societies to an unprecedented alien artifact, the Excession of the title.The book is largely about the response...
from Iain M. Banks' novel of that name. - Any ghost ship, in the sense of a vessel found drifting without a crew, for example the Event HorizonEvent Horizon (film)Event Horizon is a 1997 science fantasy horror film. The screenplay was written by Philip Eisner and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The film stars Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill...
from the film of that name, and the Rama from Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with RamaRendezvous with RamaRendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a cylindrical alien starship that enters Earth's solar system...
. - The Continuum Transfunctioner from the film Dude, Where's My Car?Dude, Where's My Car?Dude, Where's My Car? is a 2000 American stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner. The film stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott as two young men who find themselves wasted and forget where they parked their car....
is a parody of the Big Dumb Object, "a very mysterious and powerful device", alternately described as an object whose "mystery is only exceeded by its power" and whose "power is only exceeded by its mystery". - V'ger from Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
. - The alien array from ContactContact (novel)Contact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985. It deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. It ranked No. 7 on the 1985 U.S. bestseller list....
. - The giant black holeBlack holeA black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
known as the Unicron singularity in Transformers: CybertronTransformers: CybertronTransformers: Cybertron, known in Japan originally as , is the 2005-2007 Transformers toy line and animated series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara...
. - The web in La fièvre d'UrbicandeLa fièvre d'UrbicandeLa fièvre d'Urbicande is a graphic novel by Belgian comic artists François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, the second volume of their ongoing Les Cités Obscures series. It was first published in serialized form starting in 1983 in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine À Suivre , and as a complete volume...
. - "HaloHaloHalo may refer to:* Halo , a glow or ring of light around a head or person in art-Game franchise and spin-offs:*Halo , a video game franchise by Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios...
" - The Void ship in Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
- The eponymous planet SolarisSolaris (novel)Solaris is a 1961 Polish science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem. It is about the ultimate inadequacy of communication between human and non-human species....
in Stanislaw LemStanislaw LemStanisław Lem was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. He was named a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has...
's novel and film versions by Steven SoderberghSteven SoderberghSteven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
and Andrey Tarkovsky.