Science and Inquiry discussion

I just re-read the book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Harari. He talks about many current issues about the challenges that will be faced during this century.

One of the challenges is to improve people's understanding of science and science issues. Of course, he says the best approach is for people to read peer-reviewed articles and books about science. By insisting on "peer-reviewed", the reliance on pseudo-science would be reduced.

The problem, is that most people just are not inclined to read about science, if they are going to read at all. So, in order to inform people about science issues, the next best thing is to watch good science fiction movies.

Why? Well, people are stirred by stories. Good science fiction movies contain good stories. Not stories about robots rebelling against humans -- that is a false issue. There are some real issues, Harari explains. For example:
o the elite will buy technology that will allow them to become superhumans, and overshadow unempowered people
o Technology can be used to control human behavior, like in "The Matrix"
o the effect of climate change on the world, as in the movie "Interstellar"

Harari mentions the Disney movie "Inside Out", which is a comedy but between the lines is about control and the lack of free will. He also mentions Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World", where the government controls people, not by fear but by artificial joy.

Any thoughts on the use of sci-fi movies and stories to help the larger population better understand the science issues of this century?

I totally agree. To a large extent my own interest in science developed out of my reading of science fiction and TV like Star Trek.

One of my current interests is climate change and the relatively new genre of climate fiction. Some of that is what I would call science fiction, or speculative fiction, some of it not. But it seems to be a burgeoning genre. My alma mater has a Climate Literature Book Club which sounds interesting, but I can't participate since I'm a long time graduate. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...

There are also nine Lists of Climate Fiction on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?id...