Quote:
Originally Posted by tHeFiRsTiDioT
N00b question, but how do you define true hard sci-fi?
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Hard Science Fiction, as opposed to other kinds (and not to suggest the other kinds are any less worthy of reading) has to, imho meet a couple of criteria.
1. Science has to be somehow integral to the plot. This does not necessarily mean that Hard Science Fiction can only be about the science, but rather the science presented in the story has to be a necessary ingredient to the story (i.e. if you can replace your spaceships with cop cars, air force fighters or ships at sea and the story still essentially makes sense, and those are the Science Fiction elements in your story, then you don't have Hard SF.).
2. The science that is a necessary ingredient to the story has to accurate to the best knowledge of the writer of the story (At the very least a plausible extrapolation of known science). In other words, if you are writing now, you can't have ships simply accelerate past the speed of light, but you could have if you were writing in the 19th century. Now this does not necessarily mean that every piece of science in the story has to be 100% accurate; certain elements like FTL drives tend to be gimmies simply because they allow the characters to get to the spot of the action.
As a general rule, most science fiction is not Hard Science Fiction. Not saying it isn't good, just that it isn't Hard Science Fiction.
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Bill