Sturgeon, Theodore -- “Sturgeon’s Law” (c. 1951)

Dave — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 00:11:49 +0000

Ninety percent of everything is crud.

Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985) American fiction author, poet, essayist, critic [b. Edward Hamilton Waldo]
“Sturgeon’s Law” (c. 1951)

Popularly known as "Sturgeon's Law," though the author used that term for another aphorism, and called this "Sturgeon's Revelation."

Verbal origins point to a talk at NYU in 1951, and at the World SF Convention, Philadelphia (Sep 1953). It was first referenced in print in Venture Science Fiction (Sep 1957), and first used by Sturgeon in print in his review column, "Books: On Hand," Venture Science Fiction (Mar 1958):

It is in this vein that I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of S.F. is crud.

The Revelation
Ninety percent of everything is crud.

Corollary 1
The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and it is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere.

Corollary 2
The best science fiction is as good as the best fiction in any field.

For "crud" people often substitute "crap" or "shit." People citing the law sometimes vary the percentage value as well.

More discussion:

WIST Quotations

Sturgeon, Theodore -- “Sturgeon’s Law” (c. 1951)