3 ms·

That's cute, but science fiction does not require a physically impossible premise. I like to think of scifi as stories that are fundamentally about how a new d

That's cute, but science fiction does not require a physically impossible premise. I like to think of scifi as stories that are fundamentally about how a new development in science leads to changes in the world. It could be far-future questionably possibly supertech (The Expanse). It could be near-future changes in social science (1984). It could be future regression of current technology (The Windup Girl).

pasabagi 3y ago
Mmm, not sure those stories match your idea. The only story I can think of that involves a single change in science is Vernor Vinge's Across Realtime (which is very good). I think an Expanse author once commented that he'd never really thought about how the fusion drive thingies were supposed to work.
- alanbernstein 3y ago
  I was imprecise, I didn't mean to suggest that any book should be based on only a single technological change. > How does the Epstein drive work? > It works very well, thank you very much.
  - pasabagi 3y ago
    It's really nice in Across Realtime. I'm not really a big believer in the 'science' part of 'hard science fiction' - for me, you can basically divide sci-fi into two traditions. The first is based on the old sci-fi magazines that published short stories. Short stories, being characterized by the exploration of a remarkable idea, therefore produces sci-fi that's basically about examining some imagined change, usually scientific, but it could also be social (The Dispossessed, etc). The second is based on old sci-fi comics, serials and pulp novels - and is about characters. It doesn't matter how lightsabers work because Star Wars is entirely about characters. So for me, the Expanse would be in the tradition of Star Wars, while something like Yoon Ha Lee's stuff would be in the magazine tradition, even though it's basically magic with spaceships.
ajmurmann 3y ago
What you are describing is the scifi I like, but not true for a large part of what commonly gets categorized as such.
- dsr_ 3y ago
  Now that the furor is over, I'll tell you the secret: SF, fantasy and all the rest are marketing categories, and so they cannot be depended on in the slightest.
beagle3 3y ago
Amazon’s “Homecoming” show is one of my favorite low key science fiction shows. It shows immediate effects of a tiny possible discovery. No CGI, no special effects - just Good writing, good acting, and good camera work

pasabagi 3y ago

Mmm, not sure those stories match your idea. The only story I can think of that involves a single change in science is Vernor Vinge's Across Realtime (which is very good). I think an Expanse author once commented that he'd never really thought about how the fusion drive thingies were supposed to work.

alanbernstein 3y ago
I was imprecise, I didn't mean to suggest that any book should be based on only a single technological change. > How does the Epstein drive work? > It works very well, thank you very much.
- pasabagi 3y ago
  It's really nice in Across Realtime. I'm not really a big believer in the 'science' part of 'hard science fiction' - for me, you can basically divide sci-fi into two traditions. The first is based on the old sci-fi magazines that published short stories. Short stories, being characterized by the exploration of a remarkable idea, therefore produces sci-fi that's basically about examining some imagined change, usually scientific, but it could also be social (The Dispossessed, etc). The second is based on old sci-fi comics, serials and pulp novels - and is about characters. It doesn't matter how lightsabers work because Star Wars is entirely about characters. So for me, the Expanse would be in the tradition of Star Wars, while something like Yoon Ha Lee's stuff would be in the magazine tradition, even though it's basically magic with spaceships.

ajmurmann 3y ago

What you are describing is the scifi I like, but not true for a large part of what commonly gets categorized as such.

dsr_ 3y ago
Now that the furor is over, I'll tell you the secret: SF, fantasy and all the rest are marketing categories, and so they cannot be depended on in the slightest.

beagle3 3y ago

Amazon’s “Homecoming” show is one of my favorite low key science fiction shows. It shows immediate effects of a tiny possible discovery. No CGI, no special effects - just Good writing, good acting, and good camera work