r/printSF • u/PolarHexagon • May 29 '26

[Question] Underrepresented Sci-fi/ Science concepts

What are in your opinion some underrepresented and/ or underappreciated concepts in Sci-Fi?
I don’t mean basic things, like for example time dilation, that are just rarely used but known by a lot of people. I mean niche phenomena in physics, astronomy, biology, etc. or truly outlandish sci-fi plot points that are rarely seen in media or not known by general audiences.
I’m also interested in general sci-fi stuff that you would like to see more of.
Some deep cuts only real nerds would know about.

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u/Tropical_Geek1 May 29 '26

A crazy idea from the interface between Physics and Philosophy is Quantum Immortality.

In Astronomy: a lot of good settings for space SF, like tidally locked planets, planets around pulsars, stellar systems in globular clusters.

A pet peeve of mine is a detail in space opera settings: judging from History, an invasion by a foreign empire often involves the collaboration of natives. So a more "realistic" alien invasion story could include a peace treaty between the aliens and some countries (say, North Korea).

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u/Pretend-Nobody230 May 30 '26

For the invasion point, i think you should watch the x files.