The Three "Questions" Of Science Fiction

By: Het Ram
Submitted: 2008-03-20 14:26:49
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about what that particular branch of literature called “Science Fiction” actually consists of. Is it space-ships and monsters? Time machines? Galactic empires? Well, it’s all of those things, and often none of them. Science Fiction, broadly speaking, is story-telling that deals with the impact of organized knowledge on human beings. Usually, this means technology, and the way it changes us—and reveals about us. After all, most technology is an extension of our senses, attributes and desires: computers are brains, cell-phones are voices and ears, cars are legs, planes are the dream of flight.

Many classic S.F. films and books take place in worlds identical to ours, except for the creation of some new device, or the appearance of a new life-form. Others take place in worlds so apparently foreign that only the most dedicated and experienced reader can understand what is going on!

But at the core, there are three questions or musings most often asked or explored in any work with the “Science Fiction” label. Those three are:

1) What if?
2) If Only…
3) If This Goes On…

Although these three "questions" overlap considerably, the first, “What If?”, is the most essential of the three. “What If the Martians attacked?” “What If eternal life was available at a price?” “What If we knew an asteroid would hit Earth in a year?”

The second adds a bit of longing to the equation. “If Only President Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated…” is the kind of question that leads to sociological and historical speculation, or the “Alternate History” branch of S.F. which has become tremendously popular in the last decade. “If Only the gene for generosity (or anger, or bigotry) could be mapped…” “If Only we could selectively prune bad memories…”

There is an emotional quality to the “If Only” questions, and they often speak to a sense of missed opportunity, roads not taken.

The third question, “If This Goes On” is tailor-made for cautionary tales. “If we continue to pollute the environment…” “If one party continues to dominate American politics…” “If more women enter the management class…” “If the space program continues to Privatize” “If human beings become better at modifying their physical characteristics…”

These questions are starting places for speculation. While it is easy to use any of them for trivial or absurd (and entertaining!) questions like “What if a 300-foot radioactive lizard attacked Tokyo?” they can also address profound issues, as in “how would humanity change if we gained incontrovertible proof of intelligent alien life?”

By concentrating on the question, or proposition, at the core of your story, it becomes easier to keep it from becoming a CGI-fest. Ask yourself how YOU would react to a given situation. How your family would react—you know them well. Then friends. Political adversaries. Other nations, and people of other groups. Dig into the meat of it. Study history, and begin to grasp the way societies change in response to technology, for instance the Automobile, or Printing Press, or Computer.

The more deeply you delve, the more likely you will be to create a unique question with unique answers. Then people your world with breathing, believable characters responding as intelligent, feeling people have since the beginning of time. Your work will blossom and reach new levels…

For More Free Resources visit www.allfreereports.com

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Science category

  • The Z-Boson Mass and its Formula as Multiple Proofs in One Bowl of Yummy Pudding - By: Sean Sheeter
    A demonstration of the mathematical, theoretical and, especially, empirical connotations of the phrase "Pudding Proof" in the context of a highly exacting physical model. In particular, a formula is given deriving the mass of the Z-boson from two heavy quarks and and Higgs field. Remarkably, the precise correlation with the known value of the Z-mass is thus empirically proof positive of these far less directly measurable masses, which is further supported by arithmetic and theoretic construct.
  • The Theory, Significance and Precise Calculation of Gluino Mass - By: Sean Sheeter
    A preview of the most significant predictable particle cascades at Cern's LH-Collider in the coming years. Describes how a precise gluino mass of 6.388355 TeV relates to the super-symmetric Higgs mechanism and decays to squarks and other 'sparticles as a prerequisite to creation of 'dark mass,' as well as the unsolved puzzle of material baryon creation. Which also goes on to shows why giving three dimensionless calculations for the gluino mass are central to the e-course "241-Mumbers."
  • Derivation of the Pure Precise Fine-Structure Number and as a Ratio of Two Inexact Metric Constants - By: Sean Sheeter
    A history of a definitive answer to #1 'millennium question' of Strings 2000 in regard to whether all fundamental parameters can be determined in a dimensionless manner. Focus's on a 'pure' calculation of the fine-structure constant from a unified 'monolithic' system that allows precise equations for the full spectrum of fundamental particle masses from Higgs/SUSY to quarks, neutrinos and dark matter. With an update on controversies of determining the fine-structure from metric measures and a few other related issues.
  • Proof of the Exact Up and Down Quark Masses from the Pion Mass-Differential - By: Sean Sheeter
    A discussion of the equivalence of the mass differential between the charged and neutral pion as a function the mass difference between the down and up quark. Given the unprecedented mass value of the down quark = 7.763258 MeV, the up quark mass is calculable from the even more exacting d-u mass differential = 4.593453 MeV, where the experimental pion mass difference = 4.5936 plusmn.0005 MeV.
  • Camps that Grow the Science in You - By: Ron Victor
    If science is your child's much loved subject in the school, then it would be very worthful if you enroll him or her in any of the best science camp during summer vacation.
  • Why Are Some Scientists Doubtful about Subliminal Influence? - By: Evgheny Stivenson
    Does subliminal perception really occur? Can anyone be able to observe something involuntarily without being conscious about it? These questions were raised to challenge the scientific validity of such claims. Experiments were conducted to prove that subliminal perception was indeed a fact.
  • Windmill site selection using Remote Sensing and GIS - A case Study in Andaman India - By: K Selvavinayagam
    Windmills are a major source of renewable energy. Erection of windmills promotes development of industry, tourism and other coastal infrastructure facilities. Predominant wind direction and wind power density is noticed in Andaman Group of Islands such as North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Little Andaman and Teressa Island is Southwest. In order to sustain the environment in an eco-friendly manner, windmill site selection is carried out in North Passage Island, Andaman.
  • Methodology for Assessment of Natural Hazard Vulnerability in U.S. Coastal Zone Using Remote Sensing - By: K Selvavinayagam
    U.S. coastal counties face severe meteorological hazards as compared to any other country in the Earth. Hence in order to formulate a methodology for the quantitative assessment of natural hazard vulnerability due to climate change, the study is attempted. Recent scientific tools such as remote sensing and GIS were integrated. Methodology for developing site specific models for the study is strategically planned and executed.
  • ShoreLine Change Monitoring in Tuticorin Coast - India, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Tools - By: K Selvavinayagam
    Erosion and accretion along the Tuticorin coast were identified using Landsat 5 TM May 1993, IRS P2 LISS II May 1996 and IRS 1C LISS III May 2002 data in comparison with Survey of India toposheet no L1 & L5 (1969) as baseline data. Geomorphic study of Tuticorin coast showed that the entire coastline is prograding and the coastal process that has been taking place is similar as noticed from IRS P2 1996, IRS 1C 2001 and IRS 1C 2002 satellite imageries.
  • Disaster Management Practices Using ArcGIS, ArcIMS, ArcSDE and SQL - By: K Selvavinayagam
    Emergency preparedness for disaster management is a crucial segment wherein administrators, planners, managers and stakeholders play an important role. For emergency preparedness and disaster management the dynamic representation of spatial and aspatial data in a web enabled GIS environment is the mark of the day. Dynamic representation of spatial and aspatial data, inputting data from client side and identifying its pros and cons, planning/decision making upon the information/data collected.