Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
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)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Media ")
'Facetime Facelift' Beautifies Video Chats
Always look your best - on Facetime.
Meeting Wendy Of Wendy's
Wendy of Wendys meet Rondald of McDonald's.
Narrative Science And Phil Dick's Homeostatic Newspaper
'The structure... was once a great homeostatic newspaper, the New York Times.'
BookTrack Adds Sound To Books
I really don't think this is a very good idea. Readers?
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.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself'
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
'I made them... with the fine work of the watchmaker...'
Cheap Drunk Driver Detection From UofM
"Look, I can drive... Start, darn it!"
