Editing Science fiction (section)

==Definitions==
{{Main|Definitions of science fiction}}
According to [[Isaac Asimov]], "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology."<ref name=IANH>{{Cite journal |title=How Easy to See the Future! |journal=[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History]] |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=April 1975|issue=4 |volume=84 |pages=92 |via=Internet Archive |publisher=[[American Museum of Natural History]] |location=New York |issn=0028-0712 |url=https://archive.org/details/naturalhistory84newy/page/n379/mode/1up?view=theater}}</ref> 

[[Robert A. Heinlein]] wrote that "A handy short [[definition]] of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate [[knowledge]] of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the [[scientific method]]."<ref name="heinlein def"/>

American science fiction author and editor [[Lester del Rey]] wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction."<ref name="The World of Science Fiction 1926–1976" />

Another definition comes from ''The Literature Book'' by [[DK (publisher)|DK]] and is, "scenarios that are at the time of writing technologically impossible, extrapolating from present-day science...[,]...or that deal with some form of speculative science-based conceit, such as a society (on Earth or another planet) that has developed in wholly different ways from our own."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Canton |first1=James |title=The Literature Book |last2=Cleary |first2=Helen |last3=Kramer |first3=Ann |last4=Laxby |first4=Robin |last5=Loxley |first5=Diana |last6=Ripley |first6=Esther |last7=Todd |first7=Megan |last8=Shaghar |first8=Hila |last9=Valente |first9=Alex |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4654-2988-9 |location=New York |page=343}}</ref>

There is a tendency among science fiction enthusiasts as their own arbiter in deciding what exactly constitutes science fiction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Menadue|first1=Christopher Benjamin|last2=Giselsson|first2=Kristi|last3=Guez|first3=David|date=1 October 2020|title=An Empirical Revision of the Definition of Science Fiction: It Is All in the Techne . . .|journal=SAGE Open|language=en|volume=10|issue=4|page=2158244020963057|doi=10.1177/2158244020963057|s2cid=226192105|issn=2158-2440|doi-access=free}}</ref> David Seed says it may be more useful to talk about science fiction as the intersection of other more concrete subgenres.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Seed|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zUOFPjeUcF8C&q=hard+soft+science+fiction&pg=PP1|title=Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction|date=23 June 2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-955745-5|language=en}}</ref> [[Damon Knight]] summed up the difficulty, saying "Science fiction is what we point to when we say it."<ref name="In Search of Wonder: Essays on Modern Science Fiction"/>

===Alternative terms===
{{Further|Skiffy}}
[[Forrest J Ackerman]] has been credited with first using the term "sci-fi" (analogous to the then-trendy "[[hi-fi]]") in about 1954.<ref>{{cite news |date=7 December 2008 |title=Forrest J Ackerman, 92; Coined the Term 'Sci-Fi' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602021.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022130847/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602021.html |archive-date=22 October 2017 |access-date=17 December 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> The first known use in print was a [[description]] of ''[[Donovan's Brain (film)|Donovan's Brain]]'' by movie critic Jesse Zunser in January 1954.<ref>{{cite web |title=sci-fi n. |url=https://sfdictionary.com/view/210/sci-fi |website=Historical [[Dictionary]] of Science Fiction |access-date=31 March 2022}}</ref> As science [[fiction]] entered [[popular culture]], writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech "[[B movie|B-movies]]" and with low-quality [[Pulp magazine|pulp science fiction]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Neo-Fan's Guidebook |year=1987 |last=Whittier |first=Terry }}{{full citation needed|date=December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/003672.html|last=Scalzi|first=John|title=The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies|year=2005|isbn=978-1-84353-520-1|publisher=Rough Guides|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-date=2 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402140935/http://scalzi.com/whatever/003672.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Ellison | first = Harlan | year = 1998 | url = http://harlanellison.com/text/parcon.txt | title = Harlan Ellison's responses to online fan questions at ParCon | access-date = 26 April 2006 | archive-date = 22 May 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150522223829/http://harlanellison.com/text/parcon.txt | url-status = live }}</ref> By the 1970s, [[critics]] within the field, such as [[Damon Knight]] and [[Terry Carr]], were using "sci fi" to [[distinguish]] hack-work from serious science fiction.<ref name="wood skiffy"/> 

[[Peter Nicholls (writer)|Peter Nicholls]] writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the preferred [[abbreviation]] within the community of sf writers and readers."<ref name="nicholls sf"/> 

[[Robert Heinlein]] found even "[[science]] fiction" insufficient for certain types of works in this ''genre'', and [[suggested]] the term [[speculative fiction]] to be used instead for those that are more "serious" or "thoughtful".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/sci-fi-icon-robert-heinlein-lists-5-essential-rules-for-making-a-living-as-a-writer.html|title=Sci-Fi Icon Robert Heinlein Lists 5 Essential Rules for Making a Living as a Writer|date=29 September 2016|website=Open Culture|language=en-US|access-date=30 March 2019|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330082035/http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/sci-fi-icon-robert-heinlein-lists-5-essential-rules-for-making-a-living-as-a-writer.html|url-status=live}}</ref>