When you hear the words “science fiction,” you expect some science in the fiction. However, many books, TV shows and movies throw in “baloneyum,” which looks and sounds scientific, but is really nonsense. How can we sort through the baloney to find the good stuff? Dr. Charles Adler, professor of physics at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the author of “Wizards, Aliens, and Starships,” will help sort through the baloney to find the good stuff during a lecture on this topic at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, in Room 104 Physics Building.

Adler will talk about some basic scientific principles, especially the law of conservation of mass-energy, and review some fictional works that have good science, some that have bad, and one or two which are truly awful.

His book has been rated among Physics World’s top 10 books and was one of The Guardian’s best popular physical science books in 2014. It was a co-winner of the 2015 American Institute of Physics science writing award for books.