Context and Accuracy in Real vs Fictional Worlds
Sometimes I'm a bit amazed at how different people react to matters of Context and Accuracy in Real vs Fictional Worlds.
If I (as a writer) am less than accurate in details about real world subjects in the worlds my characters inhabit there is bound to be a reader who will think I'm an idiot even if they don't say it. As a writer it's my job to do the research to make the context my characters live in as believable as possible. This is what helps the reader suspend disbelief while reading.
On the other hand, in the real world, politicians and activists have no such restriction regarding the performance of adequate research.
If Stephen Hawking states his opinion that there is no god, many people accept his opinion as scientific fact when it isn't. Unless I'm mistaken personal opinion isn't quite the same thing as a scientifically proven fact, no matter how famed the person stating the opinion.
Science is about facts that can be demonstrated, tests / experiments that are repeatable, and rational explanations. So far there are many mysteries in science where some matters are left alone (for now) because humans don't have either the tools or the ability to test for certain things.
As a rule an honest scientist will tell you "As a scientist I can't say it's impossible for 'X' to exist, because there is no way of proving that at present." When it comes to topics deities, life after death, singularities (i.e.: black holes), the true nature of reality, a multi-verse vs a discrete single universe an honest scientist will tell you these are topics we can't truly know the answers to, yet.
Oddly enough many (if not most) politicians have no need or desire to be honest on any topic that might advance their careers. Free Trade bills will be promoted as bringing jobs and prosperity to the masses even when the reverse is true. FBI statistics show that since 1993 crime has been going down, yet politicians tout the need for more privatized prisons and draconian laws to fight the 'long-term rise in crime rates'.
There is nothing quite as inaccurate as someone saying "Well, everyone knows..." because often enough that person has been given inaccurate information and not taken the time to verify it. Sometimes authors get accused of pulling something out of a smelly nether region when they are actually accurate.
So next time you read something in a speculative fiction book you suspect is wrong, take the time to do the research to verify whether the author is wrong or not. The truth is the reality we live in is quite often stranger than fiction.
The singularity referred to by physicists and astronomers alike is a placeholder for something they (and the rest of us) don't understand, yet.
If I (as a writer) am less than accurate in details about real world subjects in the worlds my characters inhabit there is bound to be a reader who will think I'm an idiot even if they don't say it. As a writer it's my job to do the research to make the context my characters live in as believable as possible. This is what helps the reader suspend disbelief while reading.
On the other hand, in the real world, politicians and activists have no such restriction regarding the performance of adequate research.
If Stephen Hawking states his opinion that there is no god, many people accept his opinion as scientific fact when it isn't. Unless I'm mistaken personal opinion isn't quite the same thing as a scientifically proven fact, no matter how famed the person stating the opinion.
Science is about facts that can be demonstrated, tests / experiments that are repeatable, and rational explanations. So far there are many mysteries in science where some matters are left alone (for now) because humans don't have either the tools or the ability to test for certain things.
As a rule an honest scientist will tell you "As a scientist I can't say it's impossible for 'X' to exist, because there is no way of proving that at present." When it comes to topics deities, life after death, singularities (i.e.: black holes), the true nature of reality, a multi-verse vs a discrete single universe an honest scientist will tell you these are topics we can't truly know the answers to, yet.
Oddly enough many (if not most) politicians have no need or desire to be honest on any topic that might advance their careers. Free Trade bills will be promoted as bringing jobs and prosperity to the masses even when the reverse is true. FBI statistics show that since 1993 crime has been going down, yet politicians tout the need for more privatized prisons and draconian laws to fight the 'long-term rise in crime rates'.
There is nothing quite as inaccurate as someone saying "Well, everyone knows..." because often enough that person has been given inaccurate information and not taken the time to verify it. Sometimes authors get accused of pulling something out of a smelly nether region when they are actually accurate.
So next time you read something in a speculative fiction book you suspect is wrong, take the time to do the research to verify whether the author is wrong or not. The truth is the reality we live in is quite often stranger than fiction.
The singularity referred to by physicists and astronomers alike is a placeholder for something they (and the rest of us) don't understand, yet.
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Ellen
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Dec 15, 2014 06:21AM
I agree that the real world is often stranger than fictional worlds. That seems to be the idea behind all the strange stories that begin with "based on a true story..."
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