NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Kaleidoscope) Non Fiction 6 On Science Fiction

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 12th

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Class : 12th

Subject : English

Chapter : 6

Chapter Name : On Science Fiction

Q1 What makes for the distinction between the various genres of fiction- ‘a sports story’, ‘a
Western story’, ‘a jungle story’ and science fiction?

Answer. In this story the author made a distinction between various genres of fiction- ‘a sports
story’, ‘a Western story’, ‘a jungle story’, and science fiction by mentioning that “Science fiction
is a literary universe of no mean size because science fiction is what it is, not through its content
but through its background.” The author distinctly portrays the characteristics present in each
type of fiction which showcases their difference from one another. A ‘sports story’ necessarily
has an athletic or competitive activity as an integral part of its content. A ‘Western story’
essentially centers around the life of a cowboy go the American West whereas a ‘jungle story’
usually centers around the dangers of a forested tropical wilderness. Science fiction usually has
the components of interplanetary travel and extraterrestrial creatures as part of its plot. But what
really distinguishes it from the other genres of fiction is its background whereas the other genres
are differentiated on the basis of content. He further argues that if the content of any of the other
genres is placed against a background of a society distinctly different from ours, then that
becomes science fiction.

Page : 199 , Block Name : Understanding the Text

Q2 How does Asimov established that John Campbell was wrong in his opinion that it is not
possible for a science fiction mystery to be fair to a reader in the same way as a classic mystery
is?

Answer. Asimov established that John Campbell was wrong in his opinion that it is not possible
for a science fiction mystery to be fair to a reader in the same way as a classic mystery is. He
provides the example of a classic mystery of Sherlock Holmes, where the detective was
provided with extraordinary abilities of sight in order to pace up the plot and yet it remained fair
to the readers. He argues that if such plots were fair in classic mysteries then the use of the
latest scientific findings which the reader is unaware of can be used by the writer in penning

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down a science fiction mystery. They do not need to adhere to the rules of classic mystery and
still, it would be fair to the readers.

Page : 199 , Block Name : Understanding the Text

Q3 What are the pitfalls that the writer of science fiction mystery must guard against?

Answer. Writing in any genre contains some or the other pitfalls. In the case of science-fiction
mystery, the writer must be aware of his content and must be aware of the ways to modify it.
The modifications must have a rational explanation. Thus writing science fiction is difficult but
not impossible. It is always possible to cling to the rules of this genre as the writers of classic
mystery fiction usually cling to theirs.

Page : 199 , Block Name : Understanding the Text

Q1 Imagination and fantasy help human beings to speculate upon the possible explanations for
the complexity and unpredictability of the phenomena in the universe.

Answer. Isaac Asimov seeks to establish the importance of science fiction in this chapter. He
believes that science does not produce absolute truth nor does it support its existence. Science
can also never promise that everything in the universe is controlled by it. Science is itself a
product of imagination. Imagination drove us to experiments and experiments led to discoveries
which helped in explaining the phenomenons which were once unexplainable. Thus, science is
based upon imagination which “help human beings to speculate upon the possible explanations
for the complexity and unpredictability of the phenomena in the universe.”

Page : 200 , Block Name : Talking about the Text

Q2 The difference that science and technology have made in everyday life today was visualized
in science fiction fifty years ago.

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Book : Kaliedoscope - Non Fiction Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 6 English - Non Fiction

Answer. Science fiction has built a bridge between science that was fifty years ago and the
science of today. Fifty years ago science was visualized as something extraordinary, difficult to
imagine and sometimes people related it to superstitious energy. But now, science and
technology have taken a new shape. Everyone is aware of science and technology and
conducts critical studies on it. The modern-day contributions of science in our lives have been
visualised in science fiction ages ago. For example, the flying carpet or winged horses are the
imaginative manifestations of today’s airplane or jet planes. The crystal ball which allows us to
gaze into the future or the magic shells that facilitated in hearing the human whisperings from
afar is nothing but modern-day inventions like televisions and mobile phones. Thus, the science
and technology that surrounds us in this present day were already imagined and presented to
the readers, decades ago, through science fictions.

Page : 200 , Block Name : Talking about the Text

Q1 Discuss the author’s attitude towards the pre-scientific imagination and the tone he adopts
while talking about it.

Answer. Asimov talks about the time when science did not hold much prevalence in human
society. The unexplainable phenomenons, the causes behind which were discovered later on by
science, were a source of wonder then. Thus, superstitions and belief in mythical creatures
were present since logic was absent. The author’s tone towards pre-scientific imagination is
skeptical in the beginning since he talks about magic, flying carpet, and winged horses.
However, gradually, a sense of awe develops, as he points out that the present scientific
discoveries were infact imagined by pre-scientific imagination. He gives the examples of flying
carpets which may very well be the modern-day airplanes or the crystal ball which showed the
future which may be the television in the modern-day.

Page : 200 , Block Name : Appreciation

Q2 Observe how the paragraph, as a form, has been used in the essay. Some paragraphs
consist of just one sentence. What purpose do you think the author had in putting them in this
manner?

Answer. Paragraphs that consist of just one sentence are:

1. “The goals of these ancient stories are the same as those of modern science fiction- the
depiction of life as we don’t know it.”

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2. “Science fiction is a literary universe of no mean size because science fiction is what it is, not
through its content but through its background.”
In the first paragraph, the author is talking about some ancient and modern science fiction and
in the second paragraph, the author is shedding some light on science fiction’s background and
its genres. The author put these paragraphs in one line in order to distinguish them and
emphasise upon the ideas mentioned in the paragraphs regarding science fiction.

Page : 200 , Block Name : Appreciation

Q3 Mark the linkers used by the author to connect the point he makes in one paragraph to the
next. For example, let me explain the difference that makes in the last line of Para 1 of Section
II. These are called discourse markers or discourse signallers.

Answer. Linkers used by the author to connect the point he makes in one paragraph with that in
the next are as follows:
1. “There must have been tales of the strange and different…. Let’s consider- The respect that
people have….manipulate that key.”
2. “Science fiction is a literary universe of no mean size because science fiction is what it is, not
through its content but through its background: Let me explain the difference that makes.”

Page : 200 , Block Name : Appreciation

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