We may currently lack the technical or social capacity to reach our goals, but the vision of an eventual breakthrough breeds optimism and builds resolve serving as beacons of faith and moral bearings for how we live today.

Portrayals of a better future can also inspire actions that contribute to something greater than ourselves; when we emotionally invest in mythic ideas about the future, we feel empowered to actualize them. That sense of empowerment fuels purpose and fosters global communion with the rest of humanity.

Science fiction can coax us to think creatively by letting us leapfrog to the distant future where we may glimpse what radical change could look like.

These stories often imply that we will survive as a species and overcome our challenges or warn us that though we may progress as a s...