Science fiction is a genre Genre (pronounced /ˈʒɑːnrə/, also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/; from French, genre French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ʀ], "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature, as well as various other forms of art or culture e.g. music, based on some loose set of stylistic criteria of fiction Fiction is any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s). Although fiction often describes a major branch of literary work, it is also applied to theatrical, cinematic, documental, and musical work. In contrast to this is non-fiction, which deals dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting.[1][2][3] It differs from fantasy Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place in fictional worlds where magic is common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction in that it does not provide a logical explanation for the scientifically impossible events in that, within the context of the story A narrative is a made up story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge that is capable of resulting in a correct prediction or reliable outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique, technology, or practice established or scientifically postulated laws of nature A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations of physical behavior . Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing observable patterns. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and simple observations, over many years, and which (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). Exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".[4] Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possibilities.[5] The settings In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and for science fiction are often contrary to known reality, but the majority of science fiction relies on a considerable degree of suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief or "willing suspension of disbelief" is a formula named as such in English by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge to justify the use of fantastic or non-realistic elements in literature. Coleridge suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" provided by potential scientific explanations to various fictional elements.
These may include:
- A setting in the future The future is the time period in which all things become possible. It is the opposite of the past, and is the time after the present. In the Occidental view, which uses a linear conception of time, the future is the portion of the projected time line that is anticipated to occur. In special relativity the future is considered to be absolute future, in alternative timelines Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate history works may use tropes from any or all of, or in an historical past that contradicts known facts of history or the archaeological record
- A setting in outer space Outer space is the void that exists beyond any celestial body including the Earth. It is not completely empty (i.e. a perfect vacuum), but contains a low density of particles, predominantly hydrogen plasma, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos. Theoretically, it also contains dark matter and dark energy, on other worlds, or involving aliens Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth. It is unknown whether any such life exists, and all discussion of it must be regarded as highly speculative. Various claims have been made for evidence of its existence, such as those listed in a 2006 New Scientist article. However, the mainstream scientific community[6]
- Stories that involve technology or scientific principles that contradict known laws of nature[7]
- Stories that involve discovery or application of new scientific principles, such as time travel Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to some moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to experience the intervening period (at least not at the or psionics Psionics is the study and/or practice of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche. The topic is widely discussed in fiction, or new technology, such as nanotechnology Nanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometer in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials or devices within that size, faster-than-light Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light. Under the special theory of relativity, a slower-than-light particle with nonzero rest mass needs infinite energy to accelerate to the speed of light, although special relativity does not forbid the existence of particles travel or robots A robot is an automatically guided machine which is able to do tasks on its own, almost always due to electronically-programmed instructions. Another common characteristic is that by its appearance or movements, a robot often conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own, or of new and different political or social systems (e.g., a dystopia A dystopia (alternatively, cacotopia, or anti-utopia) is, in literature, an often futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, though under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian literature has underlying cautionary tones, warning society that if we continue to live how we do, this will be the consequence. A dystopia, or a situation where organized society has collapsed)[8]
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Definitions
For more details on this topic, see Definitions of science fiction Science fiction includes such a wide range of themes and subgenres that it is notoriously difficult to define. This is a list of definitions that have been offered by authors, editors, critics and fans over the years since science fiction became clearly separate from other genres. Definitions of related terms such as "science fantasy", &.Science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a wide range of subgenres Genre (pronounced /ˈʒɑːnrə/, also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/; from French, genre French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ʀ], "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature, as well as various other forms of art or culture e.g. music, based on some loose set of stylistic criteria and themes. Author and editor Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre summed up the difficulty by stating that "science fiction is what we point to when we say it",[9] a definition echoed by author Mark C. Glassy, who argues that the definition of science fiction is like the definition of pornography: you don't know what it is, but you know it when you see it.[10] Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian-American novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist. He also made contributions to entomology and had an interest in chess problems argued that if we were rigorous with our definitions, Shakespeare's William Shakespeare [a] was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".[b] His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays,[c] 154 sonnets, two long narrative play The Tempest The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. He conjures up a would have to be termed science fiction.[11]
According to science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of the genre. He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was one of, "a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of."[12] Rod Serling Rodman "Rod" Edward Serling was an American screenwriter, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the's definition is "fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible."[13] Lester del Rey Lester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey is especially famous for his juvenile novels such as those which are part of the Winston Science Fiction series, and for Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books edited by Lester del Rey and his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado—or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is", and that the reason for there not being a "full satisfactory definition" is that "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction."[14]
Forrest J Ackerman Forrest J Ackerman was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan. He was, for over seven decades, one of science fiction's staunchest spokesmen and promoters used the term sci-fi at UCLA in 1954.[15] As science fiction entered popular culture Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, specifically Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily, writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech "B-movies A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature. Although the U.S. production of movies intended as" and with low-quality pulp science fiction Pulp magazines were inexpensive fiction magazines. They were published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, a half an inch thick, and 128 pages long. Pulps were printed on cheap paper with ragged, untrimmed edges.[16][17][18] By the 1970s, critics within the field such as Terry Carr Terry Gene Carr was a U.S. science fiction author and editor and Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre were using sci-fi to distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction,[19] and around 1978, Susan Wood Susan Joan Wood (August 22, 1948-November 12, 1980 was a Canadian author, critic, and science fiction fan, born in Ottawa, Ontario and others introduced the pronunciation "skiffy Skiffy is a deliberate humorous misspelling or mispronunciation of the controversial term "sci-fi", a neologism referring to science fiction. Like the term "sci-fi" itself, "skiffy" may be used in a pejorative sense,[citation needed] but is more usually used to indicate that the writer or speaker is aware of the". Peter Nicholls writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers".[20] David Langford David Rowland Langford is a British author, editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter Ansible's monthly fanzine Ansible An ansible is a hypothetical machine capable of instantaneous or superluminal communication. Ansibles are used as plot devices in science fiction literature includes a regular section "As Others See Us" which offers numerous examples of "sci-fi" being used in a pejorative Pejoratives are words or grammatical forms which denote a negative affect; that is, they express the contempt or distaste of the speaker. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense. In historical linguistics, this phenomenon is known as melioration, or amelioration, or semantic change sense by people outside the genre.[21]
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Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:05:08 GMT+00:00
DVD Talk The wildly ambitious Forbidden Planet was the first science fiction film of the era to have the full weight of one of Hollywood's most powerful studios ...
Sat, 09 Jun 2007 23:04:30 PDT
Music Video: Anders Manga "Science Fiction" from the album, 'Blood Lush" - Footage from Planet Earth. youtube.com.
