Glossary Entry: Hard / Soft Science Fiction
Quick Definition
Science fiction is a very broad genre that encompasses all sorts of interesting tales. However, since different stories take different approaches to dealing with super-science, fans of science fiction have created a "scale" of science fiction hardness.
The idea is simple: the "harder" a science fiction series is, the more it adheres to modern day science. Or to put it another way, soft science fiction allows the laws of physics to be ignored in favor of a fun story, while hard science fiction tells its story using realistic limitations.
If you want an easy way to tell "hard" and "soft" science fiction apart, just look at how space travel is depicted. Things like faster-than-light travel, "subspace", food replicators, artificial gravity, "shields", and teleporters are all hallmarks of soft science fiction, as all of them ignore the laws of physics to various degrees.
Keep in mind that there's no "right" or "wrong" here. Some people prefer soft science fiction, others prefer hard science fiction. Personally, I think it's all good in its own way.
The idea is simple: the "harder" a science fiction series is, the more it adheres to modern day science. Or to put it another way, soft science fiction allows the laws of physics to be ignored in favor of a fun story, while hard science fiction tells its story using realistic limitations.
If you want an easy way to tell "hard" and "soft" science fiction apart, just look at how space travel is depicted. Things like faster-than-light travel, "subspace", food replicators, artificial gravity, "shields", and teleporters are all hallmarks of soft science fiction, as all of them ignore the laws of physics to various degrees.
Keep in mind that there's no "right" or "wrong" here. Some people prefer soft science fiction, others prefer hard science fiction. Personally, I think it's all good in its own way.
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