Lance Winslow, in his 2009 article, What is the Difference Between Science Fiction and Futurism?, asks a timeless question for the digital and technological age. Lance is a philanthropist and early retiree from being an entrepreneur and business leader. He travels a lot and has time to run a Think Tank, and is a prolific writer.
Here’s an excerpt from the above mentioned article (one of thousands he’s posted at EzineArticles.com):
The difference between Sci Fi and Futurism is fairly straight forward in definition, so let me give you my take on it, seeing as I do a bit of writing in both areas. Futurism is predicting the future without the use of characters and a storyline. Science Fiction is a literary art, where a story is told and characters are involved. You see, some things you cannot say in real life, as it is not politically correct, but you can tell of it in a storyline.
This gives the author a lot of leeway. Interestingly enough many things that have been written in Science Fiction novels are now common place; electric submarines from Jules Verne and Satellite Communication by Arthur C. Clarke for instance.
One thing I have found is that if you come up with a potential eventuality far off into the future, no one has any reference to understand what you are talking about and might think it’s too far-fetched if they did. In this case you lose credibility. However, if you wrap the idea into a story, then it all seems believable and it should get people thinking.
Lance Winslow, Diamond Level Expert Author at EzineArticles.com. Read more about Lance here: https://ezinearticles.com/expert/Lance_Winslow/5306
When writing those words over 11 years ago, Lance was obviously on to something. He’s proven to himself, and others, his own ability to predict events and afford himself an early retirement, yet stay involved with community philanthropy. He’s obviously able to make clear observations into the future, yet remain hopeful for humanity.
Adding a few more out-of-the-box questions to his original futurist vs. sci-fi comparison may not be totally inappropriate: What if a superior technology was able to predict events with high degrees of accuracy, yet also incorporate a dramatic storyline with real-life troubling human characters and events in order for humanity to awaken? Have we entered an age where Science Fiction and Futurism are now even more intertwined and fine-tuned than ever before?
Read Lance Winslow’s full article, What is The Difference Between Science Fiction and Futurism? at EzineArticles.com: http://EzineArticles.com/2223566
Also check out his eBooks on Amazon.com.
