fans are slans

English

Etymology

From slan and the novel Slan (1940) by A. E. Van Vogt. By analogy to the superior but persecuted mutants of Van Vogt's novel.

Phrase

fans are slans

1. (dated, fandom slang) Science fiction fans are more intelligent and more creative than other people.
   • 1950 March, F. Towner Laney, “Fanzine Scope”, in Spacewarp‎^[1], number 36, pages 10–17:

     Under the title "Stfans -- Race of the Future", Joquel dissects the "fans are slans" theme which back in 1941 was being considered with a surprising amount of seriousness, and comes up with the obvious conclusion of phooey.

   • 1959, Richard "Dick" Harris Eney, Fancyclopedia II‎^[2]:

     FANS ARE SLANS Literally understood, "fans are superman mutants" -- or, at least, "fans are smarter than most people" -- but actual semantic content is according to the mood and attitude of the user.

   • 2000 April 27, Pete McCutchen, “Re: Mr. Ordover, I disagree”, in rec.arts.sf.written‎^[3] (Usenet), message-ID <[email protected]>:

     "Fans are slans" is a way of saying that we're smarter than other people. (Which is true, actually, but rather impolite to bring up in mixed company.)

   • 2003 November 8, Danny Low, “Re: Mundanes' secret weapon?”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom‎^[4] (Usenet), message-ID <[email protected]>:

     Fanish culture is very tribal in nature and overly concerned with superiority as fans are slans.