Scientists and Sci-Fi

One of the most difficult challenges of writing a detailed hard sci-fi setting is making sure you get the science right. Not being a scientist, this usually means turning to the internet for research, which is always a risky proposition. A lot of the information you find is incomplete, muddled, or outdated. Take wikipedia, for example — for some reason most of their science articles are either skimpy or so thick with science-speak that you need a degree to understand it.

What would be really useful is to gather scientists who are fans of science fiction and who don’t mind educating the public. Put them all on the same forums online, and invite sci-fi writers to come and ask questions. Who knows, it could spark some interesting ideas and discussions. Unfortunately, it would rely on the willingness of scientists to take the time to do this, and they’re usually far too busy doing, y’know, science. But I can dream.