Moh's Scale of SF Hardness

[Mysterion]

Found this article: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness

Very interesting/entertaining, and i thought possibly of interest to folks here. Especially those who are trying to defend their particular science fantasy with the mantra "It's science FICTION!".

 

[jayceee]

How much would "In really hard SF" (or category 5 or 6) differ from something like a generic police or CSI type of show/movie?

 

[Greg Cox]

I suppose this could be useful if you actually think that sf/fantasy should be graded on the basis of its "hardness."

Me, I don't care if Heinlein is harder SF than Bradbury or Burroughs. I've read and enjoyed books and stories by all of them.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ It has nothing to do with enjoyment. I enjoy The Three Stooges, but I don't call it Science Fiction.

How much would "In really hard SF" (or category 5 or 6) differ from something like a generic police or CSI type of show/movie?

In some cases, not much. At the time of publication, the Sherlock Holmes stories could have been considered to have elements of Science Fiction. Same thing with some contemporary TV shows like Bones. Or, possibly, the most recent works of William Gibson (although I haven't read them).

 

[Gepard]

I suppose this could be useful if you actually think that sf/fantasy should be graded on the basis of its "hardness."

It's useful for categorizing things for the sake of discussion, or for its own sake because that's what nerds do. It's not about judging things.

Tropes Are Not Bad.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I thought this was going to be about something pornographic.

 

[publiusr]

Ha Ha!

I'd like to see a series based on SF scales compared. Now how to get the rights...

 

[Crystalline Entity]

Thanks for sharing! If you like that article, be sure to go check out the physics 'ratings' at Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics.

http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/

Of course, anyone with real-world expertise in a particular field will have a field day taking apart the way movies portray their specialty, so sadly it's no surprise that physics will yield to the demands of movie storytelling.