Hard science fiction  

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-'''Hard science fiction''' is a category of [[science fiction]] characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both.+ 
 +'''Hard science fiction''' is a category of [[science fiction]] characterized by an emphasis on scientific accuracy or technical detail or both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by [[P. Schuyler Miller]] in a review of [[John W. Campbell, Jr.]]'s ''[[Islands of Space]]'' in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]''. first appeared in the late 1970s. The term is formed by analogy to the popular distinction between the "hard" ([[natural science|natural]]) and "soft" ([[social science|social]]) sciences. Science fiction critic [[Gary Westfahl]] argues that neither term is part of a rigorous [[Taxonomy (general)|taxonomy]]; instead they are approximate ways of characterizing stories that reviewers and commentators have found useful.
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 +Stories revolving around scientific and technical consistency were written as early as the 1870s with the publication of [[Jules Verne]]'s ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]'' in 1870 and ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days]]'' in 1873, among other stories. The attention to detail in Verne's work became an inspiration for many future scientists and explorers, although Verne himself denied writing as a scientist or seriously predicting machines and technology of the future.
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 +Today, the term "soft science fiction" is also often used to refer to science fiction stories which lack any scientific focus or rigorous adherence to known science. The categorization "hard science fiction" represents a position on a broad continuum—ranging from "softer" to "harder".
 + 
 +==See also==
 +*[[Hard fantasy]]
 +*[[Hard and soft science]]
 +*[[Interstellar travel in fiction]]
 +*[[Mundane science fiction]]
 +*[[Soft science fiction]]
 + 
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Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific accuracy or technical detail or both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science Fiction. first appeared in the late 1970s. The term is formed by analogy to the popular distinction between the "hard" (natural) and "soft" (social) sciences. Science fiction critic Gary Westfahl argues that neither term is part of a rigorous taxonomy; instead they are approximate ways of characterizing stories that reviewers and commentators have found useful.

Stories revolving around scientific and technical consistency were written as early as the 1870s with the publication of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea in 1870 and Around the World in Eighty Days in 1873, among other stories. The attention to detail in Verne's work became an inspiration for many future scientists and explorers, although Verne himself denied writing as a scientist or seriously predicting machines and technology of the future.

Today, the term "soft science fiction" is also often used to refer to science fiction stories which lack any scientific focus or rigorous adherence to known science. The categorization "hard science fiction" represents a position on a broad continuum—ranging from "softer" to "harder".

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Hard science fiction" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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