science

The Trouble with Bubbles

The Trouble with Bubbles is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Trouble with Bubbles rather than just read about it. In short: "The Trouble With Bubbles" is a 1953 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick.

Key takeaways

The Trouble with Bubbles belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Trouble with Bubbles to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Trouble with Bubbles from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"The Trouble With Bubbles" is a 1953 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story first appeared in If magazine, September 1953, and was first printed in book form in Second Variety, volume two of the five-volume The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, in 1987.

Plot summary The story is set in a future where mankind has attempted to reach other intelligent lifeforms through space exploration, and found nothing. In light of this yearning to connect with other lifeforms, people can buy a plastic bubble known as a Worldcraft, the tagline of which reads "Own Your Own World!". The owner of the Worldcraft is able to create a whole universe, controlling all the variables inherent to its development. Within the universe, lifeforms just like humans exist. In the story we see Nathan Hull, the protagonist, attending a contest to judge who has created the best Worldcraft universe. A contestant subsequently smashes and destroys her bubble after being announced the winner. Hull, feeling the immorality of the control owners have over the lives within the bubbles, works to have laws passed against creating any more Worldcrafts. At the end of the story, Hull is about to drive through a newly built tunnel to Asia when an earthquake breaks it up, implying his world is a Worldcraft as well.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Trouble with Bubbles

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Trouble with Bubbles claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Trouble with Bubbles before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Trouble with Bubbles ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Trouble with Bubbles

In research: The Trouble with Bubbles appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Trouble with Bubbles in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Trouble with Bubbles is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1953 short stories, Fiction about virtual reality, Short stories by Philip K. Dick, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Trouble with Bubbles outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Trouble with Bubbles in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Trouble with Bubbles means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Trouble with Bubbles out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Trouble with Bubbles in simple terms?

"The Trouble With Bubbles" is a 1953 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick.

Why does The Trouble with Bubbles matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Trouble with Bubbles?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Trouble with Bubbles.