Science fiction
genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic changes in technology, scientific knowledge, or biological systems
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is the genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic changes in technology, scientific knowledge, or biological systems. The elements common to science fiction have increased over time: from space exploration, extraterrestrial life, time travel, and robotics; to parallel universes, dystopian societies, and biological manipulations; and, most recently, to information technology, transhumanism, posthumanism, and environmental challenges. Science fiction often explores human responses to the consequences of these types of projected or imagined scientific advances.
The precise definition of science fiction has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. It contains many subgenres, including hard science fiction, which emphasizes scientific accuracy, and soft science fiction, which focuses on social sciences. Other notable subgenres are: space opera, which emphasizes pure adventure in a universe in which space travel is common; cyberpunk, which explores the interface between technology and society; and climate fiction, which addresses environmental issues.
Precedents for science fiction are claimed to exist as far back as antiquity. Some books written in the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment Age were considered early science-fantasy stories. The modern genre arose primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when popular writers began looking to technological progress for inspiration and speculation. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, written in 1818, is often credited as the first true science fiction novel.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Science fiction” is genre of speculative fiction that imagines advanced and futuristic changes in technology, scientific knowledge, or biological systems. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Science, fiction and genre, not as a finished interpretation.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24925. The Library of Congress control number is sh85118629. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1818.
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This entry incorporates text from “Science fiction” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.