In discussion of science fiction, a Big Dumb Object (BDO) is any mysterious object, usually of extraterrestrial or unknown origin and immense power, in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder by its mere existence.
To a certain extent, the term deliberately deflates the intended grandeur of the mysterious object.
The coining of the term has been attributed to reviewer Roz Kaveney in 1981,[1] but it was not in general use until Peter Nicholls included it in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as a joke in 1993.
[2] Edward Guimont and Horace A. Smith propose that the origins of the Big Dumb Object trope can be found in H. P. Lovecraft's novellas At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow Out of Time, both of which feature human expeditions to immense ancient alien cities in remote parts of our world, and both of which were early influences upon Arthur C.
[3] Big Dumb Objects often exhibit extreme or unusual properties, or a total absence of some expected properties:[4] Such unexpected properties are usually used to rule out conventional origins for the BDO and increase the sense of mystery, and even fear, for the characters interacting with it.