Quote:
Originally Posted by David Munch
This. I think many people have a heard time imagining how things will develop, since science has reached a level where most people can't keep up, unless they actively work or study in the field.
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That has always been the case.
As a rule, most technical professionals are one paradigm behind the cutting edge and the general public is at least two paradigms behind.
In the H.G. Wells era the bulk of the populace was still seeing the world in Aristotelian terms and the better educated ones were catching up to Newton and Maxwell.
Look to the early days of SF in the 20's and 30's and you'll find lots of imagination, very little relativity and no Quantum Theory. Trying to build stories off that would've litterally boggled the mind of the editors.
Today, most people remember their High School physics so Newton and Maxwell aren't shocking but they haven't really internalized relativity much less Quantum Mechanics. And the bleeding edge physics theories might as well be magic. (Which might explain the confusion for many.
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One thing SF does for society is that by exploring ideas in narrative fashion it helps people to appreciate and internalize the newer paradigms. The above-mentioned STAR TREK transporters being a very good example. As are the alternate worlds of SLIDERS or the wormholes of STARGATE.
Authors don't really *need* to go far afield to conjure up the sense of wonder of classic SF; they do need enough understanding of the genre and the material they're working with to craft a good *story* out of it.