Science In Fiction Class 1
Science In Fiction
Class 1
Science-in-Fiction Vs. Science
Fiction
"An essential difference between science-in-fiction and science fiction
lies in its portrayal of the scientific enterprise; the first
demands absolute accuracy and plausibility, while the second and
more popular genre depends on fantasy and implausibility to satisfy its
huge following."
The Economist, Aug 20, 1998, Science In Fiction Is Not
Science Fiction. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/162287
·
Portrayal: a depiction of science from the author's perspective.
·
Scientific Enterprise: the current scientific milieu of a given
time-period. The aims of science. For example, in the Age of Exploration,
leaders like Henry the Navigator founded schools of navigation, from which
began voyages of exploration.
·
Accuracy: the condition or quality of being true, correct, or exact; freedom
from error or defect; precision or exactness; correctness.
·
Plausibility: having an appearance of truth or reason; seemingly worthy of
approval or acceptance; credible; believable
Soft and Hard Science Fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to SF or sci-fi) is a genre of speculative
fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light
travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial
life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of
scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of
ideas". It usually avoids the supernatural, unlike the related
genre of fantasy. Historically, science-fiction stories have had a grounding in
actual science, but now
this is only expected of hard science fiction.
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction
characterized by an emphasis on scientific accuracy. The term was first used in print in 1957
by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's Islands of Space in Astounding
Science Fiction. The
complementary term soft science fiction, formed by analogy to hard science
fiction, first appeared in the late 1970s.
Discussion Questions
- How do individuals and groups acquire the necessary knowledge to make informed and ethical decisions about how to live with science and technology?
- What messages do SF texts convey regarding how scientific and technological advances should be used by humans?
- How do SF worlds help us see our own world in new and surprising ways?
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