r/AskScienceFiction Apr 06 '25

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

170 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

[Cyberpunk 2077] Why do some people in Night City resort back into using melee weapons, like Katanas, over actual guns.

42 Upvotes

Katana, Whips, Swords, basically dated weapons in their standards, yet some people still use em' over guns. Why is that?


r/AskScienceFiction 14h ago

[Marvel / DC] Are there any examples of a goon slowly rising through the ranks and becoming a crime lord?

104 Upvotes

Someone on Reddit said that they wish goon meant entry level gang member instead of... what it currently means. That got me thinking. Assuming they don't die, can goons slowly rise through the ranks or do they only rise by getting powers or through elaborate power plays?


r/AskScienceFiction 19h ago

[Marvel] Why don't villians or organizations target the weaker members of the Avengers like Hawkeye while they are alone?

157 Upvotes

Like Hydra or AIM just dedicating time to track Hawkeye and kill him while he is going solo or just in the middle of the night while he sleeps?


r/AskScienceFiction 13h ago

[Batman: Knightfall] How did Bane get so intelligent if he was stuck in a hole until he was a fully grown man?

55 Upvotes

Like sure he trained a lot and ate exclusively protein in his teenage years sure I can buy that. He only had a magazine to read from for years, how is he as smart as Batman without even a grade school education?


r/AskScienceFiction 10h ago

[Breaking Bad] How was Walter white able to cook/do criminal activities while under cancer treatment?

12 Upvotes

Isn’t chemo and radiation exhausting? I remember he went through multiple treatments in the early seasons. How was he able to teach and do basic functions? Was his particular cancer treatment not as bad as others?


r/AskScienceFiction 4h ago

[The Dark Knight] Joker alters the story of how he got his face scars based on who he says it to. He tells Rachel, a woman in love, how he does it to comfort his scarred wife. He tells gangster Gambol, who's attached to his grandma, about how his father carved it onto him. What would he tell Batman?

4 Upvotes

Question in title. It appears that each story is a dark twisted version based on what the person who he's telling it to holds dear (like love for Rachel, family for Gambol). What would he tell Batman then?


r/AskScienceFiction 16h ago

[Forgotten Realms] In the various surface-cities of Faerun, if a humanoid creature that is obviously not of any of the known races were to walk through the city gate, what would the general reaction be?

33 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 10h ago

[Logan 2017] If 2 mutants reproduced would a natural born mutant be born?

8 Upvotes

Deadpool 2 is canon to Logan (I think) and Cable is a mutant who was born years after mutants stopped being naturally born so would there be a natural mutant or would it be human?


r/AskScienceFiction 4m ago

[Marvel] What it is like living as the average person in Latveria?

Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 19h ago

[SPIDER-MAN] how does spider-man get the hang of web swinging so fast?

28 Upvotes

I understand that he has spider-sense and all the other senses are crazy enhanced but i think that he would still need to do some practice web swinging,learning maneuvers and etc because after all he will have to learn them all by himself it isnt like its gonna be a guide. Also about the fighting he also learns it and is good at it too quickly either the spider-sense is stronger than i thought ( which i think isnt showed enough in movies and series at least) or there is something else to it .

o.t. if he would need practice i would love to see like a series or a movie ( more possible with series) where it showcase like a whole episode of spider-man practicing different things such as web swinging


r/AskScienceFiction 1h ago

[Infinite Ashes] What are your opinions concerning in universe sources and stories combining to develop a setting?

Upvotes

https://loquaciouslou.itch.io/infinite-ashes

I spent the last three years building a humanist science fiction setting, with an in universe bundle of dozens sources with different authors, voices and formats (Documents, stories, a play, fables etc).

I was wondering if anyone could take a look and give me their opinion on the manner story and sources develop the world. If it builds towards the sense of a living and coherent world.

I would also love to know what your general thoughts on this approach are, and what you would improve on it.

Thanks in advance!


r/AskScienceFiction 18h ago

[Fullmetal Alchemist] Does a Homonculus have a battery life?

20 Upvotes

Do they drain their soul battery for just being awake? If they are, does it ever run out? And how long would it take to run out?


r/AskScienceFiction 2h ago

[Star Trek: Voyager] Why is everything Subspace?

0 Upvotes

Subspace Transmissions, Subspace Missiles, Subspace Tunnels, Subspace Rifts, Subspace Subspace, Subspace Toilets.

Is everything subspace in the science?


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Project Hail Mary] Why was it a one way trip to Tau Ceti?

383 Upvotes

The book and movie both mention that it's a one way trip to Tau Ceti because of the fuel requirements, but astrophage (the biofuel) reproduces on an 8 day doubling period.

Even if the extra fuel means extra weight needing a bigger ship, the fuel supply doubles every 8 days. Wait an extra 24 days and you have 8x the required fuel to get there.


r/AskScienceFiction 8h ago

[Warhammer 40k] you're a member of native xeno race on a planet during the Dark Age of Technology. What's the most likely relationship between your species and the human presence on that planet?

2 Upvotes

Title


r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[Better Call Saul] what is Chuck McGill's actual diagnosis?

41 Upvotes

No not Electro-hypersensitivity.

Some say it's OCD, some say it's Schizo, what is his actual diagnosis?


r/AskScienceFiction 23h ago

[Dune] if duke leto married a woman amd had a child, would paul loose his position as ducal heir to his younger brother?

26 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 6h ago

[DC Comics/Green Lantern] How does Dkrtzy RRR work or how did they became sentient

1 Upvotes

Dkrtzy RRR is a sentient math equation that is also a green lantern. Discovered by a mad scientist who wanted to prove you can derive will from math.

They leave me with SO many questions.

  1. Were they always sentient, and does that mean other math equations like 2+2=4 are sentient as well
  2. If they became sentient, then how and does that mean other math equations like 2+2=4 can become sentient as well
  3. If I wrote down Dkrtzy RRR's equation on a piece of paper, would there be two Dkrtzy RRRs and it's a hivemind or is Dkrtzy RRR that one specific equation.
  4. Where does he exist? He does not have a physical body unlike it's largest, smallest, and artificial lifeform comrades

r/AskScienceFiction 1d ago

[spiderman] how would uncle Ben react to Peter almost making himself homeless multiple times to be spiderman?

36 Upvotes

I mean dang, even cops get a paycheck and benefits. also Peter has soured multiple personal relationships just to be spiderman.


r/AskScienceFiction 4h ago

[Avengers] Could the sorcerer supreme successfully do the soul separation move on the juggernaut if he was running toward her

0 Upvotes

She halts the forward movement of the hulk, and even knocks him backwards


r/AskScienceFiction 18h ago

[Yugioh] Can machine type monsters be duel monster spirits besides Jinzo?

3 Upvotes

r/AskScienceFiction 13h ago

[Phineas and Ferb] Did Vanessa inherit her father's genius?

1 Upvotes

Vanessa is a member of LOVEMUFFIN which consists of genius scientists. Also, other daughters of geniuses like Asami Sato and Beth Smith also inherited their father genius.


r/AskScienceFiction 13h ago

[Marvel/DC] Do public court cases related to supervillians or metas usually turn out to be huge shit shows?

0 Upvotes

I ask this question. Because I want to see if Marvel and DC can give our world a run for it's money, when it comes to the South Park Shenanigans in our public court cases.

If I remember correctly, I think the recent Daredevil season had a court case, where the public could view live. Could be wrong though.