Counterpoint: Science fiction is fiction which shows a world different from our own, but different due to changes in culture or technology that plausibly could take place within our own universe, whereas the differences in fantasy are ones that are fundamentally incompatible with the known physical laws of our own universe.
Edit: How sharp of a division one wants to make out of that “plausibly could” clause is the dividing line between hard and soft scifi.
This is a great definition. There’s a lot of “sci Fi” that is much more firmly in the realm of fantasy (I say this as someone who kinda likes Dr Who). Being in space is not enough IMO to be called sci Fi.
Counterpoint: Science fiction is fiction which shows a world different from our own, but different due to changes in culture or technology that plausibly could take place within our own universe, whereas the differences in fantasy are ones that are fundamentally incompatible with the known physical laws of our own universe.
Edit: How sharp of a division one wants to make out of that “plausibly could” clause is the dividing line between hard and soft scifi.
This is a great definition. There’s a lot of “sci Fi” that is much more firmly in the realm of fantasy (I say this as someone who kinda likes Dr Who). Being in space is not enough IMO to be called sci Fi.
We need space elves with space magic like albator