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Science In Science Fiction
Science in science fiction is the study or analysis of how science is portrayed in works of science fiction, including novels, stories, and films. It covers a large range of topics, since science takes on many roles in science fiction. Hard science fiction is based on engineering or the "hard" sciences (for example, physics, astronomy, or chemistry), whereas soft science fiction is based on the "soft" sciences, and especially the social sciences (anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, and so on). Likewise, the accuracy of the science portrayed spans a wide range - sometimes it is an extrapolation of existing technology, sometimes it is a realistic or plausible portrayal of a technology that does not exist, but which is plausible from a scientific perspective; and sometimes it is simply a plot device that looks scientific, but has no basis in science. Examples are: *Realistic case: In 1944, the science fiction story ''Deadline'' by Cleve Cartmill depicted the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for scientific reasoning is tens of thousands of years old. The earliest written records in the history of science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex And Sexuality In Speculative Fiction
Sexual themes are frequently used in science fiction or related genres. Such elements may include depictions of realistic sexual interactions in a science fictional setting, a protagonist with an alternative sexuality, a sexual encounter between a human and a fictional extraterrestrial, or exploration of the varieties of sexual experience that deviate from the conventional. Science fiction and fantasy have sometimes been more constrained than non-genre narrative forms in their depictions of sexuality and gender. However, speculative fiction (SF) and soft science fiction also offers the freedom to imagine alien or galactic societies different from real-life cultures, making it a tool to examine sexual bias, heteronormativity, and gender bias and enabling the reader to reconsider their cultural assumptions. Prior to the 1960s, explicit sexuality of any kind was not characteristic of genre speculative fiction due to the relatively high number of minors in the target audience. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Nicholls (writer)
Peter Douglas Nicholls (8 March 1939 – 6 March 2018) was an Australian literary scholar and critic. He was the creator and a co-editor of ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' with John Clute. Early career Born in Australia's state of Victoria in Melbourne, he spent two decades from 1968 to 1988 as an expatriate, first in the USA, and then the UK. Nicholls' early career was as a literary academic, originally with the University of Melbourne. He first travelled to the USA in 1968 with a Harkness Fellowship in movie making, and has scripted television documentaries. His significant contributions to science fiction scholarship and criticism began during 1971, when he became the first Administrator of the Science Fiction Foundation (UK), a title he had until 1977. He was editor of its journal, '' Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction'', from 1974 to 1978. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' During 1979, Nicholls edited ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (publishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Langford
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most Hugo Awards, with a total of 29 wins. Personal background David Langford was born and grew up in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales before studying for a degree in Physics at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he first became involved in science fiction fandom. Langford is married to Hazel and is the brother of the musician and artist Jon Langford. His first job was as a weapons physicist at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire from 1975 to 1980. In 1985 he set up a "tiny and informally run software company" with science fiction writer Christopher Priest, called Ansible Information after Langford's news-sheet. The company has ceased trading. Increasing hearing difficulties have reduced Langford's participation i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford. He has also used the pseudonym Brian Craig for a couple of very early works, and again for a few more recent works. The pseudonym derives from the first names of himself and of a school friend from the 1960s, Craig A. Mackintosh, with whom he jointly published some very early work. Biography Born in Shipley, Yorkshire, Stableford graduated with a degree in biology from the University of York in 1969 before going on to do postgraduate research in biology and later in sociology. In 1979 he received a PhD with a doctoral thesis on ''The Sociology of Science Fiction''. Until 1988, he worked as a lecturer in sociology at the University of Reading. Since then he has been a ful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Science In Science Fiction
''The Science in Science Fiction'' is a book by David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Brian Stableford published in 1982. Plot summary ''The Science in Science Fiction'' is a book featuring twelve illustrated chapters on such subjects as Space Flight, Energy, Aliens, Time Travel and Intelligent Machines. Reception Dave Pringle reviewed ''The Science in Science Fiction'' for ''Imagine'' magazine, and stated that "I hope every would-be SF writer in the land reads this book and comes to the realisation that raw imagination and an ability with words are not enough; a modicum of ''knowledge'' has always been necessary to the creation of worthwhile science-fiction." Reviews *Review by Gregory Benford (1983) in Locus, #267 April 1983 *Review by Gene DeWeese (1983) in Science Fiction Review Richard E. Geis (July 19, 1927 – February 4, 2013) was an American science fiction fan and writer, and erotica writer, from Portland, Oregon, who won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physics And Star Wars
The interstellar space opera epic '' Star Wars'' uses science and technology in its settings and storylines. The series has showcased many technological concepts, both in the movies and in the expanded universe of novels, comics and other forms of media. The ''Star Wars'' movies' primary objective is to build upon drama, philosophy, political science and less on scientific knowledge. Many of the on-screen technologies created or borrowed for the ''Star Wars'' universe were used mainly as plot devices. The iconic status that ''Star Wars'' has gained in popular culture and science fiction allows it to be used as an accessible introduction to real scientific concepts. Many of the features or technologies used in the ''Star Wars'' universe are not yet considered possible. Despite this, their concepts are still probable. Tatooine's twin stars In the past, scientists thought that planets would be unlikely to form around binary stars. However, recent simulations indicate that plane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
:Category:Physics In Fiction
{{Category diffuse Physics is the science of the natural world. It deals with matter, energy, and the fundamental forces that govern the interactions between particles. Physical sciences ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Government In Science Fiction
In both science fiction and utopia/dystopian fiction, authors have made frequent use of the age-old idea of a global state and, accordingly, of world government. Overview In tune with Immanuel Kant's vision of a world state based on the voluntary political union of all countries of this planet in order to avoid colonialism and in particular any future war ("Idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht", 1784; "Zum ewigen Frieden", 1795), some of these scenarios depict an egalitarian and utopian world supervised (rather than controlled) by a benevolent (and usually democratic) world government. Others, however, describe the effects of a totalitarian regime which, after having seized power in one country, annexes the rest of the world in order to dominate and oppress all mankind. One major influence was Edward Bellamy's ''Looking Backward''. The best-known advocate of world government was H. G. Wells. He describes such a system in ''The Shape of Things to Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Ideas In Science Fiction
The exploration of politics in science fiction is arguably older than the identification of the genre. One of the earliest works of modern science fiction, H. G. Wells’ ''The Time Machine'', is an extrapolation of the class structure of the United Kingdom of his time, an extreme form of social Darwinism; during tens of thousands of years, human beings have evolved into two different species based on their social class. Speculative societies Most story and novel-length works of science fiction include speculation (directly or indirectly) on modes of life and behaviour. They are sometimes allegorical and often serious attempts to model possible future societies, political institutions and systems. Examples include Harry Harrison's novel '' Make Room! Make Room!'', ''The Dispossessed'' by Ursula K. Le Guin; and the ''Hostile Takeover'' Trilogy by S. Andrew Swann. Imagined societies may be based on very different assumptions. Often the future is modeled on historic forms - feudal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reproduction And Pregnancy In Speculative Fiction
Speculative and science fiction writers have often addressed the social, political, technological, and biological consequences of pregnancy and reproduction through the exploration of possible futures or alternative realities. Themes As real-world reproductive technology has advanced, SF works have become increasingly interested in representing alternative modes of reproduction. Among the uses of pregnancy and reproduction themes regularly encountered in science fiction are: * other modes of sexual reproduction; * parthenogenetic reproduction; * inter-species reproduction; * the use of technology in reproduction; * gender issues and political concerns around reproduction; * large-scale infertility; * horror themes relating to parasitism and slavery. * gender politics. The phenomenon of pregnancy itself has been the subject of numerous works, both directly and metaphorically. These works may relate pregnancy to parasitism or slavery, or simply use pregnancy as a strong contras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gender In Speculative Fiction
Gender has been an important theme explored in speculative fiction. The genres that make up speculative fiction (SF), science fiction, fantasy, supernatural fiction, horror, superhero fiction, science fantasy and related genres (utopian and dystopian fiction), have always offered the opportunity for writers to explore social conventions, including gender, gender roles, and beliefs about gender. Like all literary forms, the science fiction genre reflects the popular perceptions of the eras in which individual creators were writing; and those creators' responses to gender stereotypes and gender roles. Many writers have chosen to write with little or no questioning of gender roles, instead effectively reflecting their own cultural gender roles onto their fictional world. However, many other writers have chosen to use science fiction and non-realistic formats in order to explore cultural conventions, particularly gender roles. This article discusses works that have explored or expa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
