Questions about science fiction technologies that have real world origins

Question

This question recently got closed because the sci-fi technology being asked about is a real technology, or we assume it is based on the answers and comments given in the question.

Now I cast the final close vote on this question because I agreed with the highest-voted answer - that the reference in the Bible is close enough to being a reference to it being real that it was not actually a science-fiction technology.

However, the asker did not know this at the time of asking, and it is reasonable for them not to know - a quick search on 'poison lipstick' on google does not turn up any real-world poison lipstick.

Someone also brought up the point of Tricorders - handheld devices that offer touch-interaction much like modern cell phones.

It's clear that as technology advances, more science-fiction devices are going to have real world counterparts that people will have questions about - and they will ask those questions here. It's also clear that sometimes what seems like a sci-fi invention can turn out to have a real-world origin.

Should we allow questions that ask about the origin of a science fiction technology if that technology turns out to be real? What restrictions should we place on what technology can reasonably be asked about on this site?

Answer 1

The idea that if a technology exists in the real world questions about it are automatically off-topic is just bizarre. As William Gibson has said, "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed." Of course the idea that science fiction is about futuristic technology is equally problematic...

Questions about technology may or may not be on-topic, but I don't think that will depend on whether they exist in the real world. Remember that "setting explanations" as well as the "Historical or societal context of a work" are specifically on-topic. Questions about technology should be judged on the normal criteria: is it focused and clear.

I think we can distinguish between questions asking about the references to a technology in works of sci-fi/fantasty and references to a technology in any genre, or even in the real world. But asking about poison lipstick or rockets or mobile phones in works of sci-fi, as long as the question is focused and clear, should be on-topic regardless of their real-world existence.