Yes, it’s true that fact is at time stranger than fiction, but there are also times when fiction becomes fact, especially when it comes to science. We call science a subject but science fiction is just a genre, one of the various themes writers use for their novels, movies or plays. Sci-fi is in, especially with the movie crowd. We only have to look at the humongous success that Star Wars is to realize this fact. While we’re all aware that science fiction is immensely popular, not many people know that it plays a larger role than just entertaining people – yes, there are times when sci-fi becomes a science teacher, and if you’re wondering how, read on to find out.

Science fiction helps us understand the principles of science better. I know there are hundreds of thousands of sci-fi books and movies that are not even remotely close to the laws of science as we know them, but then, some of them are. And they help us understand scientific mumbo jumbo and jargon in terms that we are likely to grasp. Would we understand the significance of an invisibility cloak if it did not have a starring role to play in the Harry Potter series? Would we show an interest in DNA sequencing if it were not for that famous scene in Jurassic Park where the eccentric, billionaire island-owner explains how they were able to recreate an entire dinosaur from strands of DNA retrieved from blood in a mosquito, a mosquito that had been sealed alive in a stream of amber millions of years ago and thus been preserved for posterity? Or would we even know what a deflector shield was if we were not avid Star Trek fans?

Science fiction makes it easier for us to be interested in science. Long before the world showed an interest in the CERN reactor, Dan Brown’s book “Angels and Demons” introduced this scientific wonder to the book addicts. While Brown’s work was part conspiracy theory part science fiction, it made us sit up and take notice when the Large Hadron Collider was unveiled last year.

Science fiction helps us realize that anything is possible. Today it’s fiction, tomorrow it may be reality. That is the beauty of technology and innovation. What’s just an idea in someone’s head this year has the possibility to make headlines in a few years’ time. In short, science fiction helps us realize that with technology and imagination, anything is possible.