Reality Buried Deep Within Science Fiction

The realm of science fiction is unique in the fact that it can encompass many things. From futuristic spaceships to the idea that there really are aliens living somewhere out there, reading more science fiction will really give you a sense of what life might be like in many years to come, but it can also give you a very real sense of what might be going on in the now regardless of if anyone really wants to address it. You might be asking yourself ‘what?’ right about now, and I don’t blame you, but as io9 sets forth in their article titled ‘Read Science Fiction to Understand the Things that Mainstream Pundits Won’t Talk About‘, science fiction writing is so much more than just an idealistic vision of the future.
If you’ve ever watched Star Trek, the Original Series, then you know just how they used the science fiction medium to convey real world ideals and to discuss just how absurd things were in those days. From the first interracial televised kiss, to the war between the races who were half black and half white – just on differing sides – we can see just how easy it was to bring reality into the scifi world.
So why should you read more science fiction? In a world and time when we are trapped within our own social prison, being able to release your ‘social imagination’ and discuss the more difficult topics to address can be more powerful than you’ll realize until you’re knee deep in a debate with a friend over one thing or another that you read – and then suddenly you’ll realize that what you read translates into a very real, very modern ideal.
The moral of it all? Read more scifi and really unleash your social imagination from the bonds of modern life.