"Soft" Sci Fi?

In the grading for realism scale I use the term "soft sci fi" a lot, as a counterpoint to "hard" (in the sence of scientifically realistic) sci fi. It should be emphasised that in this context "Soft Sci Fi" is not to be confused with the proper Science Fiction genres of (traditional) Soft SF (dealing with the "soft" sciences (sociology, psychology, etc) rather than the "hard sciences"), Literary SF (SF that focuses more on literary style and character than on science or tech), or Humanistic SF (focuses on the personal or interpersonal elements of the story rather than the scientific). And while Soft/Literary/Humanistic SF may indeed be "soft" as defined here, it may just as easily also be "hard" (e.g. Kim Stanley Robinson explores character development in his hard science Mars trilogy). It is just as important in SF to focus on the "soft" or "social sciences" just as much as on the "hard sciences", and on the humanistic element just as much as the physics and scientific side of things.

Now what it is. "Soft Sci Fi", as defined here, is Science Fiction that incorporates one or more of the following.

does not offer any scientific or technical explanation for how things work, or if it does, it is a pseudo-explantion (technobabble) only
uses magic, psionics, etc, rather than science, as an explanation for how things or tech in the physical universe work
has the universe portrayed in a way that is clearly absurd - e.g. every second solar system has a planet on which a humanoid race or earth-like life has evolved, ships wheel and bank in a vacuum, lifeless planets have a breathable atmosphere, laser beams are visible in a vacuum, etc
has technology that is ridiculous, given what we know of how the universe works, engineering and design principles, information processing, energy storage, heat dissipation, etc
has society that is absurd - e.g. far future settings with super-advanced technology in which the society is no different to that of the modern western world today, complete with the same luddite prejudices (e.g. genetic engineering is bad, etc),
has economics that are absurd - e.g. using a planet many light years away for a rubbish dump, rather than recycling materials locally
has aliens that are absurd - aliens are almost always humanoid (apart from the token BEM), or based on other terragen lifeforms (mammals, reptiles, etc); alien societies that are very similar to modern day or historical Earth societies; clichés such as reptilians are always bad guys, etc
has extremely advanced technology existing in isolation from its possible social consequences or alternative uses (e.g. Star Trek Matter Transports would enable physical immortality (since one could replicate one's physical body, heal any illnesses etc), or an unlimited number of clones (complete with identical consciousness)); does not follow things through to their logical conclusion
has very difficult or impossible technology being common-place, but very easy technology rare or absent (e.g. everyone has starships, but there is no life extension, everyone still lives "three score years and ten"); a timeline that is unrealistic (e.g. sudden technological development and numerous breakthroughs in the next few decades or so, including FTL drive, then only very slow development and very few breakthroughs for many centuries after, with no explanation of why this slow down occured), etc
has technology that while viable physically and engineering-wise is completely impractical, e.g. giant humanoid robot mecha (aka sitting ducks) used for military combat
has a setting that involves dubious coincidences (e.g. every alien race just happens to be at the same level of technology, there just happens to be a habitable planet nearby where the heros can land and fix their malfunctioning drive, etc)
has armies of bad guys that can't shoot straight, minor characters that are always killed off, and/or other common clichés

As it generally appears, especially in the popular media, Soft Sci Fi is usually based on any of a number of common themes and tropes, which are copied and imitated in almost every new soft sci fi universe. Some of these are patently absurd or unrealistic; others are quite plausible on their own, but become absurd in association with the other elements. Although the grading scale lists things that more or less correspond to from more to less realistic, these are just a convenient grading system; it should not be taken as dogma and it is not intended as a definitive statement or a serious critique or classification of science fiction.

Also, none of what is said on this page (except for the last point - stupid cliches) is intended as a criticism of Soft Sci Fi as pure storytelling entertainment. We are here concerned only with realism, or lack thereof.

Hard Science SF - the opposite to soft sci fi

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