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
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Real science opens windows for us to look through. We're right at the footsteps of the most interesting scientists around."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Dimensino | ||
| An alien entertainment center that provides the ultimate in immersive experience. |
In the near-future of Time is the Simplest Thing interstellar explorers could project their minds to planets revolving around other stars. Upon their return, the travelers could bring back small samples or technological knowledge.
When this novel was written, there were fewer choices on television, and families were much more likely to watch a single television together - establishing the idea of an entertainment center in one room.
| And there was dimensino, and entertainment medium that had replaced all the standard human entertainment -- the movies, radio and TV. For in dimensino you did not merely see and hear; you participated. You became part of the portrayed situation. You identified yourself with one of the characters, or with more than one of them, and you lived out the action and the emotion. For a time you ceased to be yourself; you became the person of your choice in the drama dimensino created. Almost every home had its dimensino room, rigged with the apparatus which picked up the weird, alien impulses that made you someone else -- that lifted you out of the commonplace, out of the humdrum rut of your ordinary life and sent you off on wild adventures or on strange assignments or pitched you headlong into exotic places and fantastic situations. |
| Technovelgy from Time is the Simplest Thing,
by Clifford Simak. Published by Doubleday in 1961 Additional resources -
|
I'm fascinated by Simak's grasp over what people really need from their entertainment; they want to be "hauled into" the story. When this novel was written, mass entertainment was a purely passive form of entertainment; you sat and you watched.
In today's world, we are accustomed to being pulled into the world of the story. In hands-on museums, we are encouraged to try an experiment for ourselves. In amusement parks, like Disney's Animal Kingdom, we are drawn into a story about the animals we are seeing, rather than just sitting and looking.
Finally, the Internet itself is an interactive medium; we look and we make choices constantly about what to see or do next. Recent research shows that, in some age groups, television is actually losing audience share to the Internet, as people choose to surf or shop - creating their own experience with their choices - rather than sit passively and watch.
Be sure to look at Ray Bradbury's parlor wall from Fahrenheit 451, a story about the perils of mass media that is perhaps too attractive. Also, compare to peeper from Simak’s 1957 story Shadow World and to the Perky Pat layout from The Days of Perky Pat (1963) by Philip K. Dick. The immersive home video from Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie Minority Report is an impressive visualization of a similar idea.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Time is the Simplest Thing
More Ideas
and Technology by Clifford Simak
Tech news articles related to Time is the Simplest Thing
Tech news articles related to works by Clifford Simak
| 'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century |
| Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79 |
| Flyboard Water Jet Shoes Lift Off |
| Cosplay Style Wings Could Work On Moon |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
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 Science Fiction 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
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
