Degrees of science fantasy

[Simon_Jester]

My impression is that a fair chunk of psi powers in most settings are "mechanism unspecified." Pyrokinetic Bob didn't set that pile of wood on fire by hitting it with laser eye-beams, putting in power on a watt for watt basis, until it caught fire. There are exceptions, of course, but most of them don't explicitly violate in-setting physics any more than psykers using the Warp do.

[ObsidianTailor]

Because psychic powers are tied to intelligence... for some reason. Magic generally makes a bit more sense- you have rituals you do and they give you power. Psychic powers are much more arbitrary. For example, if you have psychic powers that are genetically based, the obvious question is how does different protein or tissue structure allow you to manipulate your surroundings? Apologies if I am not making sense.

How in the hell is this not making sense? You're making more sense than most of the half-hearted explanations most people give. Although Mass Effect did provide a very good in-game explanation of it...

ME borrowed that from the techno-mages in the B5 universe.

Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5

I cringe when I see these three listed together. B5 at least made a half-assed attempt at being as scientific as possible. They didn't do the technobabble and make up shit like "gravitons." Sure, they avoided explaining artificial gravity on Minbari ships, but I appreciate that more than inventing gravitons.

[Bakustra]

Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5

I cringe when I see these three listed together. B5 at least made a half-assed attempt at being as scientific as possible. They didn't do the technobabble and make up shit like "gravitons." Sure, they avoided explaining artificial gravity on Minbari ships, but I appreciate that more than inventing gravitons.

Um, gravitons are a real scientific theory. They are a proposed mechanism for both quantizing gravity and unifying gravity with the proposed electrostrong force. They're nowhere near being proven or disproven, but they are a real idea.

[ObsidianTailor]

Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5

I cringe when I see these three listed together. B5 at least made a half-assed attempt at being as scientific as possible. They didn't do the technobabble and make up shit like "gravitons." Sure, they avoided explaining artificial gravity on Minbari ships, but I appreciate that more than inventing gravitons.

Um, gravitons are a real scientific theory. They are a proposed mechanism for both quantizing gravity and unifying gravity with the proposed electrostrong force. They're nowhere near being proven or disproven, but they are a real idea.

Conceded. But there are examples of Trek's tendency to create stuff just to satisfy a storyline purpose. I am not claiming that B5 is a bastion of hard SF, but they never got anywhere near Trek levels of fantastical elements in science.

[Purple]

The main reason in my opinion why psychic powers are treater as more sciency than magic in science fiction is that they seem closer to us.

People in the middle ages truly believed in curses and spells and potions but now a day we tend to consider these things as childish fantasies of an earlier age. Psychic powers on the other hand have only really emerged recently. Before, it was "the dark wizard reading your mind through a mind reading chant" however, with a technobable explanation it suddenly becomes "the telepathy is using the power of his genetically superior mind to tap into your brain waves".

It is the same same thing that drove the silver age heroes created by Radiation TM or the modern day heroes created by Genetic Engineering TM. (note the TM for that weary reason).


The fact is that humans need fantasy. So the authors they take what ever sounds believable to the reader and explain it that way. If Star Wars was written in the middle ages Darth Vader would have had a black horse and the Jedy would ware full plate armor. But the story would still be quite the same.