Matthew C. Nisbet, a professor in the School of Communication at American University, uses a recent study from the American Journal of Bioethics as a jumping-off point for his theory. The AJB study showed the effect that television medical dramas had on medical students, which turned out to be more than you may be comfortable with, if you've seen an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Nisbet's point, however, is that this isn't an isolated incident; the same type of thing happens to those who watch science fiction shows:

What we find among the general public is that fictional TV portrayals of science are not currently turning the public off to controversial biomedical research, at least among regular consumers of these programs. To the contrary, science fiction may in fact be preparing viewers for some of the real-life ethical and moral policy debates that are likely to arise in coming years, preparing audiences to think through the implications of startling new discoveries or research initiatives rather than react in an immediate "yuk factor" response.

What's interesting about this theory - backed up by Nisbet's own study - is that it takes into account many different variables that you might have imagined would skew the results:

This relationship stood even after controlling for education, gender, ideology, religious orientation, general support for science, science knowledge, attention to news coverage, and science documentary TV viewing (i.e. Nova, Discovery etc.)

On the one hand, I'm not too surprised by this finding; science fiction is a reasonably progressive genre, and definitely one that focuses on the illusion of new ideas, and so the idea that its fans would be open to new scientific breakthroughs makes sense. But on the other, the fact that fans were polled on "controversial biomedical research" and responded positively across religious and age lines is interesting. Do fans seek out science fiction because it fits with their worldview, or does science fiction reshape their worldview after they've become fans?

The House Debate: Can a Jerk Doctor Teach Ethics? And What about the "Gattaca" Effect on Perceptions of Medical Cloning? [Framing Science]

According to the website Solar Flare, there's no such thing as SF fandom anymore:

I think there’s a strong case to be made that historically there used to be one. The one that formed around the pulp magazines, that essentially created WorldCon and the Hugos. Members of that fandom were at one time a pretty good example of the average science fiction fan. But just like everything else in life, fandom has changed. For a star science fiction is a much broader umbrella than it ever used to be. Prose, graphic novels, movies, television all offer their own forms of science fiction with its own culture and following.

But there are far more fan groups than just that. You have Star Wars fans, Star Trek fans, Hard SF fans, Soft SF fans, Harry Potter fans and on and on and on. With every year we get new fan groups that focus on their particular interests, splintering up fandom even further. And the ever advancing technology of the internet allows us to find people with exactly the same interests we have more easily than ever before... And there’s another way that different fandoms have sprung up. Are you a convention goer? Do you interact almost exclusively on the internet? Or perhaps you’re a member of a longer sci-fi group?

All of these are forms of fandom, but they are significantly different forms that engage in different conversations and may get different enjoyment out of their fandom.

I'm not convinced that this is actually anything new; as soon as any kind of movement grows, it tends to splinter, even if it's a movement centered around one particular artist or whatever ("Their new stuff isn't as good as their old stuff!" "Yes, it is!" etc.). But I don't get why that means that there can't be - or isn't - such an overlap between each fanbase that creates some basic, "generic," SF fandom, or even that all these sub-sections can't be placed within the bigger genre picture. I mean, am I not a sci-fi fan because I didn't like The Dark Knight that much?

...Wait, I remember the comments after my review. Maybe it's better if you don't answer that.

There’s No Such Thing as Science Fiction Fandom [Solar Flare]