                  Rishon
Sabri, 2024To contact the author, please e-mail: rishonsabri@gmail.com |
Methodology
 This dissertation seeks to demonstrate
evidence that science fiction has influenced technological advancement
to an appreciable degree, through the visualisation of futuristic
technology seen in science fiction shows like Star Trek. This is
because many real world technologies today were directly inspired by
technology seen in Star Trek or other science fiction, meaning that
without having seen the concepts featured in that fiction, the creators
may have never had the idea to create them in the first place. This
dissertation also hopes to provide evidence that, science fiction has
influenced technological advancement by fostering an interest in
science in many people, leading them to eventually pursue careers in
the sciences and contributing to research and development of new
scientific concepts and technologies. Conversely, one could argue that these linkages could just be coincidence after all, if someone is invested in the sciences they are more likely to watch science fiction than others. It is also possible that technology in real life is possibly acting as a template for the technology instead of the other way round. There are certainly many examples where this is the case, however this dissertation will seek to provide evidence of times where there is a direct link between science fiction technology and its emergence in real life later, including direct quotes and statements by the creators of that technology. Nevertheless, keep in mind that some of these cases may not show cases in which science fiction is fully proven to have influenced scientific progress, but where it is heavily likely or implied. The main form of evidence which this dissertation hopes to use to demonstrate the influence science fiction has had on scientific development is through a series of case studies in different fields of scientific endeavour, from medicine and theoretical physics to communications and computer technology. The majority of the information in these case studies is derived from secondary research, of authoritative and credible sources, such as published or broadcast interviews with people who have had a great influence on science, academic papers about the topics discusses, scientific and industry journal articles and so on. Additionally, some of the information below is also sourced from primary research, specifically a trip to an event at the London Science Museum called Science fiction: Voyage to the edge of imagination.
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