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
"Bureaucracies hide their mistakes, because people's careers are tied to those mistakes. Therefore, bureaucracies are a perfect mechanism for perpetuating mistakes."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Kipple | ||
| The collection of useless bits of trash we wallow in; all the paper and junk that is not recycled. |
Kipple seems to be a combination of entropy and capitalism. I don't think past civilizations had the resources to produce so much packaging to hold our stuff until we buy it or consume it.
Don't forget the First Law: "There's the First Law of Kipple…'Kipple drives out nonkipple'."
| Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you to go bed leaving any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up there is twice as much of it. It always gets more and more. No one can win against kipple, except temporarily and maybe in one spot. |
| From Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Doubleday in 1968 Additional resources -
|
The word itself can be found in the 1890’s, as a play on Rudyard Kipling’s name.
According to the philosopher of kipple in the novel, J.R. Isadore, "the entire universe is moving toward a state of total, absolute kippleization." Physicists will note the similarity to the concept of entropy, which is most usually taken to refer to the tendency of closed systems toward increasing disorder.
I like the definition taken from classical thermodynamics, that entropy is a quantitative measure of the amount of thermal energy not available to do work. In the 21st century, we seem to be working as hard as we can to take available resources and transform them into objects that cannot be used for anything (kipple). We are doing this socially as well; by using welfare, we encourage our human resources not to do work, either. If we can recycle paper, we can recycle people, too.
Are you having a little problem with kipple where you live? Maybe you need the high tech trash can from Islands in the Net, by Bruce Sterling
Comment/Join this discussion ( 6 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
| Is There A Subterranean Ocean? |
| The Robotic Shopping Cart Of The Future |
| Arctic Resource Jackpot An Old Wish |
| Marie Curie's Papers Still Radioactive |
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
'Gypsum fed into the furnaces is quickly ejected as de-hydrated CaSO4'
'Your physical appearance is a graphical encryption that the human mind is uniquely qualified to decode.'
'...a powerful ray... which would penetrate down into the earth, passing through all substances which it met in its way, and illuminating and disclosing everything through which it passed.'
'I... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching... These instruments were the wonderful ones our astronomers had perfected.'
'Each person got a 5 foot by 10 foot room with a bed and a TV — the world’s best pacifier...'
What's your favorite science fictional space food? How about your favorite REAL space food?
'... rigid metallic clothing not unlike armor which would support the interior human structure.'
'... new parts invented; superior designs replaced obsolete designs.'
'There was no reason why such shells should not be constructed for the express purpose of making tunnels.'
