 |
|
 |
The Little Black Bag by C.M. Kornbluth:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas
"The normal progress of a technology produces simpler and simpler gadgets involving more and more complex fundamental laws. And, of course, requiring less and less of the user..."

('The Little Black Bag' by CM Kornbluth)
“After twenty generations of shillyshallying and “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”, genus homo had bred himself into an impasse. Dogged biometricians had pointed out with irrefutable logic that mental subnormals were outbreeding mental normals and supernormals, and that the process was occurring on an exponential curve. Every fact that could be mustered in the argument proved the biometricians’ case, and led inevitably to the conclusion that genus homo was going to wind up in a preposterous jam quite soon. If you think that had any effect on breeding practices, you do not know genus homo.
“There was, of course, a sort of masking effect produced by that other exponential function, the accumulation of technological devices…
“The supernormals “improved the product” at greater speed than the subnormals degraded it, but in smaller quantity because elaborate training of their children was practiced on a custom-made basis. The fetish of higher education had some weird avatars by the twentieth generation ; “colleges” where not a member of the student body could read words of three syllables; “universities” where such degrees as “Bachelor of Typewriting,” “Master of Shorthand” and “Doctor of Philosophy (Card Filing)” were conferred, with the traditional pomp. The handful of supernormals used such devices in order that the vast majority might keep some semblance of a social order going.”
Read the story here.
Select
an invention:
Technovelgy.com is devoted
to the creative inventions of science fiction authors and movie makers. Look
for the Science Fiction Invention Category that
interests you, the Glossary of Science Fiction
Inventions, the Timeline of Science Fiction
Inventions, or see what's New.
Find new authors and technologies - Shop for yourself,
your library and your lab.
|
 |
Science
Fiction
in the News
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
re: George Griffith
(8/1/2025)
The First Space Warship For Space Force
re: Garrett P. Serviss
(7/29/2025)
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
re: Thomas A. Easton
(7/27/2025)
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
re: Eando Binder
(7/25/2025)
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
re: Anthony Boucher
(7/23/2025)
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
re: Kazuo Ishiguro
(7/21/2025)
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
re: David H. Keller
(7/19/2025)
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
re: Clifford Simak
(7/17/2025)
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
re: Philip Nowlan w/D. Calkins
(7/15/2025)
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
re: Fritz Leiber
(7/13/2025)
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
re: Philip K. Dick
(7/11/2025)
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
re: Ray Naylor
(7/9/2025)
Carpentopod Walking Table
re: Terry Pratchett
(7/7/2025)
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
re: Robert Sheckley
(7/5/2025)
More
SF in the News
|
 |