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Do you think science fiction can actually popularize new ideas in science & technology? Why or why not?

I don't think so because so many people are so engrossed entertainment and nobody cares anymore.

I also don't think it's true in general except for probably in some "rock-hard" science fiction novels (those with pages of references to textbooks or research papers). On the other hand, science fictions often encourage us to imagine a world vastly changed by technological innovations and question our own assumptions on what things "should be", so possibly it can in some sense prepare people for the future.

Yeah... Some of H.G. Wells stuff might influence people... I guess there isn't really any way to create time machines or become invisible.....

Xdyj wrote: "Do you think science fiction can actually popularize new ideas in science & technology? Why or why not?"

Yes! Of course. When authors and writers come up with some cool, sci-fi, technology, you give scientists a possibility and idea that says, "That might actually work." This is especilaly when the imagined technology has to do with the enviroment or medical breathrough.

What fiction does for real science is normalise new concepts and reduce community resistance to new research or developments.

I think it was in one of Ray Bradbury's obituaries that said he dreamed it, so that we could do it. I do know that when Robert Heinlein died, they held a memorial service for him at NASA Greenbelt. All those rocket scientists got into the field because they read Heinlein. No, never doubt the power of the imagination. My favorite Sondheim lyric: You watch, while I revise the world.

I agree. I think a significant contribution of science fiction & popular science writing is encouraging people esp. kids to go into science & engineering.

I hadn't thought of it that way before, but of course you are both right, and the more people in a field who are passionate, then the greater chance of success .

I would say "no" in, not in a direct way. I think art imitates life. What it does, maybe better than other Genre or category other than Epic (or Medieval) Fantasy, is Celebrates creative imagination. Celebrating being able or willing to think outside of the box encourages creativity in those who can see dreams and magic in the night sky or dragons in drifting clouds on an ocean of blue sky.

So the crazy madness found in the books we read mated with the joy an fearless sense of adventure in those who read fiction give value to dreaming and thinking.

When dreaming and thinking, searching and adventuring, and using your imagination has an tangible value, that fosters creative thinking.

The skill of using your mind to create things that have never been seen, to imagine things done that have never been done, is a skill that helps everywhere, not just in technological advancements.

This skill helps in business and medicine, culinary arts and construction as well as Science and engineering.

A society that values creative expression in all of arts most basic ways will always continue to grow and adapt. This is why supporting "The Arts" is so important. If we place no value on developing the Fundamentals of Creativity then how can we expect anyone to have what it takes to develope the more complex skills needed to solve life's daily puzzles.

How can a building stand without a ground floor?

The line between Arthur C. Clarke's fact & fiction was pretty thin at times, wasn't it? Isn't he credited with coming up for the idea of stationary satellite orbits & some other different space ideas?

Exactly where the line is drawn on ideas is hazy. Apple sued somebody, maybe Sony, for stealing their design for the iPad. The other company countered with the defense that Apple swiped the idea from Kubrick's movie of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The pictures of the pads the astronauts used is amazingly similar.

I think in Grumbles from the Grave there was an essay about 20 predictions that Robert A. Heinlein made, which ones came true & what didn't. It was interesting, but it's been too many years for me to remember specifics. I do know that the roads don't roll & aren't likely to, but I thought it was a cool idea.

Isaac Asimov was a scientist, teacher, & published books in almost every major section of the Dewey Decimal system. No one could even begin to calculate how much influence he had on science today. His 'Three Laws of Robotics' are actually being used as they build AI systems, aren't they? He's an icon in many fields.

Horace wrote: "The line between Arthur C. Clarke's fact & fiction was pretty thin at times, wasn't it? Isn't he credited with coming up for the idea of stationary satellite orbits & some other different space id..."

        Yes, Clarke published an article about the use of satellites in geostationary orbit. See for links to his original letter and article outlineing the idea.

Thanks, Stephen. I knew Clarke was ahead of his time, but hadn't remembered it was 2 decades early. That's amazing.

Here are Heinlein's predictions. They're interesting, although this isn't the set I was referring to.

Horace wrote: "Thanks, Stephen. I knew Clarke was ahead of his time, but hadn't remembered it was 2 decades early. That's amazing.

Here are Heinlein's predictions. They're interesting, although this isn't the..."

Yeah, it seems that he over-estimated the accomplishment of space programs but he was completely right wrt cellphones, contraception, psychoanalysis & the eastern bloc. :)

Neat article but does overlook quite a few things like waldos (robot arms so widely used in industry), ereaders/digital books, and stadium sized churches with state of the art entertainment systems that featured in a lot of his work—just immediately to mind examples.