“Right this moment’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science truth.” This quote, attributed to Isaac Asimov, captures science’s intricate relationship with science fiction. And it’s hardly a one-way relationship. Whereas science fiction is consistently evolving to replicate new scientific discoveries and theories, science itself has a protracted historical past of drawing inspiration from the works of visionary authors, filmmakers, and in style tradition. And in some circumstances, the place scientists themselves had been the visionaries (like Asimov himself), you had an occasion of each!
The connection between the 2 was the topic of a current examine by Samuel Boissier, a researcher with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the director of analysis on the Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Marseille (LAM). In an age when misinformation, “deepfakes,” and deliberate makes an attempt to obscure scientific truths are at an all-time excessive, analyzing the interconnection between science, artwork, and science fiction is essential. Based on Boissier, doing so presents folks within the scientific neighborhood a option to interact with the general public in a means that’s relatable and accessible.
The connection between science fiction and scientific truth is well-documented and has been the topic of educational analysis. Current examples (that we have now written about) embody how exoplanets are depicted, the lives of {many professional} scientists, and in style depictions of area journey. Nonetheless, when an idea fails to fulfill the burden of proof – resembling FTL journey utilizing wormholes or the EMDrive – the everyday response is to label it as “science fiction.” However, science fiction authors are sometimes skilled scientists themselves or characterize science precisely of their tales – therefore the time period “exhausting SF.”
Inspiring SF (and Vice Versa)
In his paper, Boissier (himself an expert astronomer and astrophysicist) addresses how exhausting science fiction can be utilized for instructional functions, significantly in astronomy and astrophysics! What’s extra, examples may be discovered in lots of types of in style media, together with literature, movie, and video video games. As he instructed Universe Right this moment through e-mail:
“Science Fiction is utilizing astronomy to supply to the general public blockbusters on the films (e.g. Interstellar), sequence or films in streaming media (Don’t Look Up, The Expanse), many books from traditional authors (Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke) or extra moderns ones (Kim Stanley Robinson), comics (the adventures of Valerian and Laureline), or video video games (Mass Impact, No Man’s Sky) which have a really massive cumulated viewers. Astronomers can use Science Fiction for instance physics or astronomical information. It is likely to be a great way to speak about our work and our strategies by evaluating them to examples with which a big viewers is acquainted.”
Not solely do the next examples include “exhausting” science, however in addition they discover ideas that people could not in any other case be acquainted with. As an example, the Mass Impact sequence comprises one of many extra well-known proposed resolutions to Fermi’s Paradox, the Berserker Speculation (or “Killer Probe Situation”). The Expanse sequence (the novels and the miniseries adaptation) is famend for that includes scientific parts that make the story compelling and sensible. Examples embody sensible depictions of life on Mars, bigger asteroids, and spacecraft, together with the consequences of low gravity (and microgravity).
By way of literature, Asimov and Clarke are well-known examples of scientists who used the style to discover speculative concepts grounded in science. Asimov’s I, Robotic sequence explored how the event of synthetic intelligence (AI) would have an effect on our society. Apparently sufficient, Asimov wrote the sequence to deal with what he felt was the drained and cliched trope of robotic uprisings (“kill all people” and such!). Unusually, the novel was tailored into the 2004 movie starring Will Smith, which centered on the premise of a robotic rebellion (what bitter irony!)
Clarke’s work earned him the nickname “the prophet of the long run,” a well-deserved moniker! In Islands within the Sky (1952), he introduced the idea of a House Elevator (named Port Goddard and positioned in New Guinea) that permits for normal journeys to area. Rendezvous with Rama presents readers with the idea of an O’Neill Cylinder touring between star methods and presents an in depth idea of extraterrestrials. However his most well-known work is arguably 2001: A House Odyssey, the novel launched concurrently with the movie in 1968.
The movie itself was primarily based on two of Clarke’s quick tales, Encounter within the Daybreak (1953) and The Sentinel (1948), which had been tailored to create the primary two elements of the movie (The Daybreak of Man and Mission to the Moon). These quick tales discover the concepts of first contact between historic people and extraterrestrials (paleocontact) and the invention of an alien artifact on the Moon. This grew to become the idea for The Monolith within the movie, which is liable for influencing the evolution of early hominids. These concepts impressed newer movies like Prometheus, Arrivals, and others that discover paleocontact and first contact.
As Boissier defined, these novels and movies impressed many to get into astronomy, astrophysics, and STEM. “In a recent study, it was proven that 93 % of British skilled astronomers have an curiosity in Science Fiction, and 69 % take into account that Science Fiction influenced their profession or life selection. I’m presenting an analogous examine made for French astronomers, carried out throughout and simply after the 2024 assembly of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Journees 2024 de la SF2A).”
However, after all, the connection between SF and in style media is hardly one-way. After the 2024 SF2A assembly, Boissier met together with his colleague, astronomer Frank Selsis, who shared a couple of examples of how science fiction impressed scientific analysis. “Selsis instructed me after the assembly that creator Laurence Suhner wrote a brief story about an [exoplanet around] TRAPPIST-1 on the similar time of its discovery, the observations being introduced within the journal Nature on the time.”
Selsis, the analysis director of the Exoplanets, CLImates, and Planetary Systems Evolution (ECLIPSE) lab on the College of Bordeaux, was a part of the consortium that exposed the presence of a probably liveable exoplanet round Proxima Centauri (Proxima b) in August 2016. As he associated to Boissier, he was additionally a co-author of a examine impressed by a dialog with Luvan, a French SF creator recognized for her novel Agrapha. Throughout a presentation final yr on the Teich Bird Sanctuary, Selsis spoke as regards to the connection between science fiction and exoplanet analysis (see video above).
Advising SF Writers
As famous, Boissier addresses how science fiction supplies can be utilized as a pedagogical useful resource. Opposite to what many imagine, there are various in style science fiction franchises the place skilled scientists suggested the writers and visible results departments. “Perhaps one of the vital well-known examples is the imagery of the black gap and its accretion disk [in Interstellar], for which precise computations had been carried out,” mentioned Boissier. “Kip Thorne was the advisor for the film. You can find many discussions about it, together with a guide by Thorne himself.”
Kip Thorne’s computational fashions (and Interstellar‘s visuals) had been confirmed in 2019 when the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration launched the first image of a supermassive black hole and its accretion disk. In 2021, the EHT launched the primary picture of the SMBHs on the heart of the Centaurus A galaxy and the radio jet emanating from it. In 2022, they revealed the primary picture of Sagittarius A*, the SMBH on the coronary heart of the Milky Means galaxy! One other instance that Boissier enjoys citing is the TV sequence Futurama, the place astronomer David Schiminovich of Columbia College helped advise one of many present’s creators.
Based on Boissier, this included the 2009 video Into the Wild Inexperienced Yonder, which featured a “violet dwarf star.” This was a transparent reference to the work Schiminovich did with NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) mission, which noticed the Universe between 2003 and 2013 within the ultraviolet wavelength. Additionally, followers of the sequence will recall episodes that featured famous scientists like Stephen Hawking, Invoice Nye, and famous environmentalist Al Gore. It has additionally explored ideas starting from Schrodinger’s Cat, Common Relativity, Lorentz Invariance, the “Grey Goo” situation, and Simulation Principle.
Educating with SF
Along with recognizing how SF has impressed real-life scientists (and vice versa), Boissier additionally explores how SF can be utilized as a pedagogical useful resource. One of many biggest virtues, says Boissier, is the best way SF could make actual science accessible to individuals who would possibly in any other case be intimidated to study it:
“I believe some individuals are not assured sufficient to suppose they’ll observe an astronomy lecture or convention, [whereas] they haven’t any drawback going to the theatre to observe a Science Fiction film. If an astronomer is there to say a couple of phrases about science after the film, we will meet with an viewers that we’d not discover elsewhere. So, to me, you will need to attain extra folks.”
“I’ve seen a presentation by Roland Lehoucq in France that was giving shining examples certainly. As an example, utilizing the Star Wars scene through which lightning flashes from the Emperor’s fingers, he confirmed it’s doable to compute the potential distinction wanted for this impact and the way thick the soles of his footwear should be to keep away from electrocution. And he computed how a lot power is required for lightsabers to chop via a metallic door (it’s loads!). Many books discover most of these issues, normally beginning with “The Science of TITLE HERE”!
Examples embody Kip Thorne’s The Science of Interstellar, Kevin R. Grazier’s The Science of Dune, and Lawrence M. Krauss and Stephen Hawking’s The Physics of Star Trek. Furthermore, utilizing SF to teach folks about science can also be a means of combatting misinformation, which is very vital within the “age of the web,” the place fringe theories have change into extra mainstream. One want look no additional than social media platforms to search out examples, resembling “Flat Earth” idea, Creationism, and conspiracy theories involving vaccinations, election outcomes, and various concepts that exploit ignorance and worry.
To Boissier, this makes educating folks about science, astronomy, and the STEMs (and in a means that’s accessible) extra vital than ever. “To me, it can be crucial as a result of too many individuals are disconnected from science,” he mentioned. “There’s a variety of pretend information and misinformation, together with topics on which science will help residents perceive the world. These are alternatives to carry just a little little bit of science, to speak in regards to the scientific strategies that everyone ought to find out about!”
For extra info on how SF has impressed science and scientists, take a look at this listing from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at the University of Warwick.
Additional Studying: arXiv
