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Science fiction fandom snobbery.

Perhaps the association to science fiction removes perceived rigor from the idea.

Unfortunate because it has distorted the original idea beyond recognition. :) A lot of people know F. J. Dyson only for Dyson "spheres" (the original conception was that of a swarm, SF modified the idea to a sphere, then shell). Though it's obvious he did a lot of other work and that the Dyson sphere was nothing as compared to what he has done. It was just a thought experiment.