How science fiction has shaped science
Can science fiction influence science? The answer is yes. Many physicists and astronomers seem to believe in a link between science fiction and reality and several scientists have admitted that their interest in science was inspired by the books of Jules Verne or TV series such as Flash Gordon and Star Trek.
Isn’t the fact that NASA’s first space craft was given the name ‘Enterprise’ another example of how science fiction shapes science?
Furthermore, in 2011 a formal collaboration between NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and a science fiction writer was announced. This partnership led to the publication of Pillar to the Sky by William R. Forstchen.
The theoretical physicist Michio Kaku dealt with the subject of possible science fiction in his book entitled Physics of the Impossible. A scientific exploration of the world of phasers, force fields, teleporting and time travel.
This volume may be considered a way of introducing concepts of physics by using lessons which examine the scientific potential of technologies found in fantasy books and films. It is in fact a bridge between science fiction and reality. Kaku subsequently declared that as a physicist he has ‘learnt that very often ‘impossible’ is a relative term’.
However, what can we do to make young people more interested in science, engineering and technology? This seems like a million dollar question if we consider that thousands of educational experts continue to offer their opinions on the best way to encourage our children to explore these subjects.
Why then not take a step back and venture beyond the rigid boundaries of the pedantics of pedagogy to feed the children’s imaginations just like Flash Gordon did 60 years ago?
We should also note that some of the most popular STEM educational activities stimulate children’s creative and problem-solving abilities by posing challenges. Examples of this are FIRST Lego and VEX Robotics.
It is exactly this approach which led to a video contest at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in 2014 which invited students to think about science in a new way. The challenge consisted of trying to find a scientific basis in the technologies and gadgets used in science fiction.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
