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Science Fiction into Science Fact?
Selanit asks: "I'm a student of English literature at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, with a pronounced interest in all things tech as well. Next term I'll be taking an Independent Study course which combines the two -- the topic will be 'Influences of Science Fiction on Real-World Tech.' The professor and I are still trying to assemble a reading list. So here's my question: what science-fiction novels have had a particularly noticeable effect on the development of technology? I'm mainly interested in books that have been written since World War II. The line of inquiry is not limited to computers; any kind of link between sci-fi and hard tech will do (e.g. Cap'n Kirk's communicator == prototype mobile phone). Books that have lent a name to a technology are also interesting (like the 'Little-Endian, Big-Endian' terms which were lifted from Gulliver's Travels, or 'Babel Fish' from Douglas Adams)."
From (old) Star Trek and (by reference) Dune equates easily to my cube at work.
Oh, right, that didn't actually happen, did it?
Al Qaeda has ninjas!
Plan 9
"Put your hand in the box."
"What's in the box?"
"Pain."
Yep, that pretty much describes my cube at work, except it's not just my hand, but rather my whole body that ends up hurting at the end of the day. Damn you, cheap furniture and crappy lighting! Damn you all to hell!
;-)
If you're looking for good science fiction reading, check out the product literature that accompanied the launch of Microsoft's Windows 95. In it, there were descriptions of a MS computer operating system that was reliable, fast, and easy.
These bold and exotic claims were so influential, consumers actually started to want a reliable and fast OS from the company, and today, 5 years later, they are starting to produce such an operating system. It still amazes me how fiction can someday turn into fact.
The Internet is generally stupid
"How do you land the ship?"
"Umm... you don't have to. We can kinda land the people. Hell, send 'em wherever we want them to go."
"'K."
Of course this led to the amazing coincidence that ~50% of all planets have weird fields/mineral deposits/alien entities with the effect of completely neutralizing transporter technologies.
I was suddenly picked up on this in Enterprise; I don't know why I hadn't seen it before. The transporter was an ad hoc solution to a design flaw that worked so well that they had to scramble for new deus ex machina transporter difficulties in every other episode.
By now, it's almost canonical:
1. Enterprise picks up a subspace distress call.
2. Away team beams down.
3. Red shirts die, Captain kisses girl.
4. Transporter trouble prevents timely rescue of crew.
5. Engineer modifies the main deflector to emit a tachyon pulse, solving the problem. He does this in 1/4 the amount of time expected.
6. One week later, the crew of the Enterprise has forgotten the whole incident, but may make side remarks about events (shore leave, &c.) that did not occur in any episode.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
Secondly, I believe that your choice of Star Trek's communicator isn't actually a good example.
Specially because there is a much better model of mobile phone from the previous year (1965): Agent 86 and his shoe-phone.
But if those airplanes crash in the ocean do they qualify as submarines?
The web site www.Everything2.com seems just like how Douglas Adams described the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: full of information about everything, but often silly and informal.
Dear Slashdot:
Please do my research for me,
signed,
lazy student
Free Techno/Jazz/DNB/MI Music by guys obsessed with monkeys!