Science fiction originally was science first and fiction second - look at the Grand Masters of Science Fiction, the Big Three - Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Anson Heinlein. All three of them wrote SCIENCE fiction. You have to look for it, but it still exists today.
The problem with the science fiction world today is that too many people have grown up with Star Wars and Star Trek - the former is a technological fantasy and the latter is more speculative fiction than science fiction.
Science fiction, unfortunately, has become a catch-all genre - if it doesn't have swords and serpents and isn't set in a relatively modern era, then it MUST be science fiction. Especially if it has technology.
To get off of my personal soap box and address the topic, I do believe that it has become the opiate of the geek masses - it's both escapist and self-gratifying at the same time. It provides an escape, through the halo of Trekkie popularity, where one can be a 'cool' person. I mean, what else is a genius, a wizard, or a superhero than a glorified techie? Furthermore, by reading something that professes to be vaguely scientific and speaks of a greater future built by geeks, it can give people a purpose in life.
Of course, there are a lot of geeks (myself included) who would rather just read a book than go outside or do anything else. Not quite escapist, but definitely a distraction from other things.
In my opinion, though, the saddest thing about the science fiction genre at the moment is its bleak, dystopian outlook. It doesn't seem like people think there's much to look forward to nowadays.
As a user of a cochlear implant, I'm interested in this not only for the obvious benefits of less recharger wires, but also in terms of implant technology. At the moment, one of the most annoying things about the cochlear implant is that it has a relatively large external piece. For the most part, this piece is required because of the batteries, which cannot be implanted as they must be recharged daily.
This technology plus longer-lasting batteries could lead to advances such as an entirely internal implant, something that I think many, many cochlear impant users would welcome as it would be another step closer to removing a visible distinction between deaf and hearing people.
It's not just this specific instance, either - think beyond the cell phones and laptops you have to recharge now. Perhaps hybrid/electric cars could use larger versions of these - when you pay for a parking space, you also pay for a recharge. Those parking spaces themselves could also be powered/charged by the newly-developed solar cells.
So while it may seem large and inefficient at first sight, it could lead to some very interesting secondary developments down the road.
You might consider looking for a job at a college or University - the smaller ones in the suburbs often offer a very nice family atmosphere and stable job. I think you would be surprised how far your experience would go in a situation like that; they need people who have skills and who can also communicate well with non-techies - i.e., students and the people who deal with the students.
If you have database and/or PHP/ASP skills, you could try to join a web-development team for an academic institution; if not, you could learn them or find another software/technology-based position to apply for at one. I highly recommend it, though - if not for the atmosphere and stability, but also for the free courses. Many institutions allow employees to take courses for free, something that's definitely worth looking into if you're interested in learning.
Good luck!
The other thing I'm starting to seriously consider is the zire solution. I'm not looking for anything complicated here - simply a solution to help me patch up my admittedly small vocabulary for the time being. The zire also seems to have the advantage of being dynamic - I could apparently upgrade to a more advanced dictionary as time goes by and I find that I need one instead of buying a whole new unit.
I realize that dictionaries are not meant to be used as crutches and truly don't intend to use it as such - only as I'd use an English dictionary; that is, when I run across a word that's unfamiliar, whether it's written in kanji, hiragana, or katakana.
Thanks for the help - this does look like quite a useful alternative to buying a dedicated dictionary when a zire would cost less and still be fully dedicated. It hadn't occurred to me to try this.
Thanks for the input - as you have guessed, I am a beginner and was simply looking for something portable that would help me when I ran across an unfamiliar word simply written in hiragana or a strange loanword that I couldn't decipher, or in some cases, a kanji I couldn't figure out. From what you (and others!) have said, the Wordtank would definitely seem to be what I'm looking for.
I appreciate the time you took to clarify things for me.
Ah, yeah. I do take Japanese - was looking for a nice dictionary to supplement the vocabulary I'm lacking in - especially as I may possibly be studying abroad with the Associated Kyoto Program and if accepted would definitely run into words that I didn't know.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry about the lack of line breaks - I broke in the editor and forgot to add tags.
Science fiction originally was science first and fiction second - look at the Grand Masters of Science Fiction, the Big Three - Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Anson Heinlein. All three of them wrote SCIENCE fiction. You have to look for it, but it still exists today. The problem with the science fiction world today is that too many people have grown up with Star Wars and Star Trek - the former is a technological fantasy and the latter is more speculative fiction than science fiction. Science fiction, unfortunately, has become a catch-all genre - if it doesn't have swords and serpents and isn't set in a relatively modern era, then it MUST be science fiction. Especially if it has technology. To get off of my personal soap box and address the topic, I do believe that it has become the opiate of the geek masses - it's both escapist and self-gratifying at the same time. It provides an escape, through the halo of Trekkie popularity, where one can be a 'cool' person. I mean, what else is a genius, a wizard, or a superhero than a glorified techie? Furthermore, by reading something that professes to be vaguely scientific and speaks of a greater future built by geeks, it can give people a purpose in life. Of course, there are a lot of geeks (myself included) who would rather just read a book than go outside or do anything else. Not quite escapist, but definitely a distraction from other things. In my opinion, though, the saddest thing about the science fiction genre at the moment is its bleak, dystopian outlook. It doesn't seem like people think there's much to look forward to nowadays.
This technology plus longer-lasting batteries could lead to advances such as an entirely internal implant, something that I think many, many cochlear impant users would welcome as it would be another step closer to removing a visible distinction between deaf and hearing people.
It's not just this specific instance, either - think beyond the cell phones and laptops you have to recharge now. Perhaps hybrid/electric cars could use larger versions of these - when you pay for a parking space, you also pay for a recharge. Those parking spaces themselves could also be powered/charged by the newly-developed solar cells.
So while it may seem large and inefficient at first sight, it could lead to some very interesting secondary developments down the road.
You might consider looking for a job at a college or University - the smaller ones in the suburbs often offer a very nice family atmosphere and stable job. I think you would be surprised how far your experience would go in a situation like that; they need people who have skills and who can also communicate well with non-techies - i.e., students and the people who deal with the students. If you have database and/or PHP/ASP skills, you could try to join a web-development team for an academic institution; if not, you could learn them or find another software/technology-based position to apply for at one. I highly recommend it, though - if not for the atmosphere and stability, but also for the free courses. Many institutions allow employees to take courses for free, something that's definitely worth looking into if you're interested in learning. Good luck!
The other thing I'm starting to seriously consider is the zire solution. I'm not looking for anything complicated here - simply a solution to help me patch up my admittedly small vocabulary for the time being. The zire also seems to have the advantage of being dynamic - I could apparently upgrade to a more advanced dictionary as time goes by and I find that I need one instead of buying a whole new unit. I realize that dictionaries are not meant to be used as crutches and truly don't intend to use it as such - only as I'd use an English dictionary; that is, when I run across a word that's unfamiliar, whether it's written in kanji, hiragana, or katakana.
Thanks for the help - this does look like quite a useful alternative to buying a dedicated dictionary when a zire would cost less and still be fully dedicated. It hadn't occurred to me to try this.
Thanks for the input - as you have guessed, I am a beginner and was simply looking for something portable that would help me when I ran across an unfamiliar word simply written in hiragana or a strange loanword that I couldn't decipher, or in some cases, a kanji I couldn't figure out. From what you (and others!) have said, the Wordtank would definitely seem to be what I'm looking for. I appreciate the time you took to clarify things for me.
Ah, yeah. I do take Japanese - was looking for a nice dictionary to supplement the vocabulary I'm lacking in - especially as I may possibly be studying abroad with the Associated Kyoto Program and if accepted would definitely run into words that I didn't know.