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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/22062
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I think one thing you are missing in all of this is that at the time they were written these books were the latest science.

Let me give you an example of a few things I have seen in my own lifetime (I am 60):

- We went from wondering if we might find life on Mars to being assured there was no life on Mars to having the discovery of past life on Mars announced to having that brought in question to having water discovered on Mars to having people now wondering if that might mean the discovery of extremophile life on Mars. 
- We went from not knowing how the dinosaurs died out to knowing it was caused by rock from outer space to now knowing the rock was the straw that broke the dinosaur's back to knowing ? killed them off sometime in the future. 

Science is built up of layers of theory that become rock hard fact sometimes. Unfortunately every once in a while one of those rocks become shifting sand and then we have to go back and reevaluate everything we have put on top of it. This is bad for the scientist, but good for the writer.

Want to get rid of a few "known scientific facts?" All you have to do is come up with new theories that knocks them off their pedestals. You do not have to prove these new facts; just make sure they are feasible.

Don't believe me? Look at all the FTL ships out there in science fiction land. Current science gives them a thumbs down, yet we refuse to give them up. They are just too darned much fun. And who knows - we were all supposed to die when they came up with trains that went more than 20MPH according to some scientist of the day.

Also you need to know that about all those books about little green men on Mars that did not get shifted back and forth multiple times, is exactly the reason that old science fiction never gets labeled as fantasy. Once it is in the science fiction section no one is going to move it. Librarians would have a cat fit!

If you want to write an ole time science fiction story have at it. Just fill current theory full of holes because in 2020 such a scientist discovered... and then write your fun story!

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