Popularly abbreviated as sci-fi, science fiction is a subgenre of literature that imaginatively incorporates science and technology into its plot, setting, or topic. Of course, the fiction component of science fiction indicates that the plot is imaginary and not based on actual events. One of the main proponents of the genre, American publisher Hugo Gernsback, popularized, if not originated, the phrase science fiction in the 1920s. The World Science Fiction Society has named its annual awards ceremony after him—the Hugo Awards—since 1953.
We can witness dazzling technologies, enigmatic worlds, and seemingly unattainable adventures through the windows provided by science fiction. The same kind of storytelling is offered by horror and fantasy, which are also perennially well-liked film genres like science fiction. Science fiction, however, consistently sets itself apart in a singular and exciting way: Frequently, the impossibilities it depicts become not just attainable but also quite normal in the real world.
Science fiction frequently depicts a dystopian society in the future and includes elements of cutting-edge technology. Contrarily, a fantasy story is typically set in a world with fantastical creatures and magical abilities. Because it exercises the memory, critical thinking abilities, vocabulary, and makes sci-fi consumers wiser, it was (and still is) a popular genre among readers and movie/TV aficionados. Much more cognitive ground is covered. Sci-fi definitely makes you smarter if by smarter you mean having a larger vocabulary and a better grasp of the universe.
While some of the earlier sci-fi movies have overpredicted in their idea of the future (much like Back to the Future 2’s depiction of the year 2015), there were still quite some new things in the movies that technology has helped become possible. Almost everything that everyone in this era is enjoying in terms of technology has been featured in the sci-fi movies of old: mobile phones, video calling, jet packs, driverless cars, smart homes, artificial intelligence, bionic body parts. Even life-lengthening possibilities are now being looked into.
One of the most realistic sci-fi movies to date is Contact, starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. Science-wise, the film Interstellar is a fair representation of reality. Though not fully demonstrated, several of the ideas presented in the film, such as wormholes and time dilation, are supported by theoretical physics.
In conclusion, science fiction stories contain a wide variety of magic systems, while soft-nebulous and hard-nebulous systems are much less common. This should have persuaded you that magic consists of more than simply spells and incantations. It can be twisted into a myriad of different shapes and used into any story you can think of.