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Dianetics was unveiled to the public in the May 1950 edition of Astounding Science Fiction. Dianetics was the brainchild of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, and became the foundation for scientology toward the end of the decade. Dianetics was marketed as a “scientific” method for mental improvement—a robust alternative to conventional psychia...
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... The easier-to-enunciate "science fiction" became commonly used within a decade. The diverse content of sf is demonstrated in research that samples content from sf magazines (Menadue, 2017b(Menadue, , 2018a(Menadue, , 2018b and identifies sources that might be dismissed from the science fiction canon on a stylistic or literary basis. This indicates a difference between popular and canonical definitions. ...
Researchers employ science fiction and fantasy in public engagement, advocacy, and education as significant sources of insights to identify public interests, inspire public policy, and influence future science. These uses of science fiction as a source that is expected to reflect public interests are undermined if the examples employed by researchers are interpreted differently by the intended audience or beneficiaries of research. We surveyed the public to identify their definitions and discovered a categorization based on clearly defined features. These align with some academic theories but differ from postmodern approaches as the analysis suggests science fiction can be defined categorically. The empirical survey data are consistent and demonstrate an unmistakable distinction between popular definitions of science fiction and fantasy. Our theoretical analysis implies some definitions may be confused by evaluating secondary “fuzzy” characteristics as if they were fundamental features of the genre. We suggest Wittgenstein’s family resemblances, between subjects associated with the genre at any specific time, should be interpreted as an ephemeral grouping validated by correlation with enduring core features, rather than definitive. On the basis of the common themes identified from the survey responses and a critique of existing genre models, we suggest the classical concept of techne may best describe the empirical essence of science fiction. Researchers intending to employ science fiction for applications that have an influence in the public realm may wish to consider this when designing their research.
... The genre appears to have a special relevance for the public as a source of thought experiments and speculation about the way in which people think about the human capacity to bring about change through the use of tools and technology (Menadue, Giselsson, & Guez, 2019). In this regard, it may be regarded as a potent indicator of contemporary popular interests, and mapping of science fiction texts against historical changes in society and culture supports this approach (Menadue, 2017(Menadue, , 2018a(Menadue, , 2018bMenadue, 2019a). It is a genre that has an increasingly broad popularity and influence, with a consumer demographic today that is highly educated, takes an interest in real-world science, and which has come to reflect a less specialised audience than might have been the case in the early 20th Century (Berger, 1977;Menadue & Jacups, 2018). ...
Science fiction includes many dystopian narratives, often featuring epidemics, pandemics, plagues, viruses, and disease. As science fiction has grown in popularity and prevalence it appeals to an increasingly broad demographic, is employed in research communication and education, and as a genre it is frequently argued that it reflects contemporary cultural interests and concerns. To identify the relevance of science fiction as an indicator of popular trends relating to the pathologies of disease, a word frequency comparison of selected key words found in the Google Books 2012 English Corpus has been made to a representative corpus of science fiction magazines dating between 1926 and 2015. Selected issues were reviewed to identify concepts, situations, and outcomes that could readily be measured against real-world examples from current and recent pandemics. The findings indicate that science fiction does appear to mirror and magnify contemporary literary trends, and provides potentially revealing correlations to real-world historical events. In this regard, science fiction might be regarded as a form of ‘cultural pathology’ of popular interests related to the spread and impact of disease that may be valuable in gauging the degree to which society is engaged with these topics at any specific time.
... Science fiction is used for public engagement (Carpenter, 2016;Hansen, 2004;Larsen, 2011;McIntire, 1982;Milner, 2009;Toscano, 2011;Van Dijck, 1999;Wilsing & Akpinar-Wilsing, 2004). Research also relates the evolving content of science fiction to cultural change, concerns and interests (Bina, Mateus, Pereira, & Caffa, 2016;Guerra, 2009;Hollinger, 1999;Hull, 2005;Kohlmann, 2014;Kotasek, 2015;Menadue, 2017bMenadue, , 2018bNerlich, Clarke, & Dingwall, 1999;Parrinder, 2009;Schwartz, 1971). ...
Data from an audience survey on the characteristics of the science fiction and fantasy genres was compared to existing approaches to genre classification to build an alternative genre classification for science fiction based on popular understanding of the genre.
... Science fiction is used for public engagement (Carpenter, 2016;Hansen, 2004;Larsen, 2011;McIntire, 1982;Milner, 2009;Toscano, 2011;Van Dijck, 1999;Wilsing & Akpinar-Wilsing, 2004). Research also relates the evolving content of science fiction to cultural change, concerns and interests (Bina, Mateus, Pereira, & Caffa, 2016;Guerra, 2009;Hollinger, 1999;Hull, 2005;Kohlmann, 2014;Kotasek, 2015;Menadue, 2017bMenadue, , 2018bNerlich, Clarke, & Dingwall, 1999;Parrinder, 2009;Schwartz, 1971). ...
Data from an audience survey on the characteristics of the science fiction and fantasy genres was compared to existing approaches to genre classification to build an alternative genre classification for science fiction based on popular understanding of the genre.
... ImageSorter also reads the first page of a PDF as an image, so laborious extraction of cover images from PDF format archives is not required. Colour sorting offers a method for rapidly filtering images likely to be irrelevant -those that are predominantly black or very dark may indicate scenes in space; white may depict arctic images, and 1 As an example of prior art, a review of Satan's Slaves in the Anglo-Australian counter-culture magazine Oz in 1971(Neville, 1971) referred to claims made that Charles Manson was interested in Scientology, this was linked to a rebuttal notice by the Church of Scientology both in that publication and in a separate review of Satan's Slaves in a science fiction magazinethis describes a three-degree separation from the finding of a first rebuttal letter in the December 1970 edition of Fantastic magazine (Deckard, 1970, p. 129;Menadue, 2018aMenadue, , 2018b. these can be immediately rejected. ...
p>A search for imaginary cities and city-like objects portrayed in twentieth century science fiction magazine cover art employed digital tools and followed a PRISMA methodology for systematic analysis. The findings include a correlation between indigenous peoples being portrayed as possessing less advanced technology than human visitors or human city builders in the tropics. Human cultural tropes are identified in the depiction of indigenous peoples, and trends over time in the increasing sophistication of portrayals, and a decline in gratuitously sexual artwork are visible, which supports findings of other work on changing cultural perceptions of the tropics found in science fiction. Notable themes were the tropics as a place of conflict, simplistic depictions of women, the difference between the portrayal of jungle and desert environments and the colonial mythology perpetuated in cover art over this period. Science fiction cities of the tropics were often still or devoid of life, rather than vibrant, active places. An intriguing finding was that building a filtering model for tropical environments in a science fiction setting leads naturally to a consideration of how the concept of the tropics is based on arbitrary, Earthly, cartographic conventions, which do not exist on other worlds. This difference highlights the value-laden meaning of tropical environments and societies applied by the ‘alien,’ whether European colonist or visiting Earthling, and that the inhabitants of the tropics are not bound by these conventions.</p
... 64). Science fiction has also been found to reflect and track cultural change (Menadue, 2017b(Menadue, , 2018a(Menadue, , 2018b, and the relationship between science and science fiction is one that is becoming more relevant to research as science fiction is increasingly used to enhance research outcomes across many disciplines, most especially for education and advocacy (Menadue & Cheer, 2017). ...
... 64). Science fiction has also been found to reflect and track cultural change (Menadue, 2017b(Menadue, , 2018a(Menadue, , 2018b, and the relationship between science and science fiction is one that is becoming more relevant to research as science fiction is increasingly used to enhance research outcomes across many disciplines, most especially for education and advocacy (Menadue & Cheer, 2017). ...
This article describes findings from an online survey Science Fiction & Fantasy: Your Experiences, launched in November 2015 and closed 1 year later, which received 909 unique responses. The survey identified characteristics of readers of science fiction, their knowledge and experiences of works, authors, and subgenres. It examined their attitudes to science and science fiction and their judgment of the similarity between real and fictional scientists. Contrary to declining reading habits, the science fiction and fantasy audience read consistently high volumes of books, as well as watching genre TV and film. We discovered that reading science fiction and fantasy may have a role in sustained, and cognitively beneficial, adoption of reading by young people and is complementary to other forms of consumption, rather than competitive. Science fiction was also found to be an important influence on the perception and acceptance of science by the public. Implications of this are that science fiction and fantasy are now a normal part of life for a wide range of people, and science fiction has a positive influence on popular interpretation, acceptance, and support of scientific endeavors. These results support earlier work that suggests science fiction is a valuable research tool for public engagement with science.
