That&#x27;s why I think Gravity, Interstellar and The Martian are the best things that happened for space popularization since 1987 (Star Trek: The Next Generation). They cleared out <i>tons</i> of misconceptions people have about space, while introducing very little of their own (Gravity being the biggest offender) - and they did it in a way that captured the interest of general population. I like the trend of making realistic science fiction, and I hope it continues.<p>&gt; <i>Maybe all scientists and researchers should take classes in creative writing, fiction, and speech.</i><p>There&#x27;s a risk with going too far with that though. A scientist who makes their writing <i>too</i> creative can do more harm than good to the domain, and to public perception of science. The risk increases exponentially if the work is being managed by a creative director - they&#x27;ll likely take liberties with accuracy in order to make the work more general-population-friendly. Science is a hard thing to explain right. Yes, quite a lot of even the most advanced concepts <i>can</i> be presented simply, but it&#x27;s a very delicate and precise work, if you want the simplification to be right, and not misleading.<p>--<p>As for space education, Kerbal Space Program is absolutely the best thing ever. It&#x27;s hard to even count the number of people 12 y.o. and less who are proficient in basic orbital mechanics, math included, thanks to this game. Seeing kids talking about Δv budgets and orbital transfers really warms my heart. The game&#x27;s realism, combined with fun setting and identifiable characters, makes it a perfect vehicle for teaching physics intuition that is hard to acquire even for professionals. And the best thing? It even teaches hard math the right way!<p>You don&#x27;t have to know or learn any math to play KSP and have fun. You can literally eyeball your Mun mission. But as you play you quickly discover the benefits of learning a bit of theory. It makes your rockets more efficient. It makes your maneuvers better. It helps you understand why your ship seems to go away from your space station when you accelerate towards it. Soon, your game turns from this[0] to <i>this</i>[1] (via mods, and yes, all those numbers and plots mean something to you).<p>[0] - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;72XNY9q.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;72XNY9q.jpg</a><p>[1] - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;AcpcCqS.png" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;AcpcCqS.png</a>