"Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence… has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all." — Isaac Asimov (namesake of my company's next-generation product) Some people in my tech/startup/AI circle who've never heard of Stargate ask why I care so much, and why yesterday's post got far more attention than usual. I first saw SG-1 at ~6 and was hooked. It's the one thing I can point to that shaped how I think about leadership, science, and what it means to be good at what you do. Hammond trusted his people and put his career on the line to protect them. O'Neill showed you can be irreverent and still deeply principled: you never leave your people behind. I still measure myself against both. Carter and Daniel made being the smartest person in the room look like the coolest thing in the world; problems were solved by thinking harder, not shooting harder. Add Teal'c's integrity, and you had a team where everyone was competent, nobody was made dumb for plot convenience, and capable people disagreed, respected each other, and had each other's backs. That's why I opened with Asimov (whose words also appear in SG-1's 200th episode). Good science fiction matters. It gave a 6-year-old role models I'm still trying to live up to. If you build things for a living and haven't seen it, start with SG-1. Thank you to the cast, crew, writers, and creators behind nearly 30 years of Stargate. @AmazonMGMStudio, please give it the care it deserves. #SaveStargate @bradtravelers @BaronDestructo @MichaelShanks @afullcirclepod @dial_the_gate