Description
Science fiction (SF) is a genre influenced by science which, in turn, influences science. Astronomers discovered the first exoplanets in the 1990s, but exoplanets featured in SF long before then. This talk presents two studies regarding exoplanets in SF. In the first study, a database of 212 SF exoplanets was analysed using a Bayesian network to find interconnected interactions between planetary characterisation features and literary data. Results reveal SF exoplanets designed after the discovery of real exoplanets are less Earth-like, providing statistical evidence that SF incorporates rapidly-evolving science. In the second study, questionnaire data was collected and analysed from participants in a project to create short SF stories in teams of one scientist and one writer. Results show scientific concerns were incorporated into the story creation decision-making process, and suggest an inspirational role for SF towards its readership’s interest in science. Through the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, I investigate SF's portrayal of exoplanet science, which is crucial for understanding the genre’s potential use in science communication.
