Book by DK and is, "scenarios that are at the time of writing technologically impossible, extrapolating

from present-day science...[,]...or that deal with some form of speculative science-based conceit, such as
a society (on Earth or another planet) that has developed in wholly different ways from our own".

Part of the reason that it is so difficult to pin down an agreed definition of science fiction is because
there is a tendency among science fiction enthusiasts to act as their own arbiter in deciding what exactly
constitutes science fiction. Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying "Science fiction is what we
point to when we say it." David Seed says it may be more useful to talk about science fiction as the
intersection of other, more concrete, genres and subgenres.

Alternative terms

Further information: Skiffy

Forrest J Ackerman has been credited with first using the term "sci-fi" (analogous to the then-trendy "hi-
fi") in about 1954; the first known use in print was a description of Donovan's Brain by movie critic Jesse
Zunser in January 1954. As science fiction entered popular culture, writers and fans active in the field
came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech "B-movies" and with low-quality pulp science
fiction. By the 1970s, critics within the field, such as Damon Knight and Terry Carr, were using "sci fi" to
distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction. Peter Nicholls writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the
preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers." Robert Heinlein found even
"science fiction" insufficient for certain types of works in this genre, and suggested the term speculative
fiction to be used instead for those that are more "serious" or "thoughtful".