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Scientists used Bayesian network analysis to study how scientific discoveries, especially regarding exoplanets, influence science fiction literature. Their work marks a shift from primarily Earth-like planets in science fiction to more diverse and accurate representations that reflect real-world scientific discoveries since 1995. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Research shows that the discovery of exoplanets has influenced science fiction, leading to more accurate and diverse depictions of these celestial bodies and highlighting the genre’s role in science communication.
An astronomy lesson about binary stars can begin with a series of complex diagrams and data, or even the movie Luke Skywalker looks up into the sky of his home planet Tatooine and sees two suns shining. You can also start with clips from Star Wars. Which one is more likely to arouse the interest of a sleepy high school class?
Science fiction has always captured our attention and, as many scientists claim, science fiction has often been a source of inspiration for scientific careers. For this reason, it is sometimes used to communicate science to the public, and sometimes to convey complex content. To see that this is an effective method, you need to understand how real science is represented in his science fiction.
Here is the new paper published in Science Communication Journal — JCOM used a quantitative methodology capable of analyzing a large corpus of science fiction works (particularly dealing with exoplanets) to show that significant changes in scientific knowledge also correspond to changes in science fiction literature.
The impact of the discovery of exoplanets on science fiction
Emma Johanna Planen, a researcher at the St. Andrews Exoplanet Science Center (University of St. Andrews), colleagues Emily Finer and V. Anne Smith, and the Institute for Space Research ( Christian Herring, Director of IWF. The Austrian Academy of Sciences applied his Bayesian network analysis to a corpus of 142 of his science fiction works, including novels, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and video games.
For their research, scientists chose to investigate representations of extrasolar planets, also known as exoplanets. “They’re kind of universal in science fiction. They’re everywhere. Most stories set in space end up with scenes in space. exoplanet” explains Planen. “Another reason for using exoplanets is that there was a major shift in our scientific understanding when the first exoplanet was discovered around a sun-like star in 1995. .”
Bayesian network methods have enabled quantitative investigations of the subject of science fiction, usually analyzed qualitatively, and often only one work at a time. Bayesian networks represent the features of exoplanets depicted in selected works as nodes in an interconnected network, allowing you to understand how each node influences other nodes.
In practice, you can, for example, determine whether a planet in a particular work is represented as favorable for life, whether and how strongly it affects another property. Because his analyzed science fiction works were distributed over a relatively wide period before and after his 1995, Planen et al. were able to observe that the representation of exoplanets in science fiction changed after that date. I did.
Science fiction: reflecting scientific progress
“Traditionally, science fiction has had its fair share of habitable Earth-like planets,” Planen explains. This obviously makes sense, since these are cultural products created by humans for other humans. “But what has changed since the discovery of real exoplanets is that fictional exoplanets are actually a little less Earth-like.”
In fact, the large number of exoplanets that have actually been observed by science to date largely include planets that are very different from our own, and are located within what scientists define as our habitable zone. It is extremely rare for a known species to be located in conditions that are potentially more friendly to life. This scientific reality pervades science fiction, Planen comments.
“We can speculate that science fiction writers are probably reading all the headlines they see in the media about worlds covered in lava or raining diamonds,” the researchers wrote. Masu.
“I think science fiction is reacting to scientific discoveries. I think this is a reflection of what was going on in science at the time this book was written,” Planen concludes. . “So I think you can incorporate this into science communication in terms of providing a starting point. It can introduce people to the concept.”
The paper “Science fiction media representations of exoplanets: a changing depiction of astronomical discoveries” can be read for free below. Jcom.
References: “Science fiction media representations of exoplanets: Changing depictions of astronomical discoveries” by Emma Johanna Planen, Emily Finer, Christian Herring, and V. Anne Smith, March 4, 2024. science communication journal.
DOI: 10.22323/2.23010204
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