science

Science Fiction and Futurology

Science Fiction and Futurology is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Science Fiction and Futurology rather than just read about it. In short: Science Fiction and Futurology (Polish: Fantastyka i futurologia) is a monograph of Stanisław Lem about science fiction and futurology, first printed by Wydawnictwo Literackie in 1970. The official Lem website describes the book as a triple feature: an attempt to create a theory of the genre, a self-interpretation of Lem's own works, and a review of the world's science fiction, "a yet another Lem's General Theory of…

Key takeaways

Science Fiction and Futurology belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Science Fiction and Futurology to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Science Fiction and Futurology from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Science Fiction and Futurology (Polish: Fantastyka i futurologia) is a monograph of Stanisław Lem about science fiction and futurology, first printed by Wydawnictwo Literackie in 1970. The official Lem website describes the book as a triple feature: an attempt to create a theory of the genre, a self-interpretation of Lem's own works, and a review of the world's science fiction, "a yet another Lem's General Theory of Everything - everything related to science fiction and its role in human knowledge acquisition". In the book, Lem reviews and classifies works of over 400 science fiction writers. The book was acutely critical of Western science fiction. As Lem wrote, "SF became a vulgar mythology of a technological civilization.... This monograph is an expression of my personal utopia, my longing for better SF, the one that should be." In the 1972 edition the criticism was somewhat softened, in particular, in the judgement of the works of Philip K. Dick. Lem confessed that his opinion about Philip K. Dick was based on limited knowledge of his works, not the best ones.

Contents (Omitting forewords and afterwords)

Volume 1. Structures I. The language of a literary work II. The world of a literary work (chapter changed since the second edition of 1972) III. Structures of literary creation IV. From structuralism to traditional criticism V. Sociology of science fiction

Volume 2. Problem Fields of Science Fiction I. Catastrophe II. Robots and people III. Outer space and science fiction IV. Metaphysics of science fiction and futurology of faith V. Erotics and sex VI. Man and superman VII. Remanent Lem writes that before starting with the two last huge subjects of the book, he would like to briefly dwell upon a large number of topics not covered in the book. Some of them, such as horror in science fiction and space opera, are only mentioned in passing. The section analyzes some motives of "biological" science fiction, the ones, in Lem's opinion, having gnoseological value, only briefly reviewing the subject of fictional mutants of various types, ranging from post-apocalyptic to experiments of mad scientists. VIII. Experiment in science fiction. From Bradbury to "New Wave" IX. Utopia and futurology

References

Further reading "Igraszki i powinności fantastyki naukowej", an afterword by Jerzy Jarzębski about the book

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Science Fiction and Futurology

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Science Fiction and Futurology claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Science Fiction and Futurology before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Science Fiction and Futurology ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Science Fiction and Futurology

In research: Science Fiction and Futurology appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Science Fiction and Futurology in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Science Fiction and Futurology is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1970 non-fiction books, Books about literary theory, Books of literary criticism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Science Fiction and Futurology outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Science Fiction and Futurology in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Science Fiction and Futurology means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Science Fiction and Futurology out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Science Fiction and Futurology in simple terms?

Why does Science Fiction and Futurology matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Science Fiction and Futurology?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Science Fiction and Futurology.