
What sci-fi writers essentially do is to present possible, preferred and even undesirable futures based on trends and indications in the present. Of course, they’re bound to “get it right” sometimes. But, if we reject the view that sci-fi authors predict the future, the few and far-between cases where their visions do materialize begs the age-old question of whether it’s a case of art imitating reality or reality imitating art? The answer is invariably, “yes.” By highlighting the possibilities suggested by current events or circumstances, sci-fi writers often simultaneously describe actual and anticipated realities and sow the seeds for the creation of new realities. In hindsight, these tend to look like accurate predictions, but in actuality they are merely possibilities that, for better or worse, have been realized. At times sci-fi writers have forewarned of the possible negative implications of current actions thereby providing an opportunity to steer events in a different direction. At other times sci-fi writers have suggested new and better ways of doing things that capable scientists and engineers have decided are worth pursuing. Examples of the former include the post-apocalyptic sci-fi that was popularized during the Cold War by authors like Mordecai Roshwald and Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton). Examples of the latter include Isaac Asimov’s Robots stories, the Star Trek “communicator” which influenced the development of the cell phone, and Arthur C. Clarke’s influence on the development of telecommunications.
In their stories, sci-fi writers do not attempt to “predict” the future, and thinking that they do in some way, shape or form, is naïve. Sci-fi writers create realistic representations of possibilities that might or might not transpire. In that endeavor, they have had a significant influence on our social, economic and technological development. However, it should be remembered that when sci-fi writers do seem to “get it right” it is either because someone was inspired to realize their vision or that their warnings were not heeded. As long as we don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the future is merely something that “happens to us” and can therefore be predicted given the right formula (for ex. if we could just get the quirks in Asimov’s “psychohistory” worked out!), sci-fi literature should remind us that the future is a creation to which we all contribute.
Pingback: Qualcomm and X Prize Foundation to award $10 million for functioning medical “tricorder” | Education4site
Pingback: How have schools and classrooms been portrayed in science fiction? | Education4site
Pingback: Could science fiction be used as a data source for educational research? | Education4site