You've got fantasy on my science fiction

[pbray]

A number of discussions in LJ and other blogsplots on defining the genres. I'm more of a seat of the pants person-- "I know it when I see it," but aireon shared a definition that I really like.

A science fiction universe is one in which the universe is finite, that is, it is assumed that all things can, in the end, eventually, even if not within the time frame of the story, be understood (measured, quantified, etc).

A fantasy universe is one in which the universe is infinite; there will always be things that can't be understood.

Comments

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Hmm, interesting. Glad you found a definition that works for you.

Personally I'm not sure I agree with the statement "Fantasy are settings in completely made-up universes that can never be true." That sounds oversimplistic to me, reminding me of the people who tell me that writing fantasy must be easy since I never have to do any research because I just "make it all up."