Pseudoscience and Science Fiction, Andrew May
Pseudoscience and Science Fiction, Andrew May
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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Pseudoscience and Science Fiction

Author: Andrew May

Narrator: Steven Crossley

Unabridged: 6 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/25/2021

Categories: Nonfiction, Science, Physics


Synopsis

Aliens, flying saucers, ESP, the Bermuda Triangle, antigravity … are we talking about science fiction or pseudoscience? Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference.Both pseudoscience and science fiction (SF) are creative endeavors that have little in common with academic science, beyond the superficial trappings of jargon and subject matter. The most obvious difference between the two is that pseudoscience is presented as fact, not fiction. Yet like SF, and unlike real science, pseudoscience is driven by a desire to please an audience—in this case, people who “want to believe.” This has led to significant cross-fertilization between the two disciplines. SF authors often draw on “real” pseudoscientific theories to add verisimilitude to their stories, while on other occasions pseudoscience takes its cue from SF—the symbiotic relationship between ufology and Hollywood being a prime example of this.This engagingly written and well researched audiobook explores a wide range of intriguing similarities and differences between pseudoscience and the fictional science found in SF.

About Andrew May

Andrew May is an author who has been working as a freelance writer and defense consultant. He obtained a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Manchester and is an experienced professional with a career spanning academia, government, and private industry. He has written both authoritatively and entertainingly on the physical sciences, military technology, British history, science fiction, New Age beliefs, and the paranormal. He is the author of several titles, including Pseudoscience and Science Fiction, The Telescopic Tourist’s Guide to the Moon, and Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War, among others.

About Steven Crossley

Steven Crossley, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, has built a career on both sides of the Atlantic as an actor and audiobook narrator, for which he has won more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a nominee for the prestigious Audie Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian

There are a number of books covering the links between science and science fiction, such as Ten Billion Tomorrows, but the is the first that I have come across considering the relationship between pseudoscience and science fiction - and as Andrew May points out, this is important, because the relati......more

Goodreads review by Michael

I read the review for this in Skeptical Inquirer magazine, and, since I write sci-fi myself, knew that I had to buy it. Andrew May wisely keeps his opinions of pseudoscience to a bare minimum, allowing the (inspired if misguided) writings of the authors speak for themselves. Many premises of sci-fi......more

Goodreads review by Kevin

Connects conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific beliefs back to the pulps and comics from whence they came.......more