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
 |
Bookies Let You Place Your Bets On the Future!
Do you feel that you have a good idea of what will happen in the next decade (possibly as a result of reading certain future-oriented science and technology websites)? Have you wanted to profit from the time you spend reading and thinking about the future? Now's your chance.
Buzzfeed asked Alex Donohue, an oddsmaker at Ladbrokes, an English gaming house, to frame the bets and set the odds. Here are a couple, along with some articles to reference.
Google's Autonomous Car
(Google autonomous car)
The Bet: Part 1 Google’s self-driving car to be used legally within Europe/The US before 2025.
The Bet: Part 2To be the dominant form of automobile in Europe/The US before 2025.The Odds: 1/2; 25/1
“It looks to be a near-certainty that the self-driving car will be developed to the point of legal road use before 2025. It’s one of the surest tech bets around at the moment and we make no apology for offering short odds about it being implemented, due to the safety, insurance and potential climate implications, all of which look favourable. As for drivers actually being convinced to rewire their brains to appreciate and feel comfortable being driven by a computer, it seems like this will take longer. Therefore the odds suggest the traditional car will prevail for a long while yet.”
See also this article Calling Google's RoboTaxi and Google Self-Driving Car Now Commuter-Ready.
SpaceX Mars Program
(SpaceX Dragon First Private Craft To Dock With ISS)
The Bet: SpaceX to colonize Mars before 2020.The Odds: 250/1.
“This looks like an incredible longshot. Anyone brave enough to put money on this must be far more optimistic about the boundaries of space technology than we are. If we end up having to pay out on this bet, anyone who wins might scoop enough to go on a trip to Mars themselves.”
See if Elon Musk's private space venture has the space technology development curve to meet this goal. See SpaceX Grasshopper Rocket Lands On Its Tail, SpaceX Grasshopper Divert Video, SpaceX Dragon To Land On Any Planet.
See the other bets via Buzzfeed; here's the site where you can plunk your cash down Technology specials at Ladbrokes.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/18/2014)
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 ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
SETI Suggests Prospecting The Solar System Without Landing
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.' - Philip Nowlan w/D. Calkins, 1929.
Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Science Fiction
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...' - Edmond Hamilton, 1928.
NASA Moonbase Update
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...' - Jim Vanny, 1931.
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?' - Robert Heinlein, 1941.
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
Prairie Madness - And Space Sickness
'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'
Can Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Control The Weather?
'...I saw a nice black heavy-looking cloud sailing by just now, and I can get the electrical machine out in five minutes to draw it down.'
SETI Suggests Prospecting The Solar System Without Landing
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.'
Wolfram Alpha Mathematica Predicted by Science Fiction in 1948!
'The answer to the dumb student's prayer.'
Cislunar Space And The Space Lanes of Golden Age Science Fiction
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'
NASA Moonbase Update
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
Neuralink Will Allow Humans To Communicate With ... Animals?
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
Special Lights For Driverless Cars!
'That light is actually the Anamorphic Equalizer...'
'Old People Began to Cross The Continent In Their Own Cars'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
Harrison Bergeron, Illustrated And Practiced
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
Starfall Manufacturing Drugs In Space
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
The Solar Oberth Slingshot
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'Maybe The Woman Of Your Life Is Still Under Production'
'The Dillard people had performed a miracle and put all the works in a girl-modeled case.'
'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
Epirus High-Power Microwave Defeats Drones
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
Cloud Of Space Rubbish From China's Long March Rocket
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
