Science fiction writers excel at predicting the future. Jules Verne imagined rocket ships long before rockets were blasting into space. William Gibson foresaw the rise of the internet in Neuromancer. Arthur C Clark wrote about satellites decades before one ever shuttled a call to a cell phone. At its core, sci-fi writing is about imagination, about openness to new ideas and change.  To do that, sci-fi authors must transcend internal biases and limitations. If you can only see what’s right in front of you, you can’t see what’s coming. Sci-fi authors not only predict the future, they help create it. Their ideas act as catalysts that spur later innovation. As a young author I read the greats, and they inspired …