Speculative Evolution is everywhere. But how did it begin? A breakdown of the incredible history of my favorite genre…
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Speculative Evolution or Speculative Biology can be defined as a genre focused on hypothetical scenarios in the evolution of life.
Today, Speculative Evolution is everywhere — from Subnautica, to Humanity Lost, to the Birrin, to After Man, to All Tomorrows, to any of the hundreds of amazing online projects that explore worlds beyond our own. But… how did we get here? Interest in the biology of fictional life wasn’t always so widespread. Monsters from ancient myth weren’t typically of thought to be part of an ecosystem, they just kind of… existed. The origin and rise of Speculative Evolution as we know it today is a fascinating tale — deeply intertwined with scientific advancement, and full of unexpected twists.
So, for this special anniversary entry into the archive, I’ll give you the full tour of this genre’s incredible history, and reveal the ‘evolution’ of Speculative Evolution…
0:00 Evolution of Speculative Evolution
1:02 The Time Machine
4:03 Life on Mars
5:54 Visitors from Beyond!
8:32 The Snouters
10:37 After Man
13:00 Age of Docufiction
15:29 All Tomorrows
17:02 The Birrin and Beyond
18:27 A Bright Future...
Sources:
History of The Time Machine - Laura Marcus: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Time-Machine
History of War of the Worlds: https://www.denofgeek.com/books/the-complete-history-of-the-war-of-the-worlds/
War of the Worlds Further Reading - A. Brad Schwartz: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/
UFOs and Aliens in Pop Culture: https://www.loc.gov/collections/finding-our-place-in-the-cosmos-with-carl-sagan/articles-and-essays/life-on-other-worlds/ufos-and-aliens-among-us
The Snouters: https://sivatherium.narod.ru/library/Stumpke/book_en.htm
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