Wednesday, January 5, 2011

What Is Your Definition of Science Fiction?

Robert A. Heinlein, author and critic:

Science fiction is "realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method" (quoted by Knight in Bishop, Nebula Awards 25, 3).

Theodore Sturgeon, author:

"'A good science-fiction story is a story about human beings, with a human problem, and a human solution, which would not have happened at all without its science content'" (as quoted in Atheling, More Issues, 12).

George Hay:

"Science fiction is what you find on the shelves in the library marked science fiction."
(Aforementioned quotes were borrowed from Dr. Agatha Taormina's web page): http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/beyond/


Which of these quotations aligns with your definition of Science Fiction? Please respond thoughtfully using references to class discussion, prior knowledge, science fiction literature, science fiction films, etc... Type using complete sentences. This blog response is due by the end of 6th hour Friday, January 7th, 2011.

28 comments:

  1. Sci-Fi: a fictional "preview" of scientific hopes, dreams, or even fears of a possible future.

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  2. To me science fiction is a category of books, movies, magazines ect. But, I do think that it has to do with scientific issues in the future dealing with technology.

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  3. I agree with George Hay's quote. when I think about science fiction, i think of it as a genre of a book or movie, such as Star Wars.

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  4. I have to agree and disagree with both the first and second quote. In my mind, a good science fiction story is about humans, with problems, but not necessarily human problems. One of my favorite books in the science fiction genre is I robot. The book and the series do not just deal with human problems, but the self realization of machinery we have made.
    There is no way some events shown by science fiction books and stores will not happen, regardless of the progression of technology. The giver and Fahrenheit 415 are great examples of this. The idea of not having memories, or having books be illegal, are completely insane ideas. But it’s still fun to read about the possibility of these things happening. Science fiction is also the fear of the future and what can happen. Some books are by no means realistic, but still fun to read because of this unrealistic vision of the future. Alien Invasions wouldn’t have happened without the story of War of the Worlds. That probably won’t happen any time soon, but its fun to read.

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  5. To me science fiction is a problem that is trying to be fixed through the help of futuristic scientific technology or some sort of activity or event that is re-purposed through the help of scientific aid.

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  6. Science fiction is about human nature. It shows how problems, whether in the future, present or past, can be solved through technology and creativity. They bring in realistic principles to the extreme to help remind society how things can be and how they can be dangerous. Though stories and movies can twist ideas, like a blob from outer space killing people, its the fear and creation that make it fun and easy to watch or read.
    In the book Fahrenheit 451, censorship went to the extreme by banning all types of books. Now obviously today that isnt so but we do have censorship in our media, which makes the idea not so impossible. Not everything has to be realistic but the ideas are the same which makes it fun ot read and important to remember.

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  7. I agree with the first quote by Robert A. Heinlein of how science fiction is speculation of future events through the past and present. Which follow how the people of the time age develop and how they react which is why i watch the TV series Dr. Who, which is science fiction but it takes place in many areas of the past, present, and future.

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  8. The quotes from Heinlein and Sturgeon correlate best with my definition of Science Fiction. An example of future speculation would be the Frank Reade stories about technology, nearly all of which has been developed today. Sturgeons idea makes me realize humans are incapable of solving problems without human morals. In science fiction, we personify science. Authors attempt to create emotionless characters, like Vulcans, but in the end Spock can feel love. Science fiction is current interests and problems in a futuristic setting.

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  9. Science Fiction is stretching the lengths of imagination with what is scientifically achievable. It is easy to just imagine something but if it is unrealistic then it is just fantasy. Science fiction involves technology beyond our time or something that we can encounter at some point in our future.

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  10. I agree with George Hay I think science fiction is a Category of books and movie's like starwars or Star Trek. I dont think Science fiction is a speculation about possable future events.

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  11. Science Fiction is a fictional story that could not happen i our world right now due to scientific restrictions.

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  12. I mostly agree with Robert A. Heinlein. Science fiction most defiantly incorporates future technologies, present day and past issues. Combining the unknown and known with the unthinkable, which is pretty amazing!

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  13. Based on my own idea of the Science Fiction genre, I can best relate to Theodore Sturgeon and Robert A. Heinlein's definition. However, a combination of their two ideas would be my idea of a good science fiction book or movie. Unlike Mr. Sturgeon, I believe that the characters do not need to be human, but they need to go through human experiences and learn human lessons to fulfill the entire story. I agree almost entirely with Mr. Heinlein's definition, except for the part about science fiction taking place entirely in the future.
    When I think of a good science fiction piece, I almost always think of Star Wars. The Star Wars saga fits into the description in each quote. Mr. Sturgeon's quote applies to the very human characters (Luke, Leia, Han, Anakin, ect.) that have to go through human experiences in order to achieve peace. In relation to Mr. Heinlein's quote, Star Wars was said to have taken place "A long time ago, in a galaxy far away...". However, it can be noted that several aspects in Star Wars were based off of actual events; the rise of the Empire in Star Wars mirrors the rise of Nazism in Germany. Even though both quotes don't entirely describe my idea of Science Fiction, they do reflect actual Science Fiction pieces quite accurately.

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  14. To me science fiction is just a type of book or movie that creates great entertainment.

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  15. I agree with George Hay and I think science fiction "is what you find on the shelves in the library marked science fiction." I don't think sciece fiction has anything to do with proving possible events to come in the future. If it does though, I think it might represent our futuristic ideas of technology.

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  16. Personally, I'm a fan of science fiction and I believe that science fiction takes modern day culture, struggles and human behavior and shifts them so we can seem them in a different light that could potentially shift our views, beliefs, and solutions to modern day issues. My favorite example of this is in Ender's Game by Scott Orson Card and he shifts the modern day problem with war on foreign countries on people we don't quite understand into five different view points. He shows the typical military control,the warrior they are utilizing, the buggers, and the public. By doing this we can almost take his story as an allegory for how the War in Vietnam should not be supported. Science Fiction is like any other genre, it has good books and bad books but all shine light on a moral and a lesson they want to get across to the author.

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  17. My idea of science fiction is agreeable to George's as a category of entertainment, but I think that entertainment came to be from the necessity to stretch our imaginations and push our own limits of possibilities. The reason we have it is because of our natural hunger for achieving the impossible; creating a sense of adventure. So in this case we create science fiction as remedy to our hunger to make "crazy" adventure backed by possibility, making our minds able to grasp the chance of it's validity.

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  18. I think that science fiction is more than a category of books on shelves in a library, it creates the impossible. It has a sence of adventure that most people dont have or get the chance to do. it creates images of super natural creatures, other worldly plants and beings. Some science fiction is speculation about possible future events,like Robert A. Heinlein said.

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  19. To me science fiction is more for idealist thinking about the future in dreams, predicting or desires. It can be something that can one day be possible in the future, but you have to think of it first and that’s where sci-fi comes into place. You have to think of it before you can create so it benefits our future.

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  21. Science fiction, in my opinion, is a book or movie depicting what could happen or exist in the future. I agree with Emily C with what she said about the unknown and known.

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  22. I feel like Science Fiction is often a mix of past, present, and future technology that people dream about being implemented. It takes what is impossible and makes it believable.

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  23. Science fiction, literally, uses feasible technology or possibilities to create a story of a journey of adventure, discovery, and it usually deals with psychology.

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  24. Science fiction is a brand of fantasy that uses technology to create reasonable and believable stories. Often the author extrapolates into the past and projects those lessons into the future.

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  25. Dominick Brevig

    Science fiction is a combination of fantasy, and plausible technological ideas to create an adventure. It also inspires the creativity of man to push beyond its limits, and make new achievements. A lot of Sci Fi stuff has inspired the technology in the world that we live today. Such as the Television.

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  26. i agree with george hay, to an extent. only because in the library or anything with a shelve is where you could find a sci-fi novel, or book. it also represents the stories and dreams writers make up.

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  27. I agree with the first quote because science fiction is more then just a section in the library or Blockbuster. It has depth and is a combination of technology and fantasy. For example in Star Trek it had all of the basic things that a movie needs plus added science and futuristic aspects to it.

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  28. Science Fiction is the speculation through books, films, short stories, etc. of probable scenarios/events occurring in the future who's realism is based on present issues or events. for a piece to be real Science Fiction, it must be considered a possible, if not probable, outcome of a certain aspect of life in the present. Science Fiction is unique in the way that the writer is free to explore almost limitless possibilities while keeping the story realistic and, often times, quite controversial.

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