History Main / FictionalFieldOfScience

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'' has several of these. Some examples is [[MemeticsInFiction antimemetics]], the study of things that can't be remembered, and nexology, the study of SupernaturalHotspotTowns, which are called 'nexuses' in the setting.

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'' has several of these. One example is [[MemeticsInFiction antimemetics]], the study of things that can't be remembered.

* Alchemy is a well-known and respected field of science in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', with the government eager to employ exceptional alchemists and sponsor their research. Alchemy is ([[ScienceMarchesOn or was]]) a discipline in RealLife, but it doesn't actually work unless you count people who have a particle accelerator.
* ''Manga/HeterogeniaLinguistico'' is about a linguist/anthropologist studying the languages of various nonhuman species, like WolfMen, LizardMen, and [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent minotaurs]].

* Steven Wright has a degree in calcium anthropology, the study of milkmen.

* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
** In the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' series, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] helps Comicbook/IronMan with the Superhuman Registration Act because he'd calculated the future of society by [[PrescienceByAnalysis Psychohistory]]. In one issue, he explicitly stated that he'd been fascinated by Asimov's description about the discipline as a child, and as a result, had actually {{defictionaliz|ation}}ed it in-universe. He and Johnny even went and brought the Thinker to his HQ and showed him his equations, as aside from Reed he was probably the only one who could understand them.[[labelnote:*]]Reed missed out on a major caveat to the field; that its predictions were completely useless if mind control exists to mess up the variables by making people act out of character, and the marvel universe is lousy with ways to do that, least of multiple telepaths.[[/labelnote]]

* From the ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' series Preternatural Biology, the study of preternatural (magic/paranormal) creatures, like dragons, yeti, vampires, what have you. It's actually portrayed fairly realistically (for instance dragons aren't magic exactly and don't breathe fire, they are giant lizards, many of them hunted to extinction, and trolls are a kind of primate closely related to humans).
* ''Literature/ChildeCycle'' by Creator/GordonRDickson - The Exoctics have a social science called ontogenetics that allow them to perceive patterns in human history and to a certain degree predict which individuals and events will be key points in the evolution of humans to a higher state of being. While the exact details are intentionally left vague, it is said to involve calculations that take into account every person in all the world, as well as how institutions and societies shape the pattern of history and human evolution. One component of the science is the idea that certain individuals have an unusually large impact on the pattern of history. Creator/GordonRDickson often uses this as something of a {{lampshade|Hanging}} and [[JustifiedTrope in-universe justification]] for the fact that his MainCharacters (some arguably rising to the level of TheChosenOne) all play a major role in the movement of the MythArc toward his planned final ending, which sadly was never revealed in full because the author DiedDuringProduction.
* ''Literature/{{Gog}}'': Pthiriology, the study of lice, from ''The chair of Pthiriology'' chapter. The eponymous protagonist said that he wanted to create at the University of W. a chair that does not exist in any university in the world. Among the many proposals, this one was his favourite. The person who wrote it wanted to study lice not only from a taxonomic and biological perspective, but also culturally, in the arts and literature, politics and religion, giving many example of its significance in these fields.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Magizoology, the magical equivalent of zoology.
* In ''Literature/InCryptid'', cryptozoology is a legitimate (though secret) branch of zoology, which often crosses into anthropology when the cryptids in question are sapient.
* ''Literature/{{Solaris}}'' by Creator/StanislawLem has "solaristics", the study of the titular planet.
* Parts of the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' have Sith alchemy, slower and more scientific than the other things Sith learned -- there's not usually the same emphasis on patience and repeated trials -- and something that only Force-Sensitives could get much out of. Sith could study and apply this to create metals that lightsabers couldn't burn through, and twist animals and people into monsters.

* ''Series/GenV'': Brink is apparently the world's expert on superhero studies, with three doctorates on the subject. We don't know what they entail exactly.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has [[FasterThanLightTravel Warp Theory]], [[TimeTravel Temporal Mechanics]], Exoarchaeology ("Exo-" as in "Exoterrestrial"), Exobiology, Exogenetics, and Exochemistry.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has Parazoology and Parabotany, the scientific study of Awakened (magical) animals and plants, respectively.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Videogame/FallenLondon:'' Some of the game's advanced stats are expertise in one of these. Specifically:
** Scholar of the Correspondence is a very particular sort of linguistics dealing with [[LanguageOfMagic the Correspondence]]. It's a very delicate art, as the language is so unforgiving making a typo or even trying to pronounce it will set you on fire and melt through lead if overdone, but those who know what they're doing can [[RealityWarper redirect reality closer to their desires]] by hijacking what they know is [[spoiler:the language of the god-like Judgements]].
** Artisan of the Red Science denotes skill in a particular form of [[RealityWarper reality alteration]] that must play by certain rules while bypassing others, be it by rhetoric or by exploiting the looser realities of the Neath. It's denoted as a science of breaking chains, but that you ''must'' know the chains to know how to break them.
** Kataleptic Toxicology is a variant of chemistry focused on Neath-born substances and their less-than-natural effects upon the human(?) body. It covers substances from the merely exceedingly lethal to the outright esoteric (such as [[MoralityGuidedAttack poisons that know what you did]] and {{Immortality Inducer}}s).
** Monstrous Anatomy borders on regular xenobiology, but with an emphasis on the unnatural anatomies of monsters in the Neath and in [[DreamLand Parabola]], how to work with them and how to bring down the creatures through weaknesses innate only to such anatomies. It's also a measure of how monstrous ''your'' anatomy has gotten, and (in a pinch) can double as paleontology in a place as screwy as the Neath.
** Glasswork is the science that works with [[DreamLand Parabola]] and its unique framework of physics based on mental metaphor and general dreams. People who often need to work with others' dreams would do well to brush up on it, and it's fundamental to people like Silverers who cross the mirror on a regular basis.
** Shapeling Arts is the skill that Rubbery Men and people who have dealings with them use to physically alter their own bodies and those of others. Such changes are ''very'' variable, going from very temporary alterations that let you not break your bones on a NegativeSpaceWedgie or push yourself through a hole the size of an arm, to outright giving yourself new limbs and other permanent modifications; the unifying idea is to evolve into something better, for the situation or for life.
** [[spoiler:Steward of the Discordance]] is in ways the opposite to Scholar of the Correspendence thanks to the language being the ''literal'' opposite. Trying to steer reality down paths of your liking with it is likely to freeze your eyeballs until they crack even if you ''do'' know what you're doing, and [[spoiler:the Laws imposed by it when you even ''read'' it can only be removed if you forget it ever happened]]. But knowing this language is a factor, it's better to have it studied, and know what it can do.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Artifice}}'' features a robopsychologist.
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has several scientists who are studying ''magic''. Tedd Verres and Dr. Germahn will -- in an upcoming arc -- be sharing a lab for this purpose.
* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3652 Evie]] is a [=Ph.D.=] candidate in post-[[TheSingularity Singularity]] psychology, studying the minds of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and their integration into human society.
-->'''Evie:''' I've actually got an AI colleague who's studying me studying AI.
* A "Timeline of Geolosophical Eras" is seen pinned on Laura's wall on Page 1 of ''Webcomic/JennyAndTheMultiverse''.
* ''Webcomic/RankAmateur'''s TokenHuman is Dimensional Physicist Hannah Teal. The field mostly involves [[FasterThanLightTravel hyperdrives]], although the Dimension Cannon - a powerful ultraweapon capable of destroying time itself - is also based on this.
* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': Sally at one point mentions an "Outer Science" class, which presumably relates to the study of what -- if anything -- is on the other side of the [[DomedHometown Great Barrier]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Website/SCPFoundation'' has several of these. One example is antimemetics, the study of things that can't be remembered.
[[/folder]]

** In the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' series, [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] helps Comicbook/IronMan with the Superhuman Registration Act because he'd calculated the future of society by [[PrescienceByAnalysis Psychohistory]]. In one issue, he explicitly stated that he'd been fascinated by Asimov's description about the discipline as a child, and as a result, had actually {{defictionaliz|ation}}ed it in-universe. He and Johnny even went and brought the Thinker to his HQ and showed him his equations, as aside from Reed he was probably the only one who could understand them.

!!'''Examples'''

[[folder: General ]]

* Humans who study alien planets and lifeforms will often add the prefix xeno- (from the Greek word "xenos" meaning "outsider", "foreigner" or "stranger") to the name of an existing science, resulting in designations like xenobiology, xenoarcheology, xenolinguistics and so on.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* Alchemy is a well-known and respected field of science in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', with the government eager to employ exceptional alchemists and sponsor their research. Alchemy is [[ScienceMarchesOn (or was)]] a discipline in RealLife, but it doesn't actually work unless you count people who have a particle accelerator.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Parts of the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' have Sith alchemy, slower and more scientific than the other things Sith learned - there's not usually the same emphasis on patience and repeated trials - and something that only Force-Sensitives could get much out of. Sith could study and apply this to create metals that lightsabers couldn't burn through, and twist animals and people into monsters.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* ''{{Series/Farscape}}'' partially revolves around the discovery of [[OurWormholesAreDifferent wormholes]] and the emerging scientific field around their potential uses.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has several scientists who are studying ''magic''. Tedd Verres and Dr. Germahn will - in an upcoming arc - be sharing a lab for this purpose.
* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3652 Evie]] is a [=Ph.D.=] candidate in post-[[TheSingularity Singularity]] psychology, studying the minds of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and their integration into human society.