The last century will be remembered as a landmark in several different fronts of human history. The political and societal turmoils resulted in cultural changes all around the globe. This troubled background served as a stage for unprecedented growth in science and technology… and, jointly, science fiction.
Today, we will discuss the century of science and how it affected fiction. And vice-versa.
This is the Science of Fiction.
Science in the 20th century
The principles of science, as we understand it today, were not invented in the 20th century but became the standard then. Science is widely recognized as the rational, impartial study of nature, unencumbered by emotions or opinions. Most scientists active today were taught this is what science is (or should be) and are teaching the same.
Historically, this sharp separation between science and every other aspect of human life is a unique product of the 20th century (with a margin of error of a decade or so). If a modern person traveled to a distant past to meet some of the great names in science from a few centuries ago, this person would hardly recognize their practice as scientific. Occult speculation and personal beliefs played a huge role in the investigation of nature.
During the 20th century, the philosophy that science is beyond earthly concerns prevailed, despite it playing a decisive role in the three major wars of the century (WWI, WWII, and the Cold War). Or perhaps because of it…
Surely, this strict view backfired in the 21st century, when scientists started to push for scientific solutions for modern problems (think climate change, for example). Science “suddenly” became political, contrary to the 20th-century idea that it should remain above or apart from these issues.
What changed? Did science lose its heavenly rationale and succumb to sinful human concerns? In actuality, science was never apolitical, despite the pragmatic guidelines scientists have adhered to. The change was from science being a passive player to an active one.
In the 20th century, science was used as a tool, and scientists were excused from the responsibilities of its use. This tradition later became known as the “shut up and calculate” philosophy. But now, people have realized that science-based decisions are more desirable than science-based consequences.
Anyway, when, in the last century, scientists abdicated from speculating about the consequences and possibilities of their science in a broader spectrum of human affairs, it opened the way for others to do so, namely, sci-fi authors.
Sci-fi in the 20th century
In hindsight, tales featuring aspects resembling scientific ideas and technology are as old as storytelling itself. These so-called proto-sci-fi are the precursor of what we know science fiction to be. The modern interpretation of the genre arguably started with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, followed by those whose names we all know, Jules Vernes and H.G.Wells.
The pulp magazines famous in the 1920s helped to boost the genre to a wider audience, and it is undeniable that science fiction shined during the 20th century. It progressed paralleled to the scientific boom, with big authors drawing inspiration from the discussions to craft the most inventive stories.
And, like it or not, in many cases, the sci-fi writers were the first to debate the implications of scientific propositions to the human future (see, for example, Cautionary Tales: A Reflection). Some denounced the dangers and misconceptions of technological and scientific endeavors, pitching stories with people against machines, aliens, corrupt governments, or ill-intended companies.
Other times, science fiction was overtly used as propaganda for political enterprises, like the ones that later became part of the “Atoms for Peace,” an initiative to redirect public attention from nuclear weapons to more peaceful uses of nuclear energy put forward by the president of the US at the time, Dwight D. Eisenhower. I think we can add military sci-fi in this propaganda category as well.
Sci-fi writers were allowed to be creative and explore scenarios scientists could not touch for fear of tainting their science. In many cases, science fiction brought awareness to issues previously undiscussed by scientists, like the possibility of contamination during space exploration (I wrote about it here). And, of course, let’s not forget about the rise of cli-fi and the warnings about climate change.
Science fiction benefited from the wonders of the scientific revolution of the last century, but it also helped to give voice to this detached model of science.
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That’s it for today, folks.
Would you like to hear more about the sci-fi propaganda for the Atoms for Peace initiative? Should I write more about cli-fi? Let me know in the comments.
See you next post,
Ra.
Carla Ra is a scientist by day, sci-fi writer by night.
You can check out her anthology ARTIFICIAL REBELLION here.
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