Well, yeah, realism takes a lot of work, so you'll only ever see it happen in one or two areas, if you see it at all. > This is most especially true for the "s

Well, yeah, realism takes a lot of work, so you'll only ever see it happen in one or two areas, if you see it at all. > This is most especially true for the "soft" sciences that the hard SF engineering types so often sneer at. Sneering is always inappropriate, whether it is being done by hard scifi fans looking down at soft sciences or by literary types who don't see the point of ever engaging with realism. These feed each other, of course. To the hard scifi fan, the entire point of tangling with realism -- which is guaranteed to be difficult, involve sacrifices, and have limited scope -- is because it helps us understand humanity. Specifically, in the context of hypothetical technology. It's always frustrating when literary types stomp in and act like they have a monopoly on this type of thing, when really we ought to be on the same team. Ah well.