All Aboard The Science Bandwagon
The crime rate may be down, but there are still plenty of villains to catch. Fortunately, science is on the case. That’s true in real life, where physicists devise more accurate ways to interpret blood spatter, and mathematicians analyze the patterns in gang violence to help solve old crimes and suppress future criminal activity. And it’s true on television, where forensic science has developed a vast and squeeing fandom.
Predictably, that fandom overlaps speculative fiction fandom quite a bit, but sadly, television science appears to have eclipsed science in sci-fi altogether. While it’s wonderful that scientists and Hollywood are forging new alliances for the sake of conjuring realism and as a canny method of reminding the masses that science is relevant to their interests, it’s disheartening to watch literature surrender that influence one sparkly vampire at a time.
No, it’s worse than disheartening. It’s uninteresting. And it’s unhealthy for speculative fiction to eschew – even disdain – science. Reading science-less sci-fi is like eating a junk food diet. How can the genre with science in its name be taken seriously if it’s about as intellectually nutritive as a Twinkie? Was it inevitable that television would eventually surpass literature as inspiration as well as entertainment?
Wonder of wonders, TV viewers like a little science in their fiction! Given the overlap between television audiences and people who read books, it’s probably safe to assume that readers also like a little science in their fiction. We should get back on that bandwagon.
I recently had a conversation with someone involved in historical fiction, and she said to me that it must be nice writing science fiction because you can just make stuff up and not worry about research.
Unfortunately, we were interrupted at that moment and I missed my opportunity to reply.
As a science fiction writer, I’ve worked on memorizing the Periodic Table, read Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein’s various theories in their own words, and spent hours pouring over NASA safety manuals trying to understand the many obstacles space travelers have to overcome before my story even begins.
One of the things I love most about science fiction is that it gives me a greater appreciation for how the universe really works. Science fiction without science, at least in my opinion, misses the point.
Exactly! Scifi without science is a missed opportunity. Not only to share a love of science with others, but also for the author to expand their own understanding.
James, I had a similar exchange about science in SF, which led to two articles that address both sides of the issue:
SF Goes MacDonald’s: Less Taste, More Gristle
To the Hard Members of the Truthy SF Club
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