Is it merely to entertain, or also to instruct? Should it be coldly realistic or maintain idealism and optimism? A world better or worse than the current one? Utopia or dystopia? Or neither? I think SF should instruct whenever possible. SF written from a scientific point of view, where scientific (or at least pseudo-scientific) concepts are expressed and used, is more edifying than SF which betrays a shallow perspective. To the extent SF is shallow, it has led to the perception of the entire genre being trivialized and not taken seriously. SF should be taken as seriously as any other fictional genre, or even, in some cases, as seriously as non-fiction. [Since I also enjoy fantasy, I would like to say a word for it as well. Fantasy is by definition not scientific, but it can be an honest attempt to represent a world in as much detail and with as much faithfulness as possible, where the reader or viewer achieves complete suspension of disbelief.] Indeed, this should be the g
I’m a writer. I can do no other. God help me. Amen. B.A. English lit, M.A. Church History. (CC) Some rights reserved.