Just keep the heat down on the beatdown or I'll have to wave my magic toothpick...
As a Science and Science Fiction Writer, one of the innumerable vast army of folks who look at things that are not and say "Why not?", I have to say that for the most part the writer's goal is to get the reader to read what he/she writes. If too many things conflict with the reader's point of view on reality, it generates bucketfulls and bucketfulls of "Cognitive Dissonance" which eventually annoys the reader to the point that he/she cannot wrap their imagination around the inconsistencies, and you lose them and the copyright royalties you might have gotten from the four to ten other people he/she would have talked into buying it. A certain amount of Plausibility, not necessarily absolute reality, must exist to hold the work together. Writers need to be consistent, and Sci Fi writers neew to at least seem plausible.
There's an excellent book out by Charles Sheffield called "Borderlands of Science" (2000:Baen Publishing Enterprises:Riverdale, NY) $6.29 from Amazon.com) Caution: There are several books out by this title; check author's name carefully.
Sheffield gives an overview, suitable for the non-calculus mathematical set, i.e. lay persons who are interested in Science, of modern technology and a state-of-the-science review in a number of technical fields. I have his 1999 edition in paperback, and it is a nice reference for my Sci-Fi writing.
Amazon has several thorough reviews of the book, so I won't bore you with mine.
