

Some consider it the first science-fiction novel. Written in the 2nd century CE by the satirist Lucian, A True Story contains many themes and tropes characteristic of modern science fiction, including travel to other worlds, extraterrestrial lifeforms, interplanetary warfare, and artificial life. Some scholars assert that science fiction had its beginnings in ancient times, when the line between myth and fact was blurred.

Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying "science fiction is what we point to when we say it." Ultimately, it may be more useful to talk around science fiction as the intersection of other, more concrete, genres and subgenres. Part of the reason that it is so difficult to pin down an agreed definition of science fiction is because there is a tendency among science fiction enthusiasts to act as their own arbiter in deciding what exactly constitutes science fiction. Heinlein wrote that "A handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: 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." Main article: Definitions of science fictionĪmerican science fiction author and editor Lester del Rey wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado or fan-has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction." According to Isaac Asimov, "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology." Robert A. Besides providing entertainment, it can also criticize present-day society and explore alternatives.


It is also often said to inspire a " sense of wonder". Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has become popular and influential over much of the world, It has been called the " literature of ideas", and often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction can trace its roots back to ancient mythology, and is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and contains many subgenres. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Some of the most notable early examples of this can be seen in Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey.Space exploration, as predicted in August 1958 by the science fiction magazine Imagination While this is something that most space shows and films must nod to in order to explain the lack of gravity acting on the cast, the means in which they explain it often vary. The imaginary gravity trope falls in a similar category. While this is a trope that is based on a real theoretical solution, it is almost completely fictionalized in the instances most people are familiar with, and was first used in Star Trek. Warp drive or space warp is another type of technology often seen used as a story element in space-based tales, and it is the ability for ships and other vessels to use warp speed. It’s hard to know exactly who to credit for this trope, given that stories examining people’s relationship with technology have existed as long as technology has. While humanity can’t know for sure what difficulties they’ll run into while existing in space, our relationship with technology thus far makes it a pretty safe bet that these are issues humans would likely experience in space. These technological issues usually cause panic among the crew, and force them to work together to solve the issue. Ship problems, motherboard takeovers, damaged weapons, etc. Naturally, with all this reliance on new technology, the troubles that arise with it are another common space trope.
