“Hard Science Fiction”
I’m not a big fan of jargon. That’s when a small group decides that they’re going to use certain words in a different way from the rest of society, or that only certain words are acceptable in a specific situation.
Sometimes jargon just causes a breakdown in communication. When I described a building as “modern,” my friend who was majoring in architecture thought I was an idiot. To her, “modern architecture” implied a very specific type of building. To me, it meant that the building had been constructed in relatively recent history. Similarly, on a recent episode of The Office a employee was confused by his boss’s request for a “work up,” a phrase he wasn’t familiar with.
Other times jargon is used to deliberately exclude people who aren’t “part of the club.” I’ve seen this in churches, in athletic groups, in music and art and theatre. When someone judges your worth based on the exact words you use or don’t use instead of the meaning of what you say, they’re evaluating you based on jargon.
What does this have to do with science fiction? In some circles, there’s a tendency to judge science fiction stories based on whether or not it’s “hard science fiction” (whether the story is based solely on science that is accurate to the best of our knowledge). In my experience, this phrase is thrown around without any explanation for people unfamiliar with the term, and with the implication that if the work isn’t hard SF then it’s of lesser value.
This is jargoneering at its worst. Is a science fiction story less valuable because it includes elements of fantasy? Does an author’s message really only matter if he or she brings it across in one specific way, determined by an elitest group of audience members?
I don’t think so. Look at Star Wars. In the original trilogy, the Force was more or less a mystical energy that was never explained, while the movies focused on the characters and their story. In the prequel trilogy, I think there’s a decent chance that “midi-chlorians” were introduced to reach out to hard SF fanatics. Did that bit of ’science’ really help anyone?
I’m not saying that hard science fiction is bad. I think it can be pretty good. If you prefer hard SF, I’m glad you’ve found what you like. But in the end, it’s just another type of story, and it’s no better or worse of a genre than any other. We’re all part of the science fiction & fantasy community. Can’t we be friends?