Science fiction can be far more than simple entertainment.
Three quarters of a century ago, science fiction was simply one constituent of a vast field of fiction that entertained the public. Not having to compete with television, computer games, easy and cheap travel, the Internet, and a great host of other possible diversions, the written word flourished. Then came World War II, and the atomic bomb, which absolutely stunned the entire world. Or almost the entire world. The genre blossomed into book publishing, greater numbers of magazines, movies, and, on that new invention, television shows.