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what is science fiction ?Science and technology have developed at such an astounding pace that people who lived a few hundred years back would probably think that our lives are filled to the brim with magic. We have harnessed iron birds that fly, built horseless chariots, we have fire that runs like fluid along wire and we leave the earth on a pillar of fire to visit the stars. If people of that time would react in this way to the technology that we basically take for granted, how would we react to the future? Science fiction gives our curious minds a speculated view of the future.But what is science fiction exactly? Of course a so-called definition of science fiction is not difficult to compile: Just take the future and add laser guns, space ships and aliens and we have the correct mix that is sure to be a public blockbuster. But no, such a definition is not dignified of something offering so much more. Science fiction, or good science fiction at least, is not just a transposition of present circumstances on the future with added destructive weapons, and more destructive enemies. Such an outlook misses the point entirely. It is also important that science fiction should to some extent be in accordance with science, it should not be completely unbelievable, because it then ventures into the genre fantasy. The boundary line does get fuzzy with some strange examples of mixed magic and technology, but there is still a fundamental line separating SF and fantasy: whether it is plausible or not. Science fiction is also not a doctoral thesis on the possibility of faster than light travel. One can claim that science fiction is just about science and technology, but this does not mean that it is written only for the scientific audience. As Brian Aldiss noted, "Science fiction is no more written for scientists than ghost stories are for ghosts". In fact, SF is not worth reading at all if it does not involve humanity with whom we can associate. This is why SF is mainly about the human element, and about the effect new discoveries, happenings and scientific developments will have on us in the future. "Scientists in the 1800s could predict the automobile; science fiction writers added the human element and envisioned traffic jams." |