Science Fiction And Me

By Nicholas Losekamp

I am not an accredited author, I am not a scientist, and I am not a literary critic.  I am a college student who loves to read science fiction.  My favorite movies include all of the Star Wars trilogies and the Matrix Trilogy.  One of my favorite books is Frank Herbert’s Dune.  I believe that science fiction not only has a profound and positive effect on our society, but that it is essential to our continued technological advancement.  In this essay I will give you the reasons for this belief. 

            Einstein once said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge” and I agree.  I believe that our ability to imagine is more powerful than any other mental ability we have including reason.  Imagination when combined with reason is an extremely potent tool in our arsenal as human beings.  Science Fiction is a combination of these two powers.  Science Fiction authors create their own images of the future. They look at the world today and then using imagination construct a future that could reasonably occur if the right technology is developed.  This means that it is possible for the things that you read in the book to occur.  I think that society benefits just by putting forth their view of the future.  It enables people who read the book to look forward to the future that is described in it, or to understand how this future came about and take steps to make sure this future does not occur if they don’t like that future.  Science Fiction also has an influence on the future by bringing up possible inventions for the future.  Much of today’s technology has occurred in one form of Science Fiction or another.  H.G. Wells is a prime example of this with his stories about submarines, helicopters, and traveling into space.  Another prominent Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov predicted the invention of robotics. 

            Another thing that I love about Science Fiction is the human element and the commentary on humanity in general that most Science Fiction has.  Take for example the Matrix Trilogy.  In the Matrix after agent Smith captures Morpheus and is interrogating him he tells him about a revelation he had while trying to classify the human race.  He said that humans were not really mammals but rather a virus.  We move from one area consume its resources, multiply, and then move to another area.  This is an interesting idea to consider.  I ask myself whether it is true, and it is a great discussion topic among my friends and I.  In my experience with Science Fiction a Science Fiction movie or novel is never about the science, but more about the people who live in a world in which science plays a major role.  The heroes of Science Fiction novels often have to make tough moral choices.  The odds are stacked against them yet; they are able to overcome them sometimes using the technology, or sometimes-using good old fashioned wits.  Take for example Han Solo.  He does not have the Force or any special power to help him overcome his obstacles, all he has is the knowledge and wits he has accumulated over the years from outsmarting the Empire on smuggling runs.  He is a very human character too.  He is in it for profit originally, but his conscience gets the better of him like it does for many people.  He ends up doing the right thing.  Science Fiction is similar to ancient myths in the way that it is able to provide insight into our way of thinking and our culture.  For this reason it is sometimes called the modern myth. 

            Another great benefit or curse depending on how you look at it created by Science Fiction is its effect on entertainment.  The Science Fiction genre has produced a huge amount of movies.  The majority of my favorite movies are of the Science Fiction genre.  Many of my favorite books are also of the Science Fiction genre.  If you look at it from a purely economic standpoint, Science Fiction benefits society by creating a market for books and movies of this type.  Science Fiction has revolutionized how movies are made because, of the special effects they often use.  The movie I Robot that is based on Isaac Asimov’s book was filmed almost entirely in front of a green screen.  This may be hard on the actors who have to use their imagination, but it also enables the director to better follow the author’s vision.  Science Fiction is often on the cutting edge of visual effects, Industrial Light and Sound was created as a result of the Star Wars movies and has helped to revolutionize the movie industry.  Science Fiction also brings an enjoyable genre to the people.  It has built a fan base around many of its best-known series.  X-Files, Star Trek, and Star Wars are examples of this. 

            Science Fiction has not really influenced my religion that much, but it often gives me a lot to think about.  In Dune:The Machine Crusade the author investigates how people are manipulated by religion in something of a religious crusade.  This crusade is against Thinking Machines or the more commonly used term artificial intelligence.  The leaders of this crusade deliberately manipulate the populace by in many ways creating martyrs.  These martyrs are made out to be almost divine and there are shrines to them on several different planets.  The masterful manipulation of religion is something that is worthy of my thinking about.  This does not change my religious views, but it does open my eyes to possibilities.  Another thing, which I like about Science Fiction, is that it makes me think a lot.  The example of the Matrix earlier in the paper is a good example.  I being a philosophy/political science major am interested in many of the themes and ideas presented in science fiction.  Politics often plays as important a role as science does.  The interaction between different species and within our own species is fun to think about. 

            In conclusion, I would like to salute the actual scientists who are making Science Fiction reality.  Especially, those on the cutting edge who push the limits of science.  Each technological breakthrough builds off of previous breakthroughs.  Science Fiction is the way of seeing what could occur because of those breakthroughs.  I hope to look back 50 years from now and see that I was right when I said that Science Fiction is the future.