The best of our literature opens a window to who we are and what we're capable of. No literary genre is as devoted to the possibilities of humanity as science fiction. As Ray Bradbury has said, "Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science. The whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction."

And no field is as affected by the possibilities of humanity as training.

So what can we learn about learning from science fiction?*

1. “My god, it's full of stars.” – 2001: A Space Odyssey
   
   Everyone in the class is a "star"—has the potential to teach something to others and to perform brilliantly. We do best as trainers when we remember this and program in time and methods for participants to shine.
2. "Soylent Green is people!!!" – Soylent Green
   
   We're all people in the training room, regardless of position. Learning experiences go best when no one acts like they're above anyone else.
3. "It's against my programming to impersonate a deity." – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
   
   What I said above? That goes for trainers, too. No pretending to have god-like knowledge of your subject matter. You're a regular person, too.
4. "Welcome to Earth." – Independence Day
   
   A strong welcome and introduction is a great way to get a learning experience off on the right foot. It sets the tone of your relationship with learners and foreshadows the experience to come like little other.
5. "We come in peace! We come in peace!" – Mars Attacks
   
   Creating a non-combative learning environment is key to productive outcomes. And it is created both by words and by actions.
6. "You're just going to have to figure out what it wants. What is its motivation?"
   "It's a rock monster. It doesn't have motivation."
   "See, that's your problem, Jason. You were never serious about the craft." – Galaxy Quest
   
   Adult learners are strongly goal-oriented. When you know their motivation, you can create an environment that strongly encourages learning. If you don't make it clear that the training will accomplish something they need or care about, they're not nearly as likely to participate.
7. "Chemistry and geology. I taught at Princeton for two and a half years. Why do I do this? Because the money's good, the scenery changes and they let me use explosives, okay?" – Armageddon
   
   The more you can draw out the more interesting parts of your topic, the longer you will be able to keep attention. Pyrotechnics never hurt.
8. "Names, Lieutenant!"
   "I do not remember."
   "A lie?"
   "A choice." – Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
   
   One good learning strategy is to invite participants to make choices and see the outcomes of those choices—to figure out the content for themselves in a safe setting. Experiential learning is a great training method.
9. "It isn't faith that makes good science, Mr. Klaatu, it's curiosity. Sit down, please. There are several thousand questions I'd like to ask you." – The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
   
   If you can trigger learners' curiosity, get them involved in asking questions or working through scenarios, you're more likely to keep their minds actively involved with the material. (No need to set them to figuring out what "Klaatu barada nikto" means.)
10. "Jubal called out, 'That new house on the far hilltop - can you see what color they've painted it?' Anne looked in the direction in which Jubal was pointing and answered, 'It's white on this side.' [...] 'You see? Anne is so thoroughly indoctrinated that it doesn't even occur to her to infer that the other side is probably white too. All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't force her to commit herself as to the far side ... unless she herself went around to the other side and looked - and even then she wouldn't assume that it stayed whatever color it might be after she left ... because they might repaint it as soon as she turned her back.'" – Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
    
    Setting course participants to tasks (like responding to a question) and then debriefing the response/experience is a straightforward, effective training technique that helps participants actively engage with course material.
11. "Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
    
    Remember that your course participants come from different backgrounds and points of view. Non-confrontational engagement with different opinions is a good thing.
12. "Do you really think the best way to introduce the heroes of this story is to show them causing a massive catastrophe?"
    "That's… realistic." – Stargate SG-1
    
    Everyone in your class brings valuable life experience. Involving it in your course experiences creates greater interest for sharers and greater authenticity for learners.
13. "I'm sorry, Dave; I can't do that." – 2001: A Space Odyssey
    
    Be prepared to redirect course participants, if needed, in a calm way.
14. "Each man is a god. Each man is free."
    "How about guys in jail? They're not free. How about guys in gulag?" – Mystery Science Theater 3000: Puma Man
    
    As you redirect, try to provide a means of saving face. It's usually not helpful to make class participants feel bad for sharing something inaccurate or otherwise requiring correction.
15. "Then we're dead."
    "I've been dead before." – Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
    
    Some people have been there and done EVERYTHING already. Actively, specifically involving other course participants in a conversation can help keep the know-it-alls from taking over the conversation.
16. "Although they [dolphins] had long known that Earth was about to be destroyed, their attempts to communicate this knowledge to humanity were misinterpreted as attempts to jump through hoops for bits of fish. They left the Earth just prior to its destruction, but left humanity one last message, a triple backwards somersault through a hoop whilst whistling the Star Spangled Banner, when, in fact, the message was this: 'So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.'" – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    
    It's easy to misinterpret what others are trying to communicate, to assume that people are like others we've encountered, without asking. It's also easy to misinterpret what your course participants are looking to get out of a course if you don't ask.
17. "You know, I'm a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I can help you with that hump."
    "What hump?" – Young Frankenstein
    
    Before you introduce the solution to a problem, first be sure that everyone is on the same page about what the problem is.
18. "You're an interesting species. An interesting mix. You're capable of such beautiful dreams and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other." – Contact
    
    One of the most valuable things training can provide is opportunities for course participants to build connections with others in a safe environment. They can share experience and ideas with one another ... and build lasting, beneficial relationships.
19. "Are you sure it isn't time for a colorful metaphor?" – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
    
    Figures of speech and example stories are a great way of making training engaging. Just be careful not to get running off at the mouth.
20. "I'm sorry, my responses are limited...you must ask the right questions." – I, Robot
    
    It's advisable to spend some time in advance considering what questions are likely to be asked and some clear answers to provide. No point in fumbling on the spot if it was foreseeable that the issue would come up.
21. "As soon as we started thinking for you, it really became our civilization." – The Matrix
    
    Invite course participants to think over the content for themselves and share their thoughts. Engage them.
22. "I think that most people would rather face the light of a real enemy than the darkness of their imagined fears." – Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
    
    Real-life scenarios are more motivating than purely fictional ones. They clarify what (some of) the real problems are and let course participants get to the work of trying to solve them.
23. "I aim to misbehave." – Serenity
    
    Activities and scenarios that are disruptive to the status quo can be very useful in creating a space in which to evaluate norms. It is also likely to be considered unfavorably, at least at first.
24. "I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master." – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
    
    One of the highest signs that one has learned content is to be able to teach it to others. If you can construct activities in which course participants teach one another, they are much more likely to retain material.
25. "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" – Firefly
    
    As we've discussed before, adult learners are uncomfortable with risk. It's easy as a learner to assume that failure (and betrayal) is inevitable when facing active course activities. But don't panic. Taking care to make them comfortable by giving thorough directions and starting with paired or small-group activities can help them avoid disengagement.
26. "Everybody remember where we parked." – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
    
    It's easy to get off track in a learning environment, following a wormhole away from your main focus. Having visual representations of where the course is going (posters, slides, etc.) can help class participants help you get back on track.
27. "Please excuse the crudity of this model, as I didn't have time to build it to scale or paint it." – Back to the Future
    
    Visuals don't need to be elaborate. But having visuals is greatly useful.
28. "If everything's ready here on the Dark Side of the Moon... play the five tones." – Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    
    Don't underestimate the power of music and other auditory cues to set tone and create emotional peaks and valleys within a learning encounter.
29. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few ... or the one." – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    
    Sometimes you have to take the hit and not tell that juicy story. Sometimes you have to take the floor from an over-sharer in order to keep things on track. It's important to do this so the whole class's needs are met.
30. "Friedrich Nietzsche! We cannot burn Friedrich Nietzsche; he was the most important thinker of 19th Century!"
    "Oh, please! Nietzsche was a chauvinist pig, who was in love with his sister." [...]
    "Uh… excuse me? You guys? Yeah... there's a whole section on tax law down here that we can burn." – The Day After Tomorrow
    
    Careful prioritization and paring out of unnecessary material is a hallmark of a well-designed learning experience.
31. "I was especially interested in the section on Arroway's video unit. The one that recorded the static?"
    "Continue."
    "The fact that it recorded static isn't what interests me."
    "Continue."
    "What interests me is that it recorded approximately eighteen hours of it." – Contact
    
    Don't be afraid of the occasional silence. The introverts in the room may need the quiet time in order to process their thoughts.
32. “Remember; no matter how desperate the situation seems, time spent thinking clearly is never time wasted.” – Max Brooks, The Zombie Survival Guide
    
    Reflective periods are a great strategy for allowing course participants to process material and make connections for themselves. Consider following them up with a time of group sharing.
33. "I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead, every single one of them. And not just the men... but the women, and the children too. They're like animals! And I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!" – Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
    
    Personal sharing is a great way to connect emotionally with course content and re-evaluate past behavior—but it's important to keep it to appropriate sharing and to create an environment safe for all, while encouraging growth into more useful responses to life events.
34. "Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world, and in here is the dream." – Avatar
    
    Sometimes, learners will have to address cognitive dissonance as they process course experiences. Try to support and encourage them as they consider change; it isn't an easy thing to do.
35. "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." – Star Trek: The Next Generation
    
    Assimilating and accommodating course content to fit into one's internal life is challenging. It may be hard for learners to push through their internal resistance.
36. "There's always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Corillian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!" – Men in Black
    
    Contingencies happen in training. It's important to be prepared so the learning experience can still be as seamless as possible, rather than being derailed.
37. "Don't worry. As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles an hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower... everything will be fine!" – Back to the Future
    
    It's unwise to use activities in courses that are highly sensitive to error. You know what Murphy's Law says.
38. "Americans worship technology. It's an inherent trait in the national zeitgeist." – Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
    
    Practice with the specific technology you'll be using in your course before the participants show up. Make sure you're comfortable with it.
39. "Cookies need love like everything does." – The Matrix Revolutions
    
    Refreshments are a great idea. Think about your course participants' needs and try to plan them in.
40. "I find your lack of faith disturbing." – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
    
    Believe in your abilities as a trainer and the abilities of class participants to learn.
41. "Reach!"
    "Is this a holdup?"
    "It's a science experiment!" – Back to the Future Part III
    
    Don't be afraid to experiment with new learning strategies. You're not likely to drive off a cliff.
42. "Okay. The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is... 42." […]
    "Six by nine. Forty two."
    "That's it. That's all there is."
    "I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe." – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    
    Always check your math. 

* For the purposes of this post, I'm defining science fiction as loosely as seems reasonable.

Have any additions? Put them in the comments.