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Science Fiction Is Making You More Clueless About Science
San Francisco, 11:37 PM
Fri Dec 4
24 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/19/08
Try going on Slashdot sometime and talk about that movie "Hackers" or even "Sneakers" (which is more realistic, but still...)
Thus - "real" scientists hate science fiction. "Real" advertising people hate "Mad Men." "Real" archeologist hate "The Bone Detectives" on Discovery. "Real" CSI's hate CSI. I suspect janitors and pig-shit cleaners hate "Dirty Jobs" and fishermen hate "The Deadliest Catch."
Most people take themselves FAR to seriously.
11/18/08
I would think that a lot of actual scientists became interested in science, at least partially, by reading Sci-Fi as a kid.
11/18/08
What surprises me are the negative comments.
I can't count the number of times some form of media (including novels, short stories, films, television programs, news media) have gotten something wrong about biology.
e got are Gattaca (film) and Brave New World (novel), and that's only because these dystopias were vague about the science.
11/18/08
Well there's a difference between the news getting something wrong and fiction getting something wrong. One has an obligation for information and truth. The other does not.
It's great when fiction does take itself seriously and implements actual science into its story, but it is not required. I can't understand what point these people are really trying to make. Is it every bit of sci-fi that neglects to get specific about its science, or a particular type?
11/18/08
This is such bullshit the page is turning brown. I get confronted with people who get their medical knowledge from ER and House all the time. It's all made up, but it's not SF. The people quoted here are basically saying that anything that is fiction is science fiction. CSI is not SF, it's just crap. Just because they make stuff up doesn't make it SF. The events in "Apocalypse Now" never actually happened and many of them are so outlandish they never would, that doesn't make it SF.
11/18/08
*applause*
11/18/08
Am I reading that if it aint something out of a scientific journal than it should have dragons flying around? I just don't get it. It's fiction. Is it CSI's fault that people don't know how our judicial system works? No. Is it sci-fi's fault that people don't care about the space program? Of course not. Once again people choose the "blame the media" card.
11/18/08
Film, television, and comicbook SF is a different story -- a story without much science in it.
I think it stems from the need to make it visual. The sad fact is this: scientific accuracy is hard to make visually interesting.
11/18/08
Also let's not forget a very basic fact. People watch tv for character development and story, not a science lesson.
11/18/08
11/18/08
Actually, Anathem got me thinking about ... thinking differently, Cryptonomicon had a poopload of math and was awesome, and Cthulhu f'thagn *burble*
11/18/08
But if, as Kim Hannula suggests, Science is not a cause, but an organized curiosity about the natural world, then shouldn't the merits of science fiction be evaluated with regards to how successful it pique's curiosity?
It's purely anecdotal for me, but reading about strange new sciences in books often gets me interested in understanding them.
That I never fail to be disappointed is a separate, though probably related, issue.
11/18/08
11/18/08
i'd echo the sentament on science fiction. reading sci-fi has repeaditly encouraged me to research topics i never would have considered before reading.
11/18/08
11/18/08