Tuesday, August 16, 2011

What Is Your Defenition 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 2:30p.m. on Friday, August 19th, 2011.

27 comments:

  1. When looking at Science Fiction I really feel like its all up to the individual person so see how they veiw it. I think the obvious when I see the words "Science Fiction" It's science and fiction. Though my imagination takes over and I mostly think of monsters horrIbly gone wrong scientic experiment ect. Science fiction allwS the mind to wonder and create it's own idea.The Twilight Zone series is my favorite Science Fiction for that EXACT reason. I am allowed to let my mind wonder and look deeper into the story then the story went. Science Fiction is amazing way to transform a fairy tale into a horror story. Science Fiction in my opinion is any story twisted into a different prospective, mostly futuristic.

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  2. To me science fiction is something that could happen but is more improbable. It's something science based that could happen but is improbable. The first Sci-Fi I was introduced to was Star Wars and I loved it! All the space based stuff was so cool to me, flying in space ships and fighting with different species from different planets. Science Fiction is just a type of genre that is fun to read and literally takes you to a different place.
    -Bailey S

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  3. I think Science Fiction is possible things happening in the future that seem improbable. It is the genre of writing where you can write what you see the world as in 50 years, 100 years, 1000 years. It is a genre where you can say, "What if..." or ,"What would it be like if...". You get to question the unknown and make it sound real. Sci-Fi is also the exploration of new ideas. Outlandish ideas thout impossible by most can be looked at as a possibility. Science fiction gives you a lot of room to imagine and create. -EliB

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  4. I believe Science Fiction is unlikey but not impossible technology improvements/ advances in the future. Sci-Fi is mainly focused around Utopia's (or perfect societies) and how they may or may not be successful. Sci-Fi is an individuals perspective of how he/she wants technology to advance in the future, whether it be a realistic or non realistic want.

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  5. Science fiction is something that could possibly happen in the future, but is not likely to happen any time soon. Things like flying cars and rockets to mars are science fiction to me. Whenever I hear science fiction I think of the main science part about it. Factual things like technology that we have now. I also think about the fictional part of it, like flying all around space fighting aliens, or Frankenstein the monster attacking people. Science fiction is just something that has bits of science, and very advanced technology.

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  6. ok ive done this like six times. Science fiction is fact twisted with fiction. taking what we know today and futurizing it with ideas of what could be-advanced technology, new worlds, ect. The tecnology and ideas become real and the story becomes more than just a story, but a thinker. One that caused the inventors to invent, and here we have our world today,but not at all what we imagined it would be. The Fact and fable futurize into a wild ride with reality.

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  7. Science fiction to me is when we take the teachnology we see today and imagin what it would be like if we advanced it. I feel that science fiction are two things; just plain entertainment and ideas for future inventions. When it comes to entertainment, we created stories like aliens coming to our earth and whipping out our entire race. Then the ideas for inventions; electricity, flying cars, and phone booths that transport you to other times.
    -JenniferO

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  8. To me, science fiction is something that doesn’t happen in real life but is believable enough that your imagination can grasp that the concept could be possible. Science fiction is something that makes you wonder if that would ever happen. One of my favorite Sci-Fi movies was Jurassic Park, the idea is something that is way out of the work but makes you think if that would ever be possible.

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  9. Zach kelsay

    History and current events into the story. Although many of the stories are fake they can give us a inside as what the future can look like, and also give use ideas about what we can do to make it happen or change so something will not happen. In my own opinion it just can tell us about how we can evolve as humans and a society

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  10. Science fiction is when an author takes what he/she knows about technology today and adds their own imagination to create technology of the future. It is scientific realism with imagination and/or fantasy thrown in. Science fiction often asks the question "what will happen if we do not consider the consequences of our actions?"
    Lindsey Ryan

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  11. When i think science fiction I automatically think aliens. But i also know that science fiction can be predictions of what might happen with society, technology, humans, jobs, the world etc. Its using the imagination to come up with things but also has real life experiences and truth to it. Its not always impossible things, they are just differn't from what we know right now.

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  12. whenever i see science fiction movie, or book, most of the time it is set in the future, like star trek, star wars, war of the worlds, the island, and tons of others. I have to agree with Robert A. Heinlein, it seems to me that most of the science fictions today are all about what we think the future is going to look like. But most of them are also related in some way to real life. A good example is Star wars, when George Lucas made the film he related a lot of the event and the story to real life, even the costumes were taken from the past. I think Science Fiction is just another way of predicting what the future is going to look like or trying to shape the future.

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  13. I agree with Robert A. Heinlein's quote the most out of these. I think that science fiction is any story or piece of literature that is based off of current issues or beliefs, but the setting can be anything the author desires. The setting can also add to the message the work of science fiction presents to the reader, depending on the author's intent. I think that most science fiction is set in the future or in unknown places because people already think that they know everything about the ordinary and the past and present, so when the story is set in the future, anything can happen because nobody knows exactly how the future is going to be. Science fiction is an opportunity to criticize the world, but in ways that make the audience think about the problem by showing them potential scenarios that relate to the creator's purpose.

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  14. Science Fiction to me is taking things that are scientifically known to us and either taking them to possible extreme levels, or creating and idea theoretically possible but unknown to us.
    It has the science of today to support it but it is a fun fictitious story so it can be taken to unknown or fantastic levels. Therefore Science and Fiction.

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  15. The first and the last quote combined would best fit my personal description of Science Fiction.

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  16. Theodore Sturgeon’s quote regarding a “human problem” and a “human solution” best epitomizes my definition of Science Fiction, because I believe that all literature should provide its readers with insight into the nature of human existence. Therefore, I would define Science Fiction as a genre of literature that seeks to make its readers aware of what it is like to be a human being, today and in the future, by employing the backdrop of an extraneous society while exaggerating a human flaw or characteristic.

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  17. science fiction to me is mostly about a want to experience the future, we all know we wont see super far into the future where people get to leave this planet and move to another, but the goal of science fiction should be to take us to a possible future. that is what in my opinion makes science fiction so great is the endless possibilities, you can invent things that you don’t have the time, resources, technology, or knowledge to build up to and including whole worlds, and the readers have the power to interpret as they will. i think that is what draws people to it along with a factor of the unknown

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  18. Dominic Parsons said "The quote '"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"' bests aligns with my defenition because the world creates things on the ideas of science fiction of what could be and what could happen."

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  19. Science Fiction to me is a inference of critical events that may task humanity or even the extra terrestrial in the future. Also even a futuristic technology like time travel; in other words it's a fantasy on paper

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  20. The quotation from George Hay aligns most with my definition of Science Fiction. Science fiction is our ability to use our imagination based on facts to create hypothetical futures. I think the possibilities are so large and endless that science fiction can not entirely be defined, but more generalized about. Any story that starts with a fact or idea from now and extrapolates it to the future or past could be considered science fiction. I think the idea that science fiction is whatever is marked as science fiction shows that it can be anything we want it to be. As long as it starts with science it can end anywhere.

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  21. i would agree most with heinlein's definition of science fiction. science fiction has the potential to become reality, therefore making it horrifying but intriguing at the same time. this futuristicly, real speculation is only possible by plucking concepts and behaviors of current or past human behavior.

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  22. Out of the three quotes above, my definition of science fiction corresponds most with Robert A. Heinlein's. There's nothing that says what happens in science fiction can never happen in reality. The technologies we have today could someday evolve into that of the most outlandish science fiction stories as can our human race change under extreme circumstances. Just because something that happens in the sci-fi genre hasn't happened in the real world doesn't mean it never will. It is all up to mankind's choices.

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  23. Science Fiction is the mixture of science and fiction. The whole concept of Sci-Fi and how you create the story is entirely up to the author; but there's a common style of what you have in Sci-Fi. Technology, space, time traveling, etc. With the three quotes listed up above I agree with Theodore Sturgeon because most of the stories relates to man's problems or situation and they change it into a story that sets in the future or a different world then ours.

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  24. In would define science fiction as story's about life in the future or life in other places we have yet to discover. Science fiction is when you don't know what it is when you think about it but then when you see it you know exactly what your looking at. Science fiction is made up of sub genres and themes. Science fiction can also talk about the non super natural traits of things and the supernatural traits of things. Overall science fiction about the unknown.

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  25. To me science fiction is something that is possible of happening but not likely. A good example of science fiction is Star Wars. The people in star wars are flying around in space craft, going to different planets, and all of this with different species of life. All in all science fiction can be possible but takes a lot of very high technology.

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  26. To me Science fiction is an authors inventions and ideas that could be possible in the future. Examples are like i robot or star treck. The technology they have is very advanced but could be possible.

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  27. I feel like science fiction is somthing differnt to everyone. It can be a far away but not so far away world. It can be action with futureistic aspects it could be anything as long as its adventureous and has to do with science. I also think that science fiction can be fake but as well as also become real at some point. But all and all science fiction to me is using your imagination to dream but a whole nother world and adventure.

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