Thursday, January 5, 2012

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 2:30p.m. on Monday , January 9th, 2012.

29 comments:

  1. The quotation that i think best describes science fiction is byTheodore Sturgeon. I think what he says is very similar to how described science fiction in class. It explains how science fiction comes from human beings and what they want to fix there problems, and the only way that happens is with science.

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  2. The best quotation that describes Science Fiction most accurately in my point of view, would be the one by Theodore Sturgeon. The way he explains it parallels what I have gathered from different resources based on a future science that the current world does not have. To me science fiction is based around a science, and if that science wasn't there, there would be no story. Science Fiction seems to always contain a future science that people hope will become reality.

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  3. The quotation that mostly represents what I believe as science fiction is by Theodore Sturgeon. If I think of all the science fiction movies I have seen, they all display a problem that is usually fixed with a science or technology invention, just as explained by Theodore. In my eyes, science fiction is imagining a change in the world using futuristic ideas.

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  4. The quotation that best describes my point of view on Science Fiction is Theodore Sturgeon. He says it's a story about human beings and how they deal with the problems they are faced with, and I agree. The story we've read has human beings in them and they use inventions to create this Science Fiction feeling. Without the inventions and the science behind them we wouldn't have the genre Science Fiction.

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  5. The quote that best describes my view of science fiction is 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" I think that a lot of things discussed in science fiction are realistic and some things are even invented.

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  6. Personally, science fiction has been as described in the third quote by George Hay, “what you find on the shelves in the library marked science fiction”. By just the discussions on the first day of class, my definition has revised to look closer to the quote by Heinlein because of the reference of knowledge of past, present, and future, and the understanding of nature through science. My brain automatically relates science fiction to future times since those are the only stories I have heard of and have interest in. Aliens, crazy inventions and end-of-the-world phenomenon are popular because of the possibilities they hold. Vampires and wizards may not exist but that’s the world that fiction readers wish to live in. With the added facts and exaggeration on the real world, readers have nothing to keep them from partially believing the truth they may hold.

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  7. The quote that best describes my views on Sci-fi would come from Robert A. Heinlein. The quote consisted of Robert saying that Sci-fi is humans ability to take what is possible now, and project it into the future. This then results in new ideas/inventions being brought to the readers attention. So, to sum up what I would define Sci-fi as being would be our ability to take current inventions/ideas, and project them into the future. While keeping Scientific understanding/physics in mind to keep an edge of realism to the idea. Keeping Scientific understanding/physics in mind would allow the idea to possibly implemented in the future.

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  9. I think the quote that best exemplifies science fiction is the one stated by Theodore Sturgeon. To me, science fiction is an educated guess about events or inventions that will be in the future. Theodore Sturgeon has the same idea because he states that it is, "realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present". This quote also reminds me of the article where Frank Reade made estimates about futuristic inventions that weren't far off from the technology we have today.

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  10. 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

    Theodore Sturgeon does an excellent job of encompassing all aspects of science fiction in his definition. As observed in class, we’ve seen that science fiction doesn’t always hold true to its quasi, “face value” definition. The name itself implies that science fiction, is well, nothing but fiction. The average uninformed student can’t make a safe guess as to what real sci-fi literature might entail just from hearing the name. As Sturgeon suggests, science fiction incorporates modern concepts, ideas that are concrete, and fuses them with the abstract in such a way as to make them believable. It’s human nature to trust in acquired knowledge or a scientifically confirmed theory. Piecing a story together that consolidates the sensible with the visionary actualizes make-believe information and gives the reader a nearly-tangible reality.

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  12. The quote that best aligns with my definition of what Science Fiction is would be the quote by Robert A. Heinlein. To me, Science Fiction is the ability to complete the impossible with futuristic technology based on technology from the present time. Mr. Heinlein said, "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.'" I think this best describes Science Fiction becasue of films such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes. These films show futuristic technologies based on the most advanced inventions of our time. Knowledge and thoughts can roam free and are limitless in the world of Science Fiction.

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  13. Theodore Sturgeon says in his quote: 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. I agree the most with this particular definition for several reasons. His definition is simple and doesn't go into detail about it. Science Fiction is about humans or human-like beings that have problems and solutions. Of course there wouldn't be a plot without the scientific parts also. Like we talked about in class, a lot of science fiction is stories about the possible and there has been a lot learned about non-fiction through the making of science fiction writings.

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  14. The quotation by George Hay best matches what I would define as Science Fiction because it brings up the point that Science Fiction is what it says it is. In class, we learned that Science Fiction is a story that involves scientific possibilities for the future; whether they already have been invented or have the possibility of being invented. A great example of this would be the historical Mayan Calligraphy that displays carvings of machines that identically resemble helicopters, air planes, and submarines. Though they weren’t exactly stories, they do however show that past scientific ideas became future inventions. Science fiction, to me, doesn’t have a fancy definition it’s just a fictional story revolving science.

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  15. Science fiction in my words is just a type of book. My explaination kinda follows what George Hay said "Science fiction is what you find on the shelves in the library marked science fiction." I feel like science fiction books should have to deal with science of course. I have not read any science fiction books in my life, but I hope when I get the chance to read one that it deals with events in the future.

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  16. I think that the quotation by George Hay best supports my definition of Science Fiction. For me, I know that Science Fiction is a genre that is not easily described or understood for that matter. There are so many elements that go into simple understanding of a piece of this literature and to understand at a more analytical view point takes much more knowledge about the subject. I think that because so many different things make up Science Fiction pieces, there is never a true definition of it. It is something that can only give you an outline, yet with materials such as background knowledge, probability and scientific reason, it is open to a lot of interpretation.

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  17. George Hays definition of Science Fiction is the one I agree with most. He is saying that Science Fiction is what Science Fiction is. This could be interpreted as sarcasm, but I agree with it because Science Fiction is so broad, there isn't a single definition like Sturgeons or Heinlins. I think that Science Fiction can be written in a lot of different ways with different subjects. It can be about the future, or technology, or other planets and parallel universes. The genre is ultimately decided by the people. For example, the TV series "Fringe" is both a Mystery and Science Fiction series, but what the viewer interprets it as, is what they think the genre is.

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  18. I believe that the first quote, by Robert A. Heinlein, best represents Science Fiction. This is because I believe the appeal of Science Fiction to many people, myself included, is the believability of the story. When based adequately into the future, with real-life applications and projections, many inventions could be a possibility, especially at the rate technology is accelerating today. Many inventions, like DaVinci's submarine and plane ideas, as well as the plane and submarine ideas in the Reade Jr. series, have actually been invented. Granted, the actual invention was not exactly what these men had in mind, but it was close. The inventions of the future might be influenced by the science fiction of today, adding to the believability aspect.

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  19. I agree more with what Theodore Sturgeon with how he thinks that science fiction is a typical story with basic human problems and solutions but with those problems and solutions, science content is inter-twined. Just think say Star Wars, which is basically two fighting forces trying to gain control. Its a basic human problem but with the science content the soldiers become robots and aliens and your heroes are Jedi's fighting Sith's.

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  20. Robert A. Heinlein described science fiction as, "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". I agree with this description of science fiction the most because it includes, the future/ past, reality, and science background. The future and sometimes past is always touched in a science fiction film or book althoght the best example is "Back to the Future Series" since there is advanced technologies and time periods. Then, the stories touch on pieces of reality like in "Planet of the Apes" where humanity is the same on earth like everyday life but on the other planet the apes are in control. The other subject that all science fiction sources cover is science of some sort like "Star Trek" has many items that flirt with ideas of science like transportation or holograms. The overall ideas behind Robert A. Heinlein definitions make very close to what comes to mind when I hear or see science fiction.

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  21. I agree with Robert A. Heinlein's quote because he speaks of how such future events could happen in a realistic way along with it being a way that could be shown or exlained through scientific knowlage or understood as being seen through anothers point of view that's not nessecarily human.

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  22. I think the quote which is most aligned with my own definition of science fiction is Robert A. Heinlein's definition, 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" I agree with this definition because it describes science fiction as using science which is within the realm of possibility, but not maybe in what ever era it was written. For instance the summer before my sophomore year I read Ray Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles" which involved man traveling to Mars in search of a new planet to live on. The technology was far beyond its time when the book was written in 1950 but today the idea of space travel and the entire human population leaving Earth is a graspable concept as seen in movies like "Star Wars", "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "WALL-E".

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  23. I personally agree with both the Robert A Heinlein quote and the Theodore Sturgeon quote. I agree with Mr. Heinlein’s idea that it is a speculation about what might happen in the future by using basic knowledge of science. It reminds me of our talk in class about extrapolation and that sect of science fiction. It also reminds me of Star Wars, Star Trek, etc because they are realistic extrapolations of science’s next step as far as space travel. I agree with Theodore Sturgeon’s emphasis on the human aspect of science fiction, because I feel that is a key difference between science fiction and fantasy. Also, obviously the emphasis on science is a key component to science fiction. This reminds me of our discussion between the differences between science fiction and fantasy in class.

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  24. I feel like I agreed with the definition from Robert A. Heinlein. My definition of science fiction is a current imaginary/fantasy occurrence or invention that through time, innovation, and chance may be able to happen someday. Whether that’s 10, 100, or 1,000 years from when it was actually thought up. Robert explains my definition well when he talks about adequate knowledge on how the world works “real world, past and present”. The world is constantly changing and innovating so through seeing how far we have come from past years to the world we live in today, and applying that knowledge to what could happen in the future you get science fiction.

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  25. Theodore Sturgeon:
    "'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'" This quote most closely matches my definition of science fiction. I would say that science fiction is usually within a realistic setting but certain things such as robots or talking monkeys throw the reality off. Movies such as iRobot take place on Earth with humans, but then they put in robots who try to take over, breaking the reality of the story.

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  26. I agree more with the quote by Knight in Bishop. That quote is more accurate than the others for the reason that most science fiction stories are based off of issues in the past not only with us but with our society and environment. The matrix was based on our society's encounter with an illusion. They showed some of the flaws our society had and still has.

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  27. I agree with Heinlein's depiction of science fiction. Science fiction is all about the future and where we as humans are going to go from here. Humans really do have the most potential out there and anything is possible and the future might just be closer then you think. Authors of science fiction try to use their knowledge about their everyday life and try to predict where we are going from there. Usually their predictions are accurate.

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  28. personally, I see science fiction as being a way to puzzle the mind and to bring forth wit and intellect many do not realize they have. sci-fi is made to ask questions that only "simple-minded" fools could think to ask, yet have made great figures and great minds think so much on possibilities that we now have cellular devices, an internet, ect.

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  29. The quote that i feel like most describes science-fiction, is the one by Robert A. Heinlein because i completely agree that sci fi has to do with futuristic ideas based on from what we already know because almost all sci-fi things ive seen or read have had futuristic ideas in them

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