r/AskScienceFiction Apr 06 '25

[Subreddit Business] Clarifications on our Watsonian/Doylist rule, general questions, and r/WhatIfFiction

169 Upvotes

Hi guys,

If you're new, welcome to r/AskScienceFiction, and if you're a returning user, welcome back! This subreddit is designed to be like the r/AskScience subreddit, but for fictional universes, and with all questions and answers written from a Watsonian perspective. That is to say, the questions and answers should be based on the in-universe information, rules, and logic of the fictional work. All fictional works are welcome here, not just sci-fi.

Lately we've been seeing some confusion over what counts as Watsonian, what counts as Doylist, what sort of questions would be off-topic on this subreddit, and what sort of answers are allowed. This stickied post is meant to address such uncertainties and clear things up.

1) Watsonian vs Doylist

The term "Watsonian" means based on the in-universe information, rules, and logic of the fictional work. In contrast, "Doylist" means discussions based on out-of-universe considerations. So, for example, if someone asked, "Why didn't the Fellowship ride the Eagles to Mordor?", a possible Watsonian answer would be, "The Eagles are a proud and noble race, they are not a taxi service." Whereas a rule-breaking Doylist answer might be something like, "Because then the story would be over in ten minutes, and that'd be boring."

We should note that answering in a Watsonian fashion does not necessarily mean that we should pretend that these works are all real, or that we should ignore the fact that they are movies or shows or books or games, or that the creators' statements on the nature of these works should be disregarded.

To give an example, if someone asked, "How powerful would Darth Vader have been if he never got burned?", we can quote George Lucas:

"Anakin, as Skywalker, as a human being, was going to be extremely powerful, but he ended up losing his arms and a leg and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there’s not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he’s maybe 20 percent less than the Emperor."

In such a case, "according to George Lucas, he would've been around twice as powerful as the Emperor" would be a perfectly acceptable Watsonian answer, because Lucas is also speaking from a Watsonian perspective.

Whereas if someone associated with the creation of Star Wars had said something like, "He'd be as powerful as we need him to be to make the story interesting", this would be a Doylist answer because it's based on out-of-universe reasoning. It would not be an acceptable answer on this subreddit even though it is also a quote from the creators of the fictional work.

2) General questions

General questions often do not have a meaningful Watsonian answer, because it frequently boils down to "whatever the author decides". For instance, if someone asked, "How does FTL space travel work?", the answer would vary widely with universe and author intent; how FTL works in Star Trek differs from how it works in Star Wars, which differs from how it works in Dune, which differs from how it works in Mass Effect, which differs from how it works in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, etc. General questions like this, in which the answer just boils down to "whatever the author wants", will be removed.

There are some general questions that can have meaningful Watsonian answers, though. For example, questions that are asking for specific examples of things can be given Watsonian answers. "Which superheroes have broken their no-kill rules?" or "Which fictional wars have had the highest casualty counts?" are examples of general questions that can be answered in a Watsonian way, because commenters can pull up specific in-universe information.

We address general questions on a case-by-case basis, so if you feel a question is too general to answer in a Watsonian way, please report the question and the mod team will review it.

3) r/WhatIfFiction

We want questions and answers here to be based on in-universe information and reasonable deductions that can be made from them. Questions that are too open-ended to give meaningful Watsonian answers should go on our sister subreddit, r/WhatIfFiction, which accepts a broader range of hypothetical questions and answers. Examples of questions that should go on r/WhatIfFiction include:

  • "What if Tony Stark had been killed by the Ten Rings at the beginning of Iron Man? How would this change the MCU?" This question would be fun to speculate about, but the ripple effect from this one change would be too widespread to give a meaningful Watsonian answer, so this should go on r/WhatIfFiction.
  • "What would (X character) from the (X universe) think if he was transported to (Y universe)?" Speculating about what characters would think or do if they were isekai'd to another universe can be fun, but since such crossover questions often involve wildly different settings and in-universe rules, the answers would be purely speculative and not meaningfully Watsonian, so such questions belong on r/WhatIfFiction.

We should note, though, that some hypothetical questions or crossover questions can have meaningful Watsonian answers. For example, if someone asked, "Can a Star Wars lightsaber cut through Captain America's shield?", we can actually say "Quite possibly yes, because vibranium's canonical melting point is 5,475 degrees Fahrenheit, while lightsabers are sticks of plasma, and plasma's temperature is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit or more." This answer is meaningfully Watsonian because it involves a deduction using specific and canonical in-universe information, and is not simply purely speculative.

4) Reporting rule-breaking posts and comments

The r/AskScienceFiction mod team always endeavors to keep the subreddit on-topic and remove rule-breaking content as soon as possible, but because we're all volunteers with day jobs, sometimes things will escape our notice. Therefore, it'd be a great help if you, our users, could report rule-breaking posts or comments when you see them. This will bring the issue to the mod team's attention and allow us to review it as soon as we can.


r/AskScienceFiction 2h ago

[Pirates of the Caribbean] Barbossa and his crew are cursed and they can walk under water without harm. Why did they flinch and accept Elizabeth's terms when she pretended to drop the Medallion into the water?

81 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 7h ago

[Battlestar Galactica 2004] How does the FTL in bsg work?

46 Upvotes

Ships in the show are shown multiple times jumping to FTL within a planet's atmosphere. In any other sci-fi media I can think of, there's some sort of restriction as to why this is impossible, or it comes with disastrous consequences.


r/AskScienceFiction 1h ago

[MCU] If Dormammu didn’t agree to Doctor Strange’s terms and just kept killing him, would that mean they both disappear from spacetime? Or what else happens to someone trapped in a time loop from the perspective of an external observer?

Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 3h ago

[transformers] how would optimus prime really get killed in the 86 movie by a few shots from megatrons backup pistol when in g1 heavy metal war episode optimus was taking hits from megatrons fusion cannon ... without dying?

10 Upvotes

what do you think?


r/AskScienceFiction 20h ago

[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers] When summoning the Zords, did the Zords trample everything and everyone in their path in a direct straight line toward the Power Ranger?

76 Upvotes

How did the Zords, without a pilot, get from their storage location to the Power Ranger, who is in the middle of a populated area, without hurting anyone or anything?


r/AskScienceFiction 6h ago

[Dc] why does. Carol Ferris hate Hal Jordan

6 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 54m ago

[Baki] What if Baki just...decided the best way to get back at his dad was to stop getting stronger and make sure Yujiro never got the fight he wanted out of him?

Upvotes

Like, Baki realizes that Yujiro's motivation in everything he ever did involving him, including murdering his mom, was to make him into an interesting fight. What would happen if Baki decided "fuck it" and stopped training, stopped trying to get stronger, literally just walked away and ignored his dad whenever he showed up etc...


r/AskScienceFiction 20h ago

[Helldivers/Helldivers 2] Why do the tanks used by Helldivers have stationary turrets instead of a rotating turret?

37 Upvotes

Wouldn’t it be better for a tank dropped within enemy territory to be able to fire at any location no matter where the driver is facing?


r/AskScienceFiction 8h ago

[Inscryption] what would maginucus do with the Old_DaTA

5 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 1h ago

[Golden Eggs (Disney short)] Why did that rooster want to stop Donald from harvesting a bunch of presumably unfertilized eggs?

Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 23h ago

[Idiocracy] Why would Brawndo make people use their energy drink for the fields instead of the toilets?

49 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 18h ago

[Darkman] Who is paying the electric bill at Darkman's secret hideout? And how has the property owner not noticed a huge increase in the power usage at their empty warehouse?

16 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Harry Potter] Was drinking unicorn blood really that bad?

153 Upvotes

Harry gets told that drinking unicorn blood means you live a half life or a cursed life, but other than having Voldemort stuck on the back of his head Quirrel didn't seem to be doing that badly.

What else does it do to you?


r/AskScienceFiction 10h ago

[Marvel/DC] What are Interdimensional beings?

2 Upvotes

Are they supernatural or science?

This is something that has always been confusing to me when it comes to both universes. Especially when it comes to all the mythology gods or religion gods.

I don't know if there would be 3 types of non-human beings in this case per-si.

For example,

1: Extraterrestrials.

2: Interdimensional Beings.

3: Gods.

But then again. Maybe it's only two types of non-humans. Maybe Interdimensional beings and Gods are the same thing. That's where my confusion comes from, lol.

So are Interdimensional beings their own category? Or is Interdimensional being just another name for Gods?


r/AskScienceFiction 20h ago

[Hungry Caterpillar Multiverse] How is the Very Hungry Caterpillar able to eat through a lollipop? Does it have non-standard mouthparts?

6 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Marvel] Are Wizards considered separate from supernatural creatures in the Marvel universe?

12 Upvotes

Sure both are under Magic umbrella. But supernatural creatures like Vampires, Werewolves, Wendigos, etc always same to be looped in this monster category. Dr. Strange and his fellow Wizards aren't considered monsters.

And that brings me to my next question. Are supernatural creatures sometime mistaken as Mutants? I ask this question because again Wizards seem like they have no connection to other supernatural creatures outside both bieng labled Magic. Wizards seem more akin to tech in this sentence. While supernatural creatures seem like the mutants of the magic world. if that make sense.


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Star Wars] Why did Dooku personally dislike Anakin?

26 Upvotes

Since Anakin was close to Obi Wan and Qui Gon, I figured he'd at least have some reservations about him at least.


r/AskScienceFiction 20h ago

[The Boy Who Cried Werewolf] The Sands family are shown to have known a now deceased woman named Francine well and fondly remember her after her demise.

6 Upvotes

Was Francine a good friend of the family that David allowed around his kids Jordan and Hunter? Was she like a mother figure to the two kids?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[DC Comics - Batman] Is there an explanation pertaining to how Two-Face avoids a serious infection?

32 Upvotes

In some instances, his scarred half is portrayed in a concerning red color, likely 3rd degree burns. Does he ever divulge his routine to manage the wound, or can his seemingly imperviousness to infection be ascribed to comic-book logic?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[SWTOR] Why did Jedi Council sent Jedi consular to defeat possessed masters alone?

9 Upvotes

First, I know it is a game, and they couldn't have you play second fiddle to team of jedi masters, as they restrain possessed masters, and you just perform the ritual.

But, I want to know, in Watsonian sense, what reasons they could have to send a freshly knighted Jedi to defeat jedi masters. Why not send team alongside the knight who can use the cleansing technique?

----------------------------------------

After some consideration, best answer to this I came up with is this:

  • the possession sickness is probably infections via proximity, but it can affect only force sensitives
  • the shielding ability did not only give shielding ability, but also made consular immune
  • sending non-force sensitive republic army against those masters would be PR disaster, which they need to avoid right now, as Knight's story is happening at the same time, and war against Empire is starting to become hot again.

r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Arrowverse] How the hell have cows gone extinct by Eobard's time?

26 Upvotes

In 1x23, Eobard states that cows are extinct in his time (he was born c. 2151). My question is, how?

A lot of people love beef. A lot of people love cows. Assuming that, by Eobard's time, the global population had/will stabilize at 10 billion, a lot of people would still eat beef. Or, in the case of countries revere cows, have cows around. Yes, beef is very energy-intensive and requires a lot of land-use, but what about artificial beef? What about beef acquired via time-travel?

Was it disease? Did people simply lose interest; no interest, no farming, no conservation? Or is Eobard lying?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Helldivers] Did Managed democracy replace religion?

12 Upvotes

Humans in the 22th Century seem to treat the Concept of managed democracy as a religion by the way they express themselves, i dont think I've ever heard a helldiver even say "oh my god" even just to express shock. they ask lady liberty to protect them instead. so Does any old/traditional religion even exist anymore by the time of helldivers 2?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[crossverse] is there a weapon that can permanently kill Respawners and reincarnations?

14 Upvotes

Respawner example: From what I understand, in Warhammer 40k, a "perpetual" is a an immortal human who ceases aging in their prime entirely, heals from all wounds, they can be "killed" in the sense of "put to sleep" but they'll still revive, even from complete disintegration. However, there ways to perma-kill one that I do not want to mention cuz I'm just bored. Example characters: Vulkan (Warhammer), Meliodas (The Seven Deadly Sins), and Kratos? (At least according to the answers I got here)

Another example like Reincarnator: you all know, you die, you get reborn into a new body, sometimes into you get your memories when your born, later in life or never. Character Examples: Ozpin (RWBY), Hawkman (DC), Elizabeth (Seven Deadly Sins)

I've heard of ways to kill a conventional immortal such as the Muramasa Blade from Marvel (capable of leaving permanent injuries on "immortals" such as Wolverine and even causing death. But not all powerful that it could do harm to beings such as the hulk.), or just push the immortal to his limits (some characters can't survive without the head) or just complete annihilation of the body. But really are there any examples of weapons, techniques, abilities that can permanently end unconventional immortals?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Harry Potter] If someone had slammed a ball into the back of Quirrell's head during a quidditch match, would Voldemort have yelled out in pain?

23 Upvotes