Astronomer Royal - Sunday Times Magazine interview...

There's a quite charming 'Life in the Day' interview with Sir Martin Rees in yesterday's Sunday Times Magazine. One paragraph in particular is worth repeating, on the topic of the attempt to find out whether other planets have biospheres, like Earth's:

"This is a subject where fact and fiction merge. I advise students that it's better to read first-rate science fiction than second-rate science. It is more stimulating and no more likely to be wrong. Science fiction is seldom fine literature but the concepts and ideas are fascinating, even visionary."