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"You have to budget the number of fuzzy rules you use to control a system. It turns out, you can state the optimality principle in three words: 'patch the bumps.'"
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Radium-Action Lighter | ||
| A personal device used to ignite tobacco products. |
During the pre-war era, there was a lot of talk about atomic devices of various kinds.
| ...she held out a little cylinder of black metal. It was a radium-action lighter for cigarettes.
"I've got a hunch. This can make a coal of intense heat - like a forge in miniature." Then he switched on the lighter, and held it directly against the little tag of iron. The key grew red, then livid white, finally waxy soft as the heat melted it. |
| Technovelgy from The Worlds of Tomorrow,
by Manly Wade Wellman. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1940 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the pocket nucleo-bulb penlight from Foundation (1951) by Isaac Asimov.
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| Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
