Did you know that Abraham Lincoln established the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1863? In 2008, the NAS founded the Science and Entertainment Exchange. The NAS’s involvement helps ensure fiction that educates, inspires, and predicts the future of our technologies, fiction shaped and informed by the world of science and technology in which we will inevitably find ourselves in the coming years. Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
This, I believe, is the sweet spot for science fiction of literary merit!
Here are a few of the projects that have benefited from collaboration with NAS:
| Thor | Helped ground the concept of wormholes and the Bifrost in real physics. | |
| Iron Man 2 | Consulted on particle physics and Tony Stark’s arc reactor redesign. | |
| Fringe | Advised on neuroscience and alternate realities. | |
| Battlestar Galactica | Consulted on AI, robotics, and space travel. | |
| Watchmen (HBO) | Provided insight into quantum physics and Dr. Manhattan’s powers. | |
| Big Hero 6 | Helped shape Baymax’s medical AI and robotics design. |
- Gregory Benford, a physicist and NAS collaborator, wrote Timescape, which explores tachyon communication and scientific ethics.
- Carl Sagan, though not an NAS member, worked closely with NAS-affiliated scientists while writing Contact.
- Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain drew heavily on real science and benefited from consultation with experts in genetics and epidemiology—many of whom were NAS members or affiliates.
Given that the NAS cannot collaborate with all of us, we will have to form those collaborations on our own.
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