Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang was born in 1967 in Port Jefferson, New York, and grew up in a family of Chinese descent. He attended Brown University, where he studied computer science, graduating in 1989. His technical background influences his fiction, which often engages with mathematical and computational concepts.

Chiang's first published story, "Tower of Babylon" (1990), won the Nebula Award. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others (2002), includes the title novella, which explores linguistics and determinism. His second collection, Exhalation (2019), features stories such as "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" and "The Lifecycle of Software Objects." His work often appears in The New Yorker and Nature.

Chiang's fiction is noted for its intellectual rigor, blending hard science with philosophical questions about free will, consciousness, and the nature of reality. He often uses speculative premises to examine human emotion and ethics. His prose is spare and precise, with a focus on ideas rather than action.

Chiang is a reclusive figure who rarely gives interviews and has no social media presence. He worked as a technical writer for the software industry, which informs his depictions of technology. His story "The Great Silence" was adapted into a video installation by artist Jenny Holzer. He has also written essays on AI and technology for The New Yorker.

Hard science fiction

A subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes scientific accuracy and detail.

Novella

A work of fiction longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, typically between 17,500 and 40,000 words.