Sci-fi defintion

I do not favor a "straitjacket" definition of science fiction which attempts to decisively categorize every work as either part of this genre or not. However, there are certainly many similarities among sci-fi works such as an emphasis on technology or a setting in a distant time or place. The main difference between sci-fi and and other genres of fiction is that it usually has some degree of plausibility. Things such as time travel or artificial intelligence are often explained scientifically (with a widely varying degree of believability). Personally, one of my favorite things about speculative fiction is how it allows us to envision a world where the societal effects of a new technology (both positive and detrimental) are a part of everyday life. Things like genetically engineered humans and space colonization would obviously have major cultural and economic repercussions, and sci-fi lets us see what any number of possible futures might be like. This is why near-future cyber-punk works like Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and the old movie Blade Runner appeal to me.