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       Science fiction is a literary 
            genre based on scientific speculation. Works of science fiction use 
            the ideas and the vocabulary of all sciences to create valid narratives 
            that explore the future effects of science on events and human beings. 
            Science Fact and Science Fiction examines in one volume how science 
            has propelled science-fiction and, to a lesser extent, how science 
            fiction has influenced the sciences. Although coverage will discuss 
            the science behind the fiction from the Classical Age to the present, 
            focus is naturally on the 19th century to the present, when the Industrial 
            Revolution and spectacular progress in science and technology triggered 
            an influx of science-fiction works speculating on the future. As scientific 
            developments alter expectations for the future, the literature absorbs, 
            uses, and adapts such contextual visions. The goal of the Encyclopedia 
            is not to present a catalog of sciences and their application in literary 
            fiction, but rather to study the ongoing flow andcounterflow of influences, 
            including how fictional representations of science affect how we view 
            its practice and disciplines. Although the main focus is on literature, 
            other forms of science fiction, including film and video games, are 
            explored and, because science is an international matter, works from 
            non-English speaking countries are discussed as needed.
       
          
      Published by Routledge, 
            September 2006 
            ISBN: 0-415-97460-7
       
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