Traitors to the Human Species

The Three Body Problem is a gripping science fiction novel by Liu Cixin, which contains a wealth of information about ancient and modern Chinese history. But I fear it distorts science. And my first golden rule of good science fiction is not to distort science. I think distortions are dangerous because uninformed readers can be led to believe that certain false things are true.

I’m not worried about the assumption that string theory is true. It could be, although it has lost a lot of backing in recent years. But the description in the novel of the three-star system Alpha Centauri has nothing to do with reality, even though that description is crucial to the plot.

Fires, bonfires and arson

Plastic contamination in the sea
(Source: Science News)

In the BBVA magazine of January 2020 there is an article entitled Top Ten, which lists 10 measures we can all apply to curb climate change, the first of which is this:

Committed waste treatment: ...in the next 30 years, 12 million tons of plastic waste will accumulate in the environment. When you go shopping, take a folded cloth bag...

It is true that, with our excessive use of plastics, we are turning the world into a dump, even the oceans. It is true that we must do something to avoid this. But since when contamination with plastics is a cause of climate change? We should learn to make distinctions, and correctly apply names to those phenomena we must face.