What is science fiction

Typical science fiction is based on reasonable or unreasonable speculation. Through projection, inference, analogy, hypothesis and demonstration, it describes the role of exploring, discovering, understanding and testing things in a certain time and space in the form of science (observation, hypothesis, experiment), usually reflecting the status of people in the universe and the relationship between people and the universe in reality. "The form of science" can also be used in the name of fantasy, for example, to describe magicians observing, analyzing and experimenting with scientific and technological products such as airplanes in a magical way of thinking. In science fiction works, knights can also see trains as giant dragons, mantis with long spears as chariots, etc., but this idea will make readers tired. Science fiction literature was basically born after the Industrial Revolution. People clearly feel that the development of science and technology has changed the way of social production and their own way of life, and promoted social change. Therefore, people will inevitably think of the future science and technology and their impact on mankind. Anxiety and longing urge people to think, so most science fiction will describe the future, and most of them will introduce inference and unfinished technical achievements in reality. Among them, works containing scientific knowledge provide knowledge for readers, stimulate positive scientific thinking, and bring new ideas. Science fiction is not bound by traditional social thoughts and can freely explore various social concepts and scientific concepts. However, the reactions of characters, societies, civilizations and species in the book to various things will show the author's understanding of these things in a specific era background and scientific level. Some authors are willing to explore ways to solve practical contradictions, while others are willing to write pseudo history to reveal the relationship between social changes and people, and discuss the value of people, even human values. Readers who like science fiction literature will observe and examine human history and life according to the scientific methods and ways of thinking introduced in the book, and some of them will embark on the road of scientific research. For more than a hundred years, the development of science and technology has constantly turned science fiction into reality, further encouraging the bold creation of science fiction novelists and forming positive feedback. Science fiction dramatizes the requirements and ideals of a society with rich imagination. Although science fiction is an idea literature, few art forms can compete with science fiction in terms of deeply revealing the needs, expectations, fears, worries and troubles of an era, that is, accurately reflecting the limitations of the era. Readers can see the aspects of the times and another kind of life under the "If XXX", and thus be inspired. This inspiration can not only be the admiration for the beauty of the universe, guide the interest in science, but also be the impulse to create, and can also be a new understanding of human feelings and psychology. By reading the science fiction of a certain year, the reader can actually get a clearer social profile than that reflected by the "contemporary fiction" and non fiction inspection of that year. A very intuitive example is that when a large number of decadent literature was published in Europe during the Cold War, science fiction was talking about world war, the destruction and rebirth of mankind, the dawn of peace, the distant sky, the mechanization of human beings and the humanization of machines. By describing the possibility that the reader has not yet considered - a world of another form, a species different from ours, a form of civilization that has never existed before, and a different view of things - science fiction effectively comments on society and promotes social development, so as to enhance the reader's ability to respond to changes in the real world. Science fiction can not only enable people to prepare for the future, but also create or change ideas, so that people can create the future better. When people laugh at the failure of old science fiction predictions, they laugh not only at that time, but also at this time.

In fact, science fiction does not have a unified definition. It should have been established at the beginning of the last century. However, if we trace back to this literary theme, we can go as far as ancient Greece. At that time, literature with mythical or technical elements was regarded as science fiction, because these works subverted human values. Science fiction is also called science fiction, or sf for short. It is a type of fiction that describes the imaginative content of science, such as future technology, time travel, super light travel, parallel universe, alien life, artificial intelligence, misplaced history, etc. Science fiction works include science fiction, science fiction films, science fiction animation, science fiction comics, science fiction games, science fiction music and other different categories. At present, science fiction has gradually developed into a culture and style, and science fiction culture has also become a sub culture derived from science fiction works, which is closely related to futurology in a more rigorous academic field.

Science fiction and science are always intertwined. Many outstanding science fiction writers in history are also scientists. Hannis Kepler, the great physicist who proposed the three laws of the planets, wrote a novel called Dream in 1610, which is also a good popular science reading. As a thousand people see a thousand Hamlets (six children: but only one Monkey King), they have different understandings of the definition of science fiction: English literature majors define sf as a story that attempts to predict the impact of future technological progress on society. Hugo Gensback, who founded the world's first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories (later established the Hugo Prize, the highest honor in science fiction, in his memory), believed that, like the novels of Verne, Wells and Poe, such stories with scientific content, prediction of the future and fascinating legend could be defined as science fiction works, which later evolved into the fixed abbreviation "SF". John Campbell, the leader of the "golden age" of American science fiction, believes that science fiction should write real science, describe surreal themes with realistic techniques, describe the future with the past, and describe surreal plots with a rational and scientific attitude. His definition also became the "paradigm" of later science fiction creation. Since then, the "golden age" has begun.

From the 1940s to the 1960s, science fiction around the world, represented by the United States, ushered in the so-called "golden age", which was the peak period of continuous creation and publication of science fiction. Robert Heinlein of the United States, Isaac Asimov of Russia and Arthur Clark of Britain are known as the "three giants" of world science fiction (an interesting thing is that they all join the national army, of which Clark is in the British Royal Air Force; Asimov is in the army; Heinlein is in the navy). From the Second World War to the Cold War, science and technology have been greatly improved. From their works, we can find many marks of the times. Any sufficiently advanced technology seems to be no different from magic - Sir Arthur Charles Clark * (1917-2008) is one of my favorite science fiction writers. His science fiction works are mostly based on science, and many predictions in the novels have become reality. In particular, his description of satellite communications was in striking agreement with the actual development. Therefore, the geosynchronous satellite orbit was named "Clark orbit", and he also won the "NASA Outstanding Public Service Award". Clark is considered as the representative of hard science fiction. His most famous work, 2001 Space Odyssey, was shot by Kubrick in 1968 and became a classic of science fiction films. With the rapid development of science and technology, the technology that people imagined in the past has gradually become a reality, which is also the source of inspiration for Clark's creation. Nothing needs to be true, but it must be believed to be true - Isaac Asimov * (1920-1992) Asimov is the first famous saying: "Violence is the last means of the powerless", "Don't let morality prevent you from doing the right thing", "Only a big lie can succeed", etc. are all his hands. He also invented the famous "Three Laws of Robotics", which is called "the cornerstone of modern robotics", and has influenced countless literary works and real scientific research in later generations. Asimov is most famous for the three series of base series, robot series and empire series, known as the "science fiction bible". He has published more than 480 works in his life and won the Hugo Prize seven times. He is worthy of the "God Man" in the history of science fiction, and has also done a lot of science popularization work for the society. He believes that SF is a social experiment on paper, mainly depicting a fictitious society, and is a branch of literature. He regards science as a great and unified principle on the earth, and uses science fiction, a special literary form, to promote people to consider the relationship between human beings, science and technology, history and other aspects, and the coordinated development of human beings and the whole society while popularizing scientific knowledge. It is easier to persuade a thousand people by catering to people's prejudices than it is to persuade one person by logic -- Robert Anderson Heinlein * (1907-1988) Heinlein is one of the most controversial and influential American hard science fiction writers (his representative works Star Trek, Star Parachutist, etc.). He once served in the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and was a captain, It is said that his family has participated in all wars since the American Revolutionary War. He started his writing career after he failed to run for the Senate and was called Mr. by later generations SF。 His works not only reached a high level in science and engineering, but also improved the evaluation standard of science fiction. Many of the elements he envisioned have had a very profound impact on today's science fiction world, and he is a generation of great writers worthy of the name. In addition, many of the future things he envisioned have now become reality. He believes that SF is a kind of speculative literature, which is speculative and speculative, and is a realistic speculation about the future. Because his works cover patriotism, personal will, freedom and independence, personal responsibility, militarism, male chauvinism and female chauvinism, autocracy, communism and other topics, he has been criticized by people from all walks of life (laugh); Because Heinlein's works have a lot of views, and the views of different works are contradictory, we can hardly see his real views, which need readers to guess. In my opinion, science fiction is also a type of fiction. Its narrative power lies in the events, technologies or societies that are impossible, unreal, or occur in the future, the past, or the re created world. Because of the different reality, possibility, probability and the author's creative intention, this type of works shows different characteristics. The most essential difference between science fiction and other "absurd" works of fantasy and terror is that science fiction works are based on rationality. The science brought about by reason is speculative - to a large extent, it may be wrong, or even impossible, but it can be explained from the perspective of the materialistic world outlook. This is not to rely on supernatural forces (although in some situations supernatural elements coexist with science fiction). Science fiction may be a pure illusion in the guise of pseudoscience and falsehood, but as long as the place where the story takes place is not created by magic but actually exists, it is understandable. In this way, the Avenger Alliance series and Godzilla are both counted. Both films can be called science fiction because their narrative language is scientific language. (Although the Women's Federation has gone further and further on the road of magic...) There has always been some prejudice against science fiction. Mainstream critics will say that such as 1984 and The Road are not science fiction. It seems that the criterion of this statement is that these works are "good art", while "good art" cannot be science fiction. Margaret Atwood, a writer, once described science fiction as a "talking fish in space", although almost all of her works are science fiction. I can't understand why she is so shy about science fiction. There is also a huge controversy about the relationship between science fiction and the future. Science fiction is not intended to predict the future, and the world of science fiction is changing with each passing day, although it seems to be the opposite. There are few examples of science fiction writers predicting the unique technology of the future. For example, science fiction writers in the early 20th century almost completely ignored the impact of computers. Science fiction is not a prediction. "What if?" is just a conventional way. However, science fiction does have an impact on the future. Science fiction is the product of the times. The future of the 1950s is related to nuclear missiles and pipe smoking projects; The future of the 1960s was full of the desire for moon landing and free love; In the 1980s, he imagined that the whole world was controlled by evil companies or destroyed by nuclear disasters. Although the content of science fiction is relatively narrow, it is very valuable. It sets up a mirror in front of the world, so it is a true portrayal of an era. But science fiction does not have to strictly follow the rules of a certain era, and it may be more effective to do the opposite. Therefore, the best science fiction works have infinite power. When Orwell wrote 1984, the society had not fully felt the terror brought by totalitarianism. In the real sense of the screen, the kiss of love between different races appeared in Star Trek for the first time. Through exaggerating or simplifying the description of reality, science fiction allows us to see the truth of the world and take preventive measures for the occurrence of a major disaster. This bold and colorful description of the world in science fiction inspires real scientists. I once saw a scientist say in a documentary: "I saw this in a science fiction program, and I wanted to do it." In the old society, science fiction had a place for those mysterious phenomena. It was once the garden of western modern social thought and spirit. However, this type of art is not perfect, and its narrowness is often criticized. It is exclusive and narrow-minded, and was once the ideological product of western patriarchal society. It is not exquisite, simple and childish, and distracting. But even so, it is still exquisite and pleasant.