Science Fiction
Posted on March 29, 2012 by skeptik@l
In the future, economy in certain parts of the world will be so saturated, some say the only option of surviving with a decent pay check is to travel across the continent. Fearing the future of your position in the job market is nothing new. It is a completely legitimate threat that people like you and I should be worried about. You could almost easily lose your job to someone younger, better qualified and maybe even cheaper (in terms of employment of course). It is perfectly understandable if you were threatened by another human being but imagine not only having to compete with human beings but with, well, robots as well.
The idea may seem preposterous to some but then again, it is definitely not a foreign idea. Farhad Manjoo shares his perspective on Slate Magazine, saying that
“This is not a new story. People have been fretting about… Continue reading →
Posted in Modern Living, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Technology & Innovation |
Tagged Robots
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Posted on March 22, 2012 by skeptik@l
Wouldn’t it be marvellous if we had the ability to predict what is going to happen before it actually happens? Boy, if I were blessed with the ability to foresee the future, I would do all sorts of things with my abilities like purchase a ridiculous amount of stock shares or even save lives by informing people when a natural disaster is going to take place. What’s more, I would immerse myself with anything associated with futurism and dispose of what’s not likely to take place – only because I can.
It appears as though foretelling he future is pretty much plausible, the essence of it at least. At least that’s what Bruce Sterling, author of Tomorrow Now tells is in the Smithsonian Magazine. According to Sterling,
“Still, while it might be impossible to know the future, that hasn’t stopped people from forecasting it—and sometimes in ways that are of real, practical use.… Continue reading →
Posted in Science, Science Fiction, Society |
Tagged Futurism
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Posted on March 3, 2012 by skeptik@l
Often, reading a book or watching a movie entails an elaborate use of an individual’s imagination, especially if the movie or book is based on a fictional basis. I myself am guilty of this “crime” whenever I immerse myself in anything related to science fiction. Moments ago, I pondered about the possibility of Earth being taken over by monkeys. This thought was obviously inspired by The Planet of the Apes. As intriguing as it may be, the possibility of such an occurrence is relatively low.
Time covered an article which proves that the chances of Earth being taken over by monkeys will most likely not happen,
“In a study just published in the journal Science, however, a team of biologists from the U.K., the U.S. and France, came up with a way, subjecting teams of chimpanzees, capuchin monkeys and three- to four-year old children to a puzzle-solving task that all of… Continue reading →
Posted in Science, Science Fiction, Technology & Innovation |
Tagged Planet of the Apes
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Posted on February 20, 2012 by skeptik@l
In 1978, the FBI tackled a 17 year long chase to hunt down a domestic terrorist. The person responsible caused the death of 3 innocent victims as well as injuries to 23 others. Theodore John Kaczynski, also known as Ted Kaczynski or the Unabomber was apprehended as the person responsible for the terror bombings in public mail boxes and universities. Kaczynski was described as an anarco-primitivist as well as a neo-luddite. Even though Kaczynski has been imprisoned for 17 years, his ideas and philosophies are still being read and studied due to the availability of the Unabomber’s Manifesto.
Some of the famous excerpts from his manifesto include:
1) Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction?
It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the… Continue reading →
Posted in History, Modern Living, Propaganda, Science, Science Fiction, Society |
Tagged Ted Kaczynski, Unabomber
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Posted on February 4, 2012 by skeptik@l
Anyone familiar with the science fiction fantasy franchise Star Wars would not be foreign to the Death Star. The Death Star is known to be the ultimate destructive weapon in the universe. Physically, the Death Star looks like a harmless moon-sized space station. Its potential however is unspeakable. The Death Star possesses the ability to destroy a whole planet with one destructive beam.
During the A New Hope, Princess Leia was pressured into releasing crucial information regarding the base of the Rebel Alliance when she was held captive by her enemies. Princess Leia was told that if she failed to give her enemies the information they wanted, her home planet Alderaan would be destroyed. Princess Leia ended up giving her enemies a location, which turned out to be false information, but still did not receive her end of the bargain. Alderaan was zapped by the Death Star and destroyed within… Continue reading →
Posted in military affairs, Modern Living, Science Fiction, Society |
Tagged Death Star, Star Wars
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Posted on January 16, 2012 by skeptik@l
A new year brings new beginnings as well as new predictions. A few days ago, the BBC asked readers to make predictions about life on Earth about a hundred years from now. This was inspired by the ten 100-year old predictions made by John Elfreth Watkins, an American civil engineer during the 1900. Interestingly many of the predictions made Watkins actually came true. Futurologist Ian Pearson (IP) and Patrick Tucker (PT) analyzed the possibility of the given predictions. Here are ten of the best predictions from the list revealed by the BBC,
1) Oceans will be extensively farmed and not just for fish
IP: Likelihood 10/10. We will need to feed 10 billion people and nature can’t keep up with demand, so we will need much more ocean farming for fish. But algae farming is also on the way for renewable energy, and maybe even for growth of… Continue reading →
Posted in Science, Science Fiction, Society, Technology & Innovation |
Tagged Future, Predictions
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Posted on December 21, 2011 by skeptik@l
Today, a number of ingenious inventions have been inspired by movies and books. This includes the Decoded Neurofeedback inspired by The Matrix, a material which induces invisibility inspired by Harry Potter and even a pill to erase traumatic or bad experiences in your life inspired by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. My personal favourite, an item from a movie which I wish I could possess is the hoverboard from Back to the Future.
The hoverboard is a form of transportation. Similar to a skateboard, the hoverboard makes use of levitation instead of wheels. After the release of the Back to The Future trilogy, fans have been obsessed about the possibility of the hoverboard’s existence. There have been several attempts to replicate the movie’s version of the hoverboard, but so far, none have made it commercially. There have even been rumours about the existence of the hoverboard. Some think that… Continue reading →
Posted in Art, Pop Culture, Science, Science Fiction |
Tagged Hoverborad, Nils Guadagnin
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Posted on December 2, 2011 by skeptik@l
In 1965, author Frank Herbert published what is deemed to be one of the most iconic science fiction novels in history: Dune. Often regarded as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel, Dune was also the beginning of the Dune Saga.
The novel is set 20, 000 years into the future and tells of young Paul Atreides, heir to the House of Atreides and heir to Duke Leto Atreides. Paul and his family travel to the desert planet Arrakis (also known as Dune) to assert control over the most prized substance in the Universe; spice. The novel also explores a number of complex issues such as religion, politics the environment, technology and the human condition. Herbert went on to write five sequels to the first novel: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune.
Dune is thought to be one of the best science fiction novels ever… Continue reading →
Posted in Literature, Science Fiction |
Tagged Dune, Frank Herbert, Science fiction
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Posted on August 28, 2011 by skeptik@l
Time travel is an exciting theory which has been around for some time. The idea behind time travel is to challenge it by travelling backwards or forewords into time. The notion is prevalent in science fiction. At the same time, some physicists have argued for the possibility of time travel. Apart from that, variations to the theory include the possibility of travelling backwards to an alternate reality so that an alternate history could be created if the traveler somehow alters the course of history. But is time travel an actual possibility? If it is, what would the consequences be for humanity?
Stephen Hawking, prominent cosmologist and theoretical physicist vouches for the possibility of time travel. Hawking is held with great regard for his credentials and achievements. His award winning book, A brief history of time was on the Sunday Times best seller list for a record breaking 237 weeks. According… Continue reading →
Posted in Science, Science Fiction, Society |
Tagged Stephen Hawking, Time Travel
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Posted on July 20, 2011 by skeptik@l
All of us are pretty aware of what the cultural impact the epic franchise entails. People of all walks of life, all over the world claimed to have gone through life changing experiences after being exposed to George Lucas’ genius masterpiece. Apart from being entertaining, artistic creativity was showcased and greatly appreciated by the audience. The careful intricate designs depicted in the sets, unique costumes worn by the characters and most importantly, the sleek construction of the myriad of spacecrafts used to travel altogether make the movie watching experience very enriching. But above all, what truly captures the hearts of the audience is the thematic approach to the movies. Lucas was undoubtedly successful in seaming the fabric of the entire franchise with pertinent philosophies which the masses can relate to. No matter what creed, religion or ethnicity you belong to, the lessons taught in Star Wars will always find a… Continue reading →
Posted in Philosophy, Pop Culture, Religion, Science Fiction |
Tagged George Lucas, Philosophy, religion, Science fiction, Star Wars
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In the future, economy in certain parts of the world will be so saturated, some say the only option of surviving with a decent pay check is to travel across the continent. Fearing the future of your position in the job market is nothing new. It is a completely legitimate threat that people like you and I should be worried about. You could almost easily lose your job to someone younger, better qualified and maybe even cheaper (in terms of employment of course). It is perfectly understandable if you were threatened by another human being but imagine not only having to compete with human beings but with, well, robots as well.
