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Technovelgy Top Stories For 2004
This past year, Technovelgy reported on hundreds of stories about real-life
events that were presaged by science fiction stories. The following ten stories
showed
the most remarkable correspondence between sf and reality in 2004. The stories
have been picked and ordered based on a combination of the number of years
between the dream and the reality, how exact is the correspondence between
science and fiction, and just exactly how incredibly improbable they
really are. 9. Proposal To Move An Asteroid Runner-up stories included Roboshiko!
Robot Masters Sumo And Linux, Motosk8
- Next Best Thing To Tele-Motor-Coasters, Humans
Teach Bacteria New Language, Polymeric
Nitrogen, Crime-Fighting
Computer - The Game's Afoot 24x7, and Sleep
Pods, What were your favorites?
1. Spaceflight
Club For Space Enthusiasts
The enthusiasm of the amateur space explorers in the Baltimore Gun Club has
been kept alive since 1867.
2. Rat Neurons Learn Flight Simulator
Talk about sheer slack-jawed "come on, no way" impossibility - the head
cheeses from Peter Watt's novel Starfish are here.
3. BrainGate - Earth Scientists Begin To Crack Krell Secrets
We saw the movie about fifty years ago - now scientists are working out
direct brain-computer interfaces.
4. Chips In Your Head - Artificial Brain Prosthesis Under Development
We all read about microsofts - chips you could just slide into your brain
to augment its functionality - twenty years ago.
5. NASA's New Radiation Shielding First Proposed
By John W. Campbell In 1936
Still a good idea after all those years.
6. Philips FluidFocus: Variable Focus Fluid Lens
Now, if we could just find some "hufhuf" oil, we'd be all set.
7. Philips Rollable Display (Active-Matrix)
These amazing thin, rollable displays bring us right to the era of poster
televisions and smart paper.
8. Microvision Laser Monocle: Technician Retina-Vision
Frederic Pohl thought about these in 1952.
A "bold new proposal" to defend us against asteroids was made last year
- but Robert Heinlein proposed it in 1939.
10. Frank
Herbert's Odalarm - Scent-Based Alarm Clock
Everybody has their favorites - yes, it's a 100% for-real Odalarm.What a
great year.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/18/2005)
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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