The Lure of the Supernatural

If there is an alien or Bigfoot-centered show on the History Channel, you can bet my dad has probably seen it. Nevertheless, any time one is on, you can guarantee that he's probably watching it. While most of you are likely thinking that my dad is some redneck, hillbilly type, I promise you, he is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. He got in to MIT for goodness sake.

I think the lure of the "what if" surrounding subjects like cryptozoology, zombies, vampires (even awful sparkly ones), and fantasy is what draws people in. There is incredible overlap in the "scifi nerds" and the "dungeons and dragons nerds," and I think that stems from an insatiable curiosity surrounding the "what ifs"--be they scientifically plausible or not. I think that technology has advanced so rapidly that maybe science fiction isn't enough for many. It's not hard for many scientists to imagine one day owning many of the technologies seen in science fiction, and many are working on creating them as we speak.

I think the appeal of fantasy lies in its implausibility--it simply cannot happen. Being human, we always want what we can't have. And since most of us can imagine the future as science fiction becoming science fact, we look to fantasy to fulfill the longing. I mean, sure I could fly a private plane, but wouldn't it be so much cooler to have a personal dragon or magic pixie dust? The limitless possibilities of the fantasy world are what make it so appealing to the masses.

Science fiction is limited greatly by what we know of the physical world, and can only bend those rules within a certain amount of reason. Fantasy can completely disregard these rules and create creatures that have never been seen before. The imagination can run totally wild without the constraints of physics.

Sure we live in an "Age of Science," but that doesn't mean our imaginations have to be limited to what is "scientific." I think this "age of science" has actually promoted the exploration of the fantasy world, as the scientific community continue to take great leaps and bounds every day.