: Re: When writing science fiction, how important is it to provide scientific details for the (fictitious) things you are presenting in the story? I know there is a difference between 'hard' and 'soft'

@Jamie945

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Some stories explore the impact of technological discoveries or achievements on society or mankind at large. That could be FTL, a new weapon, a cornucopia, nanotech or simply a space elevator. These stories have tech at their center and need to provide more detail about their characteristics. If we want to explore near-future developments which we consider realistic we must also provide a plausible scientific background and path leading to the technological achievement.

Other stories, by contrast, just use SF as a setting for entertainment or exploration of the human condition; there, technology is just a vehicle for the story and is not at its center in the same way and therefore doesn't need the same level of detail and explanation.

As an example from a different genre consider the role of weapons in a Western. If we are just telling an adventure in a Western setting it's enough to know that you can shoot people with a gun at some distance. If, by contrast, we are telling a story about the impact new weapons like the Winchester rifle or machine gun had on politics, economy and society of the American West in the late 1800s the specific characteristics, means of production, cost etc. of these weapons will be an intrinsic part of the story.

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