I am not arguing here. I really like your summing up. Especially the statement that the more modifications to known science, the more it approaches fantasy. Not sure I have seen it put that clearly.
While I enjoy the hard science fiction, and even some fantasy - think Asprin’s MYTH series - I don’t like the full out fantasy. At some point it crosses a line into fairy tale. Prefer 100% elf free stuff (now, where did that reference come from?).
The way I have described this to others is that “real” science fiction allows for one broken rule. The plot then examines the impact of that modification. I think it was Asimov that said good scifi does not predict the invention of the car, it predicts the traffic jam, or parking lots.
When reading a story or watching a movie I am willing to suspend my disbelief to a certain point. If you ask me to ignore too many things, then I stop enjoying the book or movie. And this applies to every genre, not just scifi.
And so, logical advancements in engineering or application of existing technology needs to be accommodated into the definition somehow. Maybe even logical advancements in culture. I certainly have read some scifi that justs assumes society continues as it is.
Then we need to add the alternative history stuff into the definition. It was ages ago, but I remember reading Gingrich’s story on WWII and Germany perfecting the jet airplane, and what that would have done to history. That was logical advancements turned into alt history.
Of course, then we approach towards stuff that is not considered scifi at all, like Clancy. I look to his stuff as scifi, alt hist category. But it is generally just considered a basic novel. Now why is that? Why is “action/adventure” not scifi in some cases?
Nice chatting with you.
For me, if it is internally logical, I can suspend disbelief for the duration of the story. I think most readers may even skim the technical parts of some novels and simply accept the premises.
bump
I always thought a good sci-fi story could come from everyone living in tall towers, shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, schools are all in the towers, all towers connected by bridges, some nice and some ghetto. Going outside being a very rare thing, might even be illegal depending on the story.