The Science of Fiction

No big surprise that there is an increasing presence of actual science in today's fiction. By fiction, I mean those outside of science fiction, also. In fact, science and information are becoming more in demand mainly because asking "why" does not really signify an elevated intelligence in people as a group, but a modern fad. Because of shows like Theater 3000 and various internet and media clowns poking fun at illogical plots and things, directors have no choice if they want to remain credible. Neither do writers. But you won't find total science because that would be boring.

Pseudo-science seems to be a key thing in the later forms of fiction I see. It seems to engage a persons imagination by conjuring up a pseudo-reality. Things like Pokemon. Ridiculous as it sounds, there was a psuedo-science to that show. It focused around the inherent polarity between certain elements, the rather chess-like dissemination of each piece and their inherent abilities clashing with another. World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons is also a big one. Because of the fledgling science in the beginning, it spawned an empire. Boys and girls partial to that type of fun can literally spend hours working over the various ways hit-points interact with bonus stats and how bonuses are gained and lost and effective ways to counter and disable opponents with status buffs and debuffs. There's a chemistry that just engages the imagination with fictional structure. Any video game relies on this as well. The video game gets you to believe in it's variable systems. First is orientation with them, then familiarization, and than comes innovation. People become so observant of these rules that they begin to find loopholes and formula's where the designers did not anticipate, leading to hacks and the like.

You see tidbits of it in other places. They shallow into other sciences like psychology, astronomy, and the like to give a particular...thing...a sense of depth. They also create their own like Naruto's Summoning jutsu or Sage Arts. Superman and the X-men employ common pseudo-sciences. Guess what science was premier in their times? Got it? Nuclear power, or radiation. Superman and the X-men and various other superheroes get their power from nuclear forces. You might say that fiction and science have always followed one another. Even the Bible transforms over time to accommodate basic scientific reality. The proverbial willow, a fiction that taks itself too seriously cannot be seen as too over-the-top or the willow snaps. Instead, it yields. It may even draw on the power of science to strengthen its own fictions. I have seen various "scientific" explanations of the bible's rather questionable events. I expected preachers to unanimously point to that fire-tornado in Australia as proof that God made such things in the past.

I love the science in fiction, even if it is pseudo-science. It just lets you have fun with the impossible and then build upon it. Robert Jordan's magic system gives you the basic rules of the Power and aside from his own narration, you can begin to imagine just what other things could be done based on those rules and the combination of natural Power with the magical objects that amplify it in that story. How the cycle of souls in reincarnation plays into the whole Wheel of Time thing and wondering if the ability of the Power moves with the soul or with the body itself.

Science observes the set laws of a thing or process. Science is the study of nature. A person who lies pseudo-science could very well like practical, real-life science and, like Guitar Hero, I wonder what would such people become if they used the energy and mental dedication they give towards immersive games like WoW, DaD, Oblivion, etc...and poured them into physics, aviation, astronomy, and biology? I suppose one is a lot less stressful than the other. But I found it odd how, in order to create a great fiction, you would likel still have to rely on adhering to basic structures...basic rules of its nature.