Timeline for Should the hard-science tag be retired?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 17, 2023 at 18:23 | comment | added | sphennings | It's difficult to ask questions that meet the requirements of the hard science tag that are about magic or superpowers but not impossible. For instance someone could be trying to cost their magic system based on the Joules of energy necessary for an effect. Asking questions like "How many joules of energy are necessary to burn a human body to ash?" is a question that is appropriate for this site, related to their magic system, and could have answers that are backed up by citations, and calculations. | |
| Jun 17, 2023 at 0:26 | comment | added | Tortliena - inactive | @MS Not everything is compatible. To take Elem's example, I doubt we can find numerical data on dragon flights to answer it "hard-sciencely". Hard-science seems like more of a niche tag most people get mistaken thinking it will always lead to quality answers; But they often end up disappointed because answers -if there is any- are not what they actually want. Science-based and science-fiction might be just what they need instead, and truthfully, they can both lead to excellent science answers. It's anyway more a matter of the question's content than the tags used. | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 23:40 | comment | added | elemtilas | Otherwise, I agree with you, hard science informs the querent how she should approach the problem and how she should answer the query: she should use known science to answer the question as best it can be answered, given current science's limitations, and back that answer up with citations, numerical data, and equations as appropriate. There is absolutely no reason to criticise a question about a dragon's flight characteristics simply because dragons do not exist in the real world as far we know. | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 23:34 | comment | added | elemtilas | @KeizerHarm --- No, JBH is not trying to "end the very concept of realism" in worldbuilding questions. More like he's trying to change the culture of a strict realistic approach within the community. I agree with this. More and more frequently, we see comments to the effect that "your fantastic idea has no basis in reality, therefore it's impossible". Essentially, this is slowly becoming a community whose fundamental premise is realism at the expense of the fantastical. That's what we're trying to change. | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 23:26 | comment | added | elemtilas | @MS --- This is a perennial problem that has only gotten worse on WB.SE over the last couple years. NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE should ever tell a querent that their worldbuilding question is "pointless". Even the vexatious ones aren't pointless! If I ever run across such behaviour, I always make a point of telling such folks to go away because such comments are useless and unwelcome in a worldbuilding forum. | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 20:02 | comment | added | M S | @Tortliena The primary difference is that when someone uses the hard-science tag, they are asking for equations that go with the answer, rather than just scientific explanations | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 18:56 | comment | added | KeizerHarm | @Tortliena Indeed, if I were personally asking a magic science question, I would myself use science-based before hard-science since I don't feel the need to put up extra hoops for answerers. This discussion seems a bit broader though, with JBH advocating to end the very concept of realism in fantastical questions. | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 16:48 | comment | added | Tortliena - inactive | That's why there are also science-based and science-fiction tags. | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 13:50 | history | edited | KeizerHarm | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jun 16, 2023 at 12:31 | comment | added | M S | This is the exact issue I've repeatedly run into. You can see on my worldbuilding account that I've asked several questions with both the hard-science and superpower/magic tags, and every single time, without fail, I've received deriding comments suggesting the question to be pointless since "it's already magic, do whatever you want". | |
| Jun 16, 2023 at 11:06 | history | answered | KeizerHarm | CC BY-SA 4.0 |