Whither Scifi?

"Scifi" comes and goes, in many ways ... from sitting right next to porn (literally) in the 1950s to blazing new trails in the 1960s (Star Trek) to of course massive mainstream in the 1970s and 1980s (Star Wars, every Philip K. Dick idea), back to the alley in the 90s and now once again in the limelight as we continue to look for newer and more relevant stories as the world around us keeps changing.

Often there's a discussion on what exactly constitutes Scifi, and more knowledgeable minds than mine have tried to define it without full satisfaction. I choose to see it as:

"any story where an altered reality -- usually by technology -- affects the way humans (as we currently understand them) interact."

Yes, it's kind of wide. But I think it has to be. Consider: Most of the time, our interest is not in humans taking on new characteristics, but in seeing how the humans can balance humanity in the face of a different context. We usually see a human protagonist using whatever human-ness they have in their current situation, even if that situation is them sitting in an abandoned space station, or living in a world with widespread telepathy, or moving in and out of time. They're still human; otherwise it's a lot of work by the author to help us relate to them.

So what fits into that bucket? Well, almost everything. Sure, if it's got stars and spaceships we get it; however, what about something like Jose Saramago's Blindness, which basically changes one part of the world's equation and then watches humans go to their baser instincts? Still humans being human, but against a new backdrop. Is that Scifi? What about Billy Pilgrim's travels during Slaughterhouse-Five? Or any "fantasy" story where basically it's just us, in a different world with different rules?

Or, in reverse -- couldn't we just put the crew of the Starship Enterprise onto a sailing ship in the 1790s, send them around the ocean and blur out the "planets" and turn them into islands and have it be the same? Isn't it just the saga of an adventurer and his opposite sailing around the world?

Kind of ... but then again, Star Trek is one of the few scifi constructs I can think of in my limited knowledge that specifically evolves humans past their 20th century needs. The Federation doesn't have poverty, greed, hunger or any other issues that would reside on the first or second level of the Maslow pyramid. Well, except James Tiberius Kirk does like him some kissin' ...

The point? Just that there's a lot of room for everyone here. Limiting to terms like "scifi" or "fantasy" or overly discussing it takes away from the enjoyment. If it's a new world and the same old people, then we've got the makings. And that's good enough for me.