Things I've learned from science fiction.

1. DON'T PANIC. The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy says so. Every situation is better served with calm reactions to events rather than paniced flailing.


2. Tell the truth. Even if it hurts. It's better that way. In Speaker for the Dead, most of the characters have spent their lives believing lies about themselves and each other that have made everyone miserable, hateful, abusive, etc. All of this changes when the truth is told, even though every character is profoundly hurt by the revelations Ender makes. As they consider who they are after they learn the truth, every person is better able to figure out who they really are, which makes them better able to be part of society. The concept of a speaker for the dead is VERY interesting to me. Basically the way it works is that when someone dies, or perhaps before, a speaker is called. The speaker's job is to learn the truth about that person. The deep truths, the things they wanted to do, the things they did that nobody knew about, what their motivations were, that sort of thing. Then, when they know that person, they tell that truth. No bullshit, no elevations to sainthood, just the truth. It's never all pretty, it's never all bad. It's also a whole lot easier to write a fictional story about than it would be to do in real life. In the book, all the character's lives are GREATLY made better by hearing the truth, which I think is always true.


3. Sometimes lies are more reliable than the truth. At the beginning of Ender's Game, Ender is told "This won't hurt a bit".


There are many more, but that, I think, is a good start.