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How Science Shapes Science Fiction

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From rocket science and exoplanet ecology to time travel and alien encounters, dive into the real scientific principles that inspire and support great science fiction stories.

Syllabus

  • 01: Science and Fiction! The Wayfarers Series
  • 02: Cheating the Science: Protector
  • 03: Prediction: From the Earth to the Moon
  • 04: World-Building in The Left Hand of Darkness
  • 05: Advanced World-Building in Avatar
  • 06: Action and Reaction in The Avengers
  • 07: Space Travel and 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • 08: Interplanetary Travel and The Martian
  • 09: Space Battles and Energy Weapons: Star Wars
  • 10: Advanced Rocket Systems in Star Trek
  • 11: Relativity and Time for the Stars
  • 12: Black Holes, Wormholes, and Interstellar
  • 13: Time Travel and Doctor Who
  • 14: Teleportation and Star Trek
  • 15: Cyberspace and the Singularity: Neuromancer
  • 16: Steampunk Science and Leviathan
  • 17: Design Your Own Dragon: Game of Thrones
  • 18: Planetary Ecology in Dune
  • 19: Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Contact
  • 20: UFOs, ESP, and The X-Files
  • 21: Social Sciences and the Foundation Series
  • 22: Designed Languages and Arrival
  • 23: Cosmology, the Mind, and Star Maker
  • 24: Science Fiction’s Purpose: Childhood’s End
  • By This Professor

Taught by

Charles L. Adler

Reviews

4.8 rating at The Great Courses Plus based on 26 ratings

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