A couple days ago, I continued reading "Caliban" by Roger Allen. Caliban is part of Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe, and was established as such by Asimov's estate. As I started reading this book, I noticed something I had been missing for a long time.
Science fiction has actual science in it.
Yeah, it may sound like I'm completely out of touch with mainstream science fiction, but I typically don't delve deep into books beyond the text itself. I think this may be the reason why I struggle with reading classical novels.
Anyways, when I realized this, I discovered the true notion behind science fiction. The purpose of science fiction is to introduce basic science to those that have trouble understanding it from actual scientific literature.
For example, say an 11 year old wants to learn more about how robots work. Of course, much isn't established about "sci fi" robots today, but he wants to learn about their futuristic foundation. Of course, reading a scientific treatise of artificial intelligence isn't going to be of much use to him, assuming he has the typical 11 year old vocabulary and attention span. So, instead of reading a long study, he plonks down on the couch and reads "Caves of Steel". From this, he learns about how robots are expected to work in the future.
Again, I'm sure this has been discovered before, but I thought it was quite interesting.
Ta ta!
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