Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's Islands of Space, and the complementary term soft science fiction, formed by analogy to the popular distinction between the hard natural sciences and the soft social sciences, first appeared in the late 1970s; Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, built on mathematical sociology, is among the examples generally considered hard science fiction, though critic Gary Westfahl argues that neither term forms part of a rigorous taxonomy, functioning instead as approximate ways of characterizing stories that reviewers and commentators have found useful.
Facts
Place of OriginThe term was coined in 1957 by critic P. Schuyler Miller, in a review of John W. Campbell's Islands of Space published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine. 1 Notable ExampleArthur C. Clarke is named among the genre's most influential writers. 1 Defining TraitA category of science fiction defined by its concern for scientific accuracy and logical rigor. 1 Connections
Sources
1. Hard Science Fiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)lead paragraph, first sentence
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic.
lead paragraph, on the term's 1957 coinage by P. Schuyler Miller
The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's Islands of Space in the November issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
body text naming Arthur C. Clarke as an influential hard science fiction writer
Arthur C. Clarke, one of the most influential writers of hard science fiction
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