b6decee1__Essays__How_to_Analyze_Sci_Fi__Suspension_of_Disbelief
[0] Handling of contradictions: [Literary] Since it regards the visuals as a mere "depiction" of the "real" universe, it diminishes their value to that of mere hearsay, or dramatic re-enactment. Therefore, the literary method is not perturbed at all by inconsistencies in visual effects. However, this method does not gracefully handle inconsistencies in narrative or dialogue. Given two contradictory lines of narrative or dialogue which cannot be rationalized away, we must decide which one the author really "intended", and which one was a "mistake" on his part (a task made rather difficult by the fact that many sci-fi authors have absolutely no idea what they're talking about when it comes to technical matters, and many of them just "make it up as they go"). Normally, this choice is made by trying to determine which line makes more sense relative to the bulk of the evidence or relative to actual science (by temporarily applying scientific methods). [Suspension of Disbelief] 
Since it disregards the author's intentions and treats the films as first-hand observations, it handles dialogue contradictions more easily than the literary method. After all, we treat the character as if he's real; as far as we are concerned, there is no author pulling his strings. So if he says something that grossly contradicts other established facts, we can simply treat that as we would in real life (by calling the character an idiot), while the literary method does not really allow for the author to be wrong, per se. However, this method does not gracefully handle errors in visual effects. Given a shot which makes the Defiant appear to be half its normal size (for example) and which cannot be rationalized away, we must decide whether it is an "error" on the part of our imaginary documentary cameraman. Normally, this decision is made by looking at the bulk of the evidence (similar to what scientists do with highly anomalous data points in a real experiment, where the errant point is assumed to be the result of procedural or equipment error unless it is consistently repeated).
Star Wars vs Star Trek Essays: How to Analyze Sci-Fi
Suspension of Disbelief