Often, the science we are learning now is regarded as factual and reasonable logic. In the science courses at Concord Academy, relationships between forces, equations, and measurable outcomes are evident. For example, when considering physics, students are reminded of its rigorous requirements in considering forces and performing careful calculations. However, sometimes science is beyond the textbook and basic knowledge. Science fiction reveals the process and results when existing scientific knowledge no longer shows further understanding, prediction, or control.
It is often assumed that science in the universe operates in ways humans can understand, but many scientific phenomena already challenge this assumption. The famous science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem, which depicts a planetary system whose motion becomes mathematically chaotic due to three interacting stars, illustrates this clearly: even when almost every factor regarding movement and laws of interactions is known, long-term planetary motion remains impossible to predict. Small variations in initial conditions accumulate errors over time, producing unpredictable outcomes. Science fiction demonstrates this difference between mathematical certainty and human understanding, telling readers that scientific accuracy does not always translate into predictability or control in some contexts.
Science fiction is often dismissed as pure imagination, but the best works use real scientific principles to explore what happens when science advances beyond human intuition, control, or moral readiness. While science fiction often reveals the limits of human understanding, it also questions what happens when scientific progress outpaces ethical responsibility. In The God Themselves, Isaac Asimov presents a scenario in which scientists continue exploiting an energy source despite evidence that it threatens planetary stability. This imagination is solid. However, the risk is in the unchecked pursuit of energy without ethical limits. Asimov suggests that scientific development does not always result in a progressive moral evaluation of humans themselves, and for now, our future is shaped by the decisions we make in the present.
When science stops being so evident and the assumption that science is always understandable, predictable, and controllable, it challenges the assumption that knowledge alone guarantees understanding or control. Science fiction confronts this tension by addressing the issue to expose the human consequences of misused or misunderstood scientific power. Rather than opposing science, these works demand greater intellectual humility and ethical awareness from those who pursue it. In CA, where critical thinking and free thoughts are welcomed, science fiction can be utilized as a source to explore the boundaries of science and its limitations to satisfy our curiosity about future scientific knowledge.