Considering the poor accuracy of professional science fiction authors even in “near-future” SF, this guy‘s track record is nothing short of amazing. Too bad he can’t be around to enjoy his success, but when you’re making predictions for a century hence, that’s a bit problematic.
Archive of posts filed under the Science of the Future category.
“Locating Change: Science and Technology Controversies”
From this article: [...] This is why one of the great contributions of science fiction is its ability to create monsters and technologies from the ether. When they show up out of nowhere, they challenge us to think more broadly and to make new connections. [...] That’s one of the things — maybe the main thing [...]
“IBM: Mind-Reading Machines Will Change Our Lives”
I have no doubt that it will — but in five years? That seems more than a little overly optimistic. I’d love to be proven wrong though. Oddly enough, this sort of thing rarely appears in science fiction, at least the SF I know of. When people in SF literature deal with computers, it’s almost [...]
“How Much Sleep Do You Actually Require (and Why)?”
I’ve always wondered about people who only sleep a few hours a day. I’ve found that I need at least seven and a half hours a day to feel rested (which usually means an afternoon nap since I can rarely stay asleep more than six hours at night). But it seems that a single brain [...]
Keeping Score of SF Author Predictions
SF authors generally make up their technologies based on the needs of the story they’re trying to tell, rather than based on reality, but the more “hard” science-oriented ones try to make their science as believable as possible too. This site seems to fit a common theme in this blog, of “track[ing] predictions and descriptions [...]
“Japan, Russia in plan for elephant to birth CLONE MAMMOTH”
This sort of thing has been talked about for decades (it was the idea that spawned the book Jurassic Park, published in 1990, after all). I look forward to seeing the results, but I have to wonder how much mammoth behavior in the wild was learned and passed down from the herd. I suspect that’s [...]
“What should a sci-fi spaceship REALLY look like?”
An excellent review of science fiction spacecraft to date and how close each might be to future reality, though sadly concentrated solely on TV and movie SF. I find the spacecraft in SF literature to be much more varied and interesting, and usually more realistic-sounding as well, given the science they’re based on. (There’s a [...]
“Superhero oil-burping algae will save the world”
As much as this sounds like pure fantasy right now, I suspect it’s all but inevitable. Too many people are looking too hard at the problem — somebody is going to crack it sooner or later, and likely sooner. I also suspect that the consequences listed in the article are only the tip of the [...]
“Brainscan breakthrough: Working robot limbs come closer”
This sort of thing will be useful for lots of peaceful purposes too. True telepresence, for instance, a la Surrogates. Fire and rescue workers equipped with something like this will be able to save others without having to risk their own lives. Astronauts could remain safely in orbiting ships, sending down only robotic suits, possibly [...]
“New plan: Send humans into space, keep the robots on Earth”
It sounds like a good idea to me.