BBC Focus Magazine

[Healerman]

This debate has been going on for decades. Speculative fiction has been suggested as an alternative or just using SF for 'science fiction' or 'science fantasy'.Maybe we could forget the labels (unless you work in a video rental shop) and just be entertained.

As for bad science in Star Wars, a long time ago in a galaxy far away they were using the parsec as a unit of time? So very wrong on more than one level.

[M Paul Lloyd]

It has indeed Mr. Healman (hello and welcome to our humble forum by the way) and I hope it will continue to be so for some time to come.

The parsec conundrum could be on a par with seconds and minutes of a degree?

[Shadowwolf]

As for bad science in Star Wars, a long time ago in a galaxy far away they were using the parsec as a unit of time? So very wrong on more than one level.

Ahh the Falcon's famous Kessel run

Anyhoo it may not be that bad, after all it is a galaxy far, far away and perhaps they just happen to have the same word but to them it is a measure of time not distance. Of course it was probably just a sciencey sounding word and as a unit of time ill thought out. Of course the masters of just slapping labels to ill thought out time and distance concepts was good old Battle Star Galactica the original and bouffant.

[Colm]

I suppose it was many yahrens ago

[Shadowwolf]

Give or take a centon...

[M Paul Lloyd]

You couldn't give that to me in Krells could you?

[theblazeuk]

In one book, the 12 parsec things is explained - he flew so close to the black hole that really screwy things happened to time and space.

Incidentally it was also this occasion which made him dump his cargo and inspired Jabba's wrath, and Greedo.

[Shadowwolf]

I think the same word, different meaning would have been a simpler explanation.

[theblazeuk]

It would have been and of course, the book explanation won't mean a thing to Luke or Obi Wan.... well, the story says the smugglers shave off fractions of a parsec (cos otherwise you have to fly around the blackhole to get to kessle without being vaped).

Anyway, simpler = less awesome. And this is HAn Solo.