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A term used in discussing science fiction, a Big Dumb Object (BDO) is a mysterious artifact (usually alien) in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder just by being there; to a certain extent, the term deliberately deflates this.

Big Dumb Objects in science fiction include:

• Iain M. Banks' Excession
• Larry Niven's Ringworld
• Arthur C. Clarke's Rama
• Arthur C. Clarke's monolith in
• Greg Bear's Thistledown asteroid-starship in Eon
• Bob Shaw's Orbitsville , and many other Dyson spheres
• Clifford D. SimakClifford Donald Simak ( August 3, 1904 April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction author. He won several Hugo and Nebula awards. He was born in Millville, Wisconson. He attended the University of Wisconsin and later worked with various newspapers.'s abandoned machine-world in Limiting Factor ( 19491949 is the common year starting on Saturday. see link for calendar) Events January-February January 4 RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage January 4 February 22 Series of winter storms in Nebraska, Wyoming,)
• Charles SheffieldCharles Sheffield ( June 25, 1935 November 2, 2002), was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronomical Society. His novel's Heritage Universe.
• Alistair Reynold 's Cerberus/Hades in Revelation Space
• Peter F. HamiltonHamilton born 1960 in Rutland, England, is one of the most popular and recognised British science fiction authors of the 1990s. Hamilton first came to prominence in the mid 1990s with his trilogy of novels featuring the psychic detective Greg Mandel.'s Sleeping God in The Night's Dawn TrilogyAuthor Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy consists of three epic science fiction novels: The Reality Dysfunction The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God''. A collection of short stories, A Second Chance at Eden shares the same universe, and The C
• Barry Levinson's Sphere in Sphere

Also see

• MegastructureIn science fiction a megastructure is an artificial construct of enormous size, the product of megascale engineering. They are typically measured in at least hundreds of miles in at least one dimension and are commonly space habitats of some sort. Megastr