Hard science fiction

Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAR : Hard science fiction

Hard science fiction, or hard SF, is a subgenre of science fiction characterized by an interest in scientific detail or accuracy, being the opposite of soft science fiction. It is one of several science fiction themes.

There is a great deal of disagreement among readers and writers over what exactly constitutes an interest in scientific detail. Many hard SF stories focus on the natural sciences and technological developments, but many others leave technology in the background. Others contend that if the technology is left in the background it is an example of soft science fiction. Another distinction within the genre revolves around portrayals of the human condition. Some authors seek to reflect technical accuracy within an advanced, nearly utopian society in which mankind has attained victory over most human ills; while others seek to portray the impact of technology on the human race with human defects still firmly in place and sometimes even magnified.

Some authors scrupulously eschew such implausibilities as faster-than-light travel, while others accept such plot devices but focus on realistically depicting the worlds that such a technology might make accessible; the hard SF writer is permitted to foresee the automobile provided that he also foresees the traffic jam.

In hard science fiction, the main characters are usually working scientists, engineers, military personnel, or astronauts. Character development is often secondary to explorations of astronomical or physical phenomena, but some authors foreground the human condition or the idea that individuals will have different values and ways of life in future societies where technological and economic circumstances have changed. Even in such cases, however, a common trope of hard SF hinges the resolution of the plot on a technological point.

Hard science fiction writers usually attempt to make their stories consistent with known science at the time of publication (which also means that to later audiences their knowledge may be obviously incomplete; some older works depict astronauts walking on Venus in street clothes). Even when writing hard SF set in alternate universes where different physical laws apply, authors still attempt to create an internally consistent set of physical laws.

Hard SF authors

Well-known authors often said to be practitioners of hard SF include;

Miscellaneous

An example of a web-based hard science fiction project (where many people contribute different pieces of what becomes a coherent story) is Orion's Arm.

A fan organization that has grown up around Hard Science Fiction is General Technics, populated by scientists, technical folks, and others with a specific interest in this area. General Technics' name is taken from the organization that created a global-scale computer in John Brunner's novel, Stand on Zanzibar. General Technics, though concentrated in the American Midwest, has a global membership.

External links

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