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"I think we're still on that topic, still trying to figure out what computers are, how they change us, why we use them."
- Neal Stephenson
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| Electric Boat | ||
| A surface vessel powered by electricity. |
As far as I know, the first use of the term 'electric boat' in science fiction, if not the first reference to the idea (see below).
 (Electric boat from 'The Great Drought' by Capt. S.P. Meek) Before the doctor’s surprised gaze, the edges of a huge box rose above the surface of the water, around the electric boat. The boat was raised and water could be heard running out of the box which held it. When the box was drained, a man leaped in and made some adjustments. A cover, hinged on one side, swung over and closed the box tightly with the boat inside. |
| Technovelgy from The Great Drought,
by S.P. Meek. Published by Astounding Stories in 1932 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the electric-yacht from A Strange Trip (1885) by John Baker Hopkins.
Science fiction fans of course recall the first fictional electric sea-going vessel, the Nautilus, described by Jules Verne in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, published in 1875.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Great Drought
More Ideas
and Technology by S.P. Meek
Tech news articles related to The Great Drought
Tech news articles related to works by S.P. Meek
Electric Boat-related
news articles:
- Electric Jet Boats From Enevate and Sealence Collab
| The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots |
| Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago |
| Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers |
| Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode |
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'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
