What is Science Fiction
Science fiction can obviously be defined in many ways. Being that I am a novice in this area, I can only just begin to put a definition into words. I think science fiction is a type of literature which seems real, but something makes it not quite fit into reality as we know it. Often times you as the reader are presented with some type of situation which slightly distorts the physical, mental, or technological boundaries with which we are familiar.
Understand, the story we read (or are currently reading) presents us with such a situation. Scientists have discovered a drug which can be given to Alzheimer patients, stroke victims, and people in persistent vegetative states. The drug does not affect people with no brain damage, but can dramatically rebuild or repair patients with critical brain damage. In fact, the more damage, the smarter the person becomes. This situation could be possible. It isn't available right now, but at last check, scientists haven't achieved total knowledge. The scenario isn't quite real to us, but at the same time it doesn't seem too far fetched either.
Another novel I believe fits this model is Angels & Demons. I checked and this novel is listed as a detective thriller, but I would argue that it could be science fiction, assuming there is a difference (which I'm sure there is). In the very beginning of the book, Dan Brown discusses antimatter. He says that it has been successfully created by CERN laboratories. Brown asks the question of whether the antimatter, which is declared to be the most powerful energy source on earth, will be used to save the world or to create the most deadly weapon ever made. This of course sets the tone for the rest of the novel. Once again, the evidence we are given is somewhat unfamiliar to us, but it doesn't seem to be impossible. It isn't too farfetched to believe.
The process that authors use to create these new parameters is pretty similar to mathematics. Forgive me for deciding to write about math, but as a math major I see some connections. Sometimes when you are solving math problems, you will come to a point where you have to make assumptions about the conditions under which you are working. Under these assumed conditions, the conclusions you draw make perfect sense, but without them they are utterly illogical. I guess that's how I view the small amounts of science fiction to which I have been exposed.
posted by Anonymous at 7:25 PM
2 Comments:
As a mathematician in training, John, you'll be especially interested in some of Ted Chiang's stories.
Good point about assumed conditions. One of the pleasures of reading science fiction is figuring out, novel to novel and story to story, what the assumed conditions are in each particular fictional world.
To cope with its newfound fame in Dan Brown's novel, CERN has mounted an excellent Q&A website to explain what CERN is really up to and what antimatter really is like.
When I read "Understand", I had the same feeling. It seems that the more humans try to better themselves physically or technologically, we always believe that we are moving forward, but in reality all we are doing is attempting to streamline our lives and become less human. I often wonder what happened to the "good ol' days" when people weren't trying to make themselves seem so robotic.
Leon reminds me of people that I have met throughout my life. I find it interesting that society today is so interested in developing more forms of communication, yet, all we are doing is eliminating the social and emotional elements that make us human.
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