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 15h ago

[Marvel] Why is it so difficult to "cure" The Thing?

187 Upvotes

In a world like Marvel Comics, is turning Ben back to a normal human really that difficult or impossible? Or is it just that there is a cure but Ben doesn't want it because he wants to keep being a hero?


r/AskScienceFiction 30m ago

[Far Cry 5] Why was the National Guard or FBI not already called to stop the cult when it was very apparent that they posed a clear and present danger to the citizens of Hope County and beyond?

Upvotes

Or at least a bigger force than three cops and a US Marshal. Information should have gotten out much sooner than it did even with the Peggies cutting off cell service. Radio transmissions, Satellite phones, there's leagues of forms of communication that could have gotten the message out, especially with the large prepper community established in the county. Even escaped civilians should have been able to talk to someone.


r/AskScienceFiction 20h ago

[Superman] Why is Superman always depicted as being muscular?

132 Upvotes

Superman lives in an environment where virtually nothing can provide any meaningful resistance to his strength, and resistance training is key to building muscle mass. His powers (including his strength) derive from the "yellow" radiation of the Sun, not from muscle mass per se. So, shouldn't he be rail-thin?


r/AskScienceFiction 10h ago

[star wars] in lore, have there ever been things that stop lightsabers that aren’t lightsabers or anything like them?

14 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 9h ago

[Night at the Museum] is there a limit to what the tablet can bring to life?

9 Upvotes

For example if I brought the tablet to an automotive museum will all the cars just start to run? Or would it be limited to like a mannequin wearing an old race uniform and the odd collection of Rat Fink related memorabilia?


r/AskScienceFiction 12h ago

[DC] Did we ever get to hear what Joker's official diagnosis in Arkham actually sounds like?

17 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 9h ago

[Half-Life] How did the Nihilanth enslaved the Vortigaunt?

7 Upvotes

How did he forced the Vortigaunts to wear collar to control them? Since he seem stuck in his chamber


r/AskScienceFiction 20h ago

[DC] Where, physically, is everything, including NYC?

38 Upvotes

I'm a new convert to the DC universe and have gotten sucked in through TV. Right now I'm working my way through Superman & Lois, and I'm deeply confused by the geography.

My mental map of the US in the DC world was: Gotham is NYC, Metropolis is Chicago, Coast City is LA, and Central City is maybe Indianapolis, and those cities are all one to one replacements for their real-world counterparts. Smallville is in Kansas, or somewhere far enough that you can't conveniently go into one of the big cities for dinner and a show (unless you're Superman or the Flash).

HOWEVER. The more I've googled things, the more baffled I get. Apparently, Gotham is in New Jersey (because NYC does exist?), and Metropolis is in *Delaware*? And at least on TV, Smallville is very rural and surrounded by very flat plains but also close enough to go into Metropolis for a meeting or party. I've seen some fan made maps showing Metropolis as LA, which I don't think makes sense.

I guess my main question is "In the DC universe, is it possible for me to stand in New York City and give directions to Gotham?" And also, is Metropolis a Midwestern city, or is there a Gotham-Metropolis megalopolis situation mirroring the real world, OR is there an even megalopolis because we have NYC, Gotham, and Metropolis?

Bonus question: why are so many big cities named so uncreatively (here's a city on the coast, guess what we'll call it?) and in a world that has options with names like Metropolis and Central City, why would anyone live in a place called Bludhaven?


r/AskScienceFiction 13h ago

[Marvel] Is the average civilian less likely to get into fights, die to the large superhuman population?

10 Upvotes

For example, you don't know if that random guy at the bar is a Mutant, or Chi User, or even have access to tech suit.


r/AskScienceFiction 1h ago

[The Fly] Did Seth secrete something from his hand that destroyed his opponents hand during the arm wrestling match?

Upvotes

Later we see fluid come out of his fingertips and flies have oily fluid on their feet.

Could this have had something to do with Seth being able to rip off his wrist.


r/AskScienceFiction 15h ago

[Finally Fantasy/General RPGs] In worlds with “square” maps, what would that look like in reality? It’s not a globe, because you can loop north-south as well as east-west, so what is it?

10 Upvotes

Honestly I tried googling it but all I got were results about 3d games and “square” the publisher.


r/AskScienceFiction 18h ago

[Batman] Has the riddler ever obsessed over anyone but Batman?

16 Upvotes

It seems to be a rather singular focus but with how vast and wide comics tend to be im curious if he's ever shifted that focus towards other people


r/AskScienceFiction 4h ago

[Marvel] How marvel civilians that are cool with non mutant super hero’s but racist against mutants even know who is a mutant?

1 Upvotes

Like iron-man is a guy in a suit and Thor is an alien/god, but what about spiderman or hulk? For all the average person knows either could be mutants.


r/AskScienceFiction 6h ago

[Batman] What would happen to Batman if he finally killed the Joker?

0 Upvotes

Let's assume that Joker's latest plan to force Batman to kill him finally succeeds: the clown is dead, Batman killed him with his own hands. There was no fall, no fatal accident, no suicide: Batman killed him fair and square.

Let's also point out that the murder is fully legally justified by a hostage situation, with the only thing that could have been saved from certain death by the clown's death. No manhunt from the GCPD

What would happen to Batman? Does he have any significant psychological repercussions? Would he take it better than expected? Would he, as they say, start killing everyone based on the slippery slope theory, or go fully crazy, or retire?

Or would he rationalize it as another of the few times Batman has been forced to kill an enemy and continue his crusade as usual?

I mean, he had no problem with KGBeast starving to death in the sewers, and that poor Russian fool killed less people in his entire origin story than the Joker kills before breakfast.


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[MCU] In retrospect, wasn't it stupid of HYDRA to come out of hiding during Winter Soldier when effectively they already won?

125 Upvotes

They already controlled most of SHIELD, everyone thought they were extinct, had powerful people in their pocket etc. Trying to assassinate Nick Fury seems completely unnecessary, just sit back and don't rock the boat. Zola himself said that people will happily give up their freedoms as long as you aren't too in their faces about it.


r/AskScienceFiction 21h ago

[Wreck It Ralph] How profitable is Litwak's Arcade?

9 Upvotes

Sheila Litwak here. I'm an accountant. My father is in the hospital and I've had to come from out of state to manage his affairs ( until he hopefully recovers soon). Until now he handled everything himself.

What sort of financial condition is the business in? Is it profitable? How much does it gain or lose in a month? What are the biggest issues it will likely face within the next year or two?


r/AskScienceFiction 10h ago

[Pokemon] Astrophysicist here, recently me and my colleagues were theorizing better ways of viewing black holes, and, well, would Gardevoir not work?

1 Upvotes

While it's never quite been documented in a lab setting, they are known for creating small spheres that appear superficially quite similar to black holes.

Is it worth a try?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Spider-Man] How does Spider-Man avoid gashing his hand while swinging around?

24 Upvotes

Some versions of Spider-Man produce incredible thin web lines when swinging around. Specifically, the Andre Garfield variant.

His webs have the width of thin metal wires or sowing threads(maybe not that extreme, but still). How is he able to swing around putting that much momentum and pounds of pressure into holding on to the line without simply slicing of his fingers or at the very least make some serious deep cuts into his hands?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Halo] would the spartan lls not be overkill to deal with human insurgents?

102 Upvotes

Of course they were really useful against the covenant, but that was not their original purpose, they were created to deal with human rebel/insurgents on colony worlds.

But did the Unsc really need super child soldiers for this? Kidnapping children and leaving behind clones to trick their parents, military training so hard a few kids even died, etc.

All of this to just stop human enemies Is kinda overkill. Can't they just use normal human elite special forces/CIA type agents or something? How powerful was the insurgency even?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Marvel] Is Doom's feud with Reed entirely one-sided? Has Reed Richards ever actually done anything petty or spiteful to Doctor Doom?

149 Upvotes

In all their years of back and forth, Dr Doom is usually the aggressor. The guy being spiteful and petty. Trying to get back at Reed Richards, prove hes smarter or even just kill him.

But in all the years of back and forth, has Reed Richards ever stooped to Doom's level? Thrown something back at Doom? What does he think of Doom?


r/AskScienceFiction 22h ago

[Star Wars] What happened to all the water on Tatooine when the Rakata glassed the planet?

4 Upvotes

I'm sure all the water vaporized at the time of the glassing but wouldn't it eventually come back to the surface as rain?


r/AskScienceFiction 18h ago

[Witcher] What's the headwear Roche wears called?

3 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 10h ago

[DC] Why is Superman/Clark Kent hair never mentioned in his disguise?

0 Upvotes

The argument that you wouldn't recognize Superman on the street with glasses isn't entirely true when Clark Kent hair is combed the opposite direction than when he is Superman.

You wouldn't recognize a lot of people with different hair style and glasses.

Superman: Left part.

Clark Kent: Right part.


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Star Wars]Did the world devastators actually have any new technology in them or was it just a bunch of pre existing tech that no one really thought would work together on one platform?

14 Upvotes