Andrew Robie - Relation to Science lyrics

Having established a definition for science fiction—literature that takes liberties with current knowledge, but doesn't disregard it—we can begin to consider how this relates to science and why the genre may influence scientific discovery and advancement in ways genres like fantasy and non-scientific fiction don't. By acknowledging that people can understand principles of nature, but that this understanding is mutable, science fiction sets itself as a possible alternative to what we currently know (Turning Points 33). Like the scientific method, science fiction authors create and test a hypothesis which may or may not be correct. However, the method of testing is where science fiction and science differ. Science tests these hypotheses in a laboratory while science fiction tests the outcomes of such hypotheses in a fictitious world. The knowledge that this hypothesis may be correct based on current knowledge is what links science and science fiction. Were the hypothesis truly impossible based on current knowledge, such as the existence of magic, the story would be fantasy rather than science fiction. One interesting idea brought up by Geffe is the academic view of scientific knowledge's mutability (Turning Points 177). Prior to certain revolutionary ideas in modern culture, specifically the Michelson-Morley experiments which disproved Aether theory and let to Einstein's theory of relativity—the second of these revolutionary ideas— Geffe states that scientific knowledge was thought of as fixed, with any aberrations being fantasy. Geffe a**erts that after these ideas revolutionized scientific knowledge the scientific establishment became more open to theory-shifting hypotheses, going so far as to say “heresy is becoming a way of life, because it pays off” (Turning Points 176). While this idea is refuted by others, such as Campbell, it potentially ties in with the popularization of science fiction (Turning Points 184). While the Michelson-Morley experiments are less well known, Einstein's theory of relativity is globally famous, with almost everyone knowing of it, though not necessarily the specifics. This theory was similarly well known to the public when it was first accepted by the scientific community (“People and Discoveries”). These two experiments, brought to attention in 1887 and 1905 respectively, coincide with the publication of H. G. Wells' most famous works in the late 1890s, which were probably the first works viewed as science fiction at or around the time of their publication. So even if, as Campbell a**erts, the scientific establishment is no more open to new ideas, the news that the laws of science were mutable could have set the stage for the public's interest in science fiction. By making it clear that scientific knowledge was not set in stone, Michelson, Morley, and Einstein, established the very framework for science fiction: the exploration of possible futures based on changes in technology or scientific knowledge. This trend has continued, as discussed previously, with new advances in science allowing for new explorations in science fiction, and science fiction, in turn, has offered new hypotheses for especially curious scientists to test.