While I must admit the music does help with its epic nature, the images themselves are amazing. To see how much light humanity has made, or how powerful and large the aurora is makes me realize how much we haven’t seen and don’t know.
All of my life I have known what earth looks like from space, I can’t imagine how it must have felt to see those images for the first time a half a century ago. Now many of us stayed up all night (or got up early, depending on our time zones) to see the new images from the rover that is on mars. Despite the budget crises, and all the problems on earth we still managed to sneak in some discovery. I hope that in my life time many other rovers can be lunched and many other planets can be explored. And maybe, just maybe we can still hope to see what it is like on the moon’s of Jupiter, or perhaps one day, on planets circling distant suns.
I have three left: I have three analogs left to read, yes three! only three! one day! Why is this wonderful you ask? Because I was convinced this task would take me a month, maybe two. I was wrong, +6 months latter I am still working. But then again, the boxes and suitcases full of analogs should have clued me in, they didn’t.
The math: I have about 2 analogs per year, some years have three, I have very few years that only have one. That only puts me at about 140 of them, they are about 150 pages long. I didn’t realize how many there were or how much time each one would take, before I started I thought I could do 10 a day. I was very delusional. My record is is 5 a day and they tend to take me 2 to 4 hours a piece depending on the stores. The problem is I have do a lot of thinking, I have to figure out if this is useful, what they are talking about, and what the character is doing. I didn’t realize that if I had done 1 a day, I would only have done about 200 by now. And maybe as a full time language student I would be busy doing things like, learning Dutch, (which takes a big chunk of time.)
The End: I am happy to report, I see the light, and it is wonderful! Now this doesn’t mean the work is over, not even close, but it is a mountain I have crossed and for a while I can walk down hill.
I am almost done reading Analogs, I am finishing up the 1940s “Astounding.” I have been thinking about what factors contribute, or determine if sci-fi technology will become real. There based on my preliminary finding. I Hope my 9 questions will grow and then shrink into something that is testable. I am not trying to remake Clarke’s three laws of cores, that would be pompous and pointless. I am trying to create a frame work where as an investor has a tool. I am trying to create a system that will be tried and tested and still stand. I want to answer, Why did the Ipad take off, but we still don’t have flying cars? Will there ever be flying cars?
Here are my current 9 questions:
1.) Is there a strong desire or need for the technology?
2.) Is there some other technology that will fulfill the same need?
3.) Does this technology require a dramatic and quick change of habits?
4) Does it require a quick change of life style?
5.) Who would use it? [Is it a niche group or does it have potential for other applications?]
6.) Is it practical?
7.) Is the technology affordable?
8.) Does the technology have multiple uses, or is it locked into one use?
9.) Is it based on a “fashion” fad?
If someone has other ideas or critics I would love to here them,it but as it is I am sure these will be revised.
To become realty, a sci-fi story’s technology must have two qualities: 1.Its Technology must be seen (perceived) as a marked improvement over the old and 2. it must fulfill identity needs.
Can I test this? Yes, yes I can… with 50000000000000000000 notes from 5000000 sci fi stories. (the figure may be a little bit of an exaggeration… just a little)
Science has discovered a “water world.” The only problem is it is very hot and very large. We can’t move there and I don’t think I would really want to.
The article says it could have had earth like conditions for a while, which makes me wonder. At the bottom of the sea there are life forms that can deal with water that is extremely hot, if it slowly shifted from colder to hotter it could have had creatures that adapted to the 400 degree conditions.
One of the short stories from the 70s (or was it 90s? there blurring together now) featured a water world with giant fished beasts that hampered their efforts to try to get some water. It is amazing to me that at least part of this story could be very true. I think technology would come true, but to have a description of anstrange alien world actually be plausible?
So many Sci-fi stories have this as a possibility! My question is will this end up being good for the environment or will it require to many resources?
“Where is the line between science fiction and design?” This is a key issue and this question has yet to be answered.To be honest I am not sure I shall find the answer but I do have a few guesses.
At the forefront of that question is “artists renderings” and “CAD models.” For example, take the newly released images of NASA’s plans to go to mars. These images are taken more seriously than any science fiction story yet these images are not real.The general public finds them “believable” and perceives them as fact. Someone thought of them, used a program to create it in the very same way someone would have thought up a space ship for a distinct alien race.
Why is that? There are plans for these to be real sometime in the future but I doubt that plans are concrete and funding is definitely not assured. Shouldn’t that put these images back into “fiction?”
Is it intent and the time frame?Is it because it is a government agency or a university that puts out these images? Maybe it is just because people believe this can be done, that these things will be made in the near future, because it isn’t too far off from the present? Maybe it is a combo of all of these factors plus something else, maybe it is something I don’t know about… but it is definitely food for thought.
This is why I love 3M, this and sticky notes. (Well and “command” wall adhesive stuff.)
“organic photovoltaic material that is printed on in sheets, and will come down in price as production increases. The film blocks or absorbs about 80 percent of visible light and over 90 percent of infrared light, so it also acts as a sunshade.”
It is organic, easy, and blocks the sun. This would be perfect in places like las vegas. This could be used on sky scraper that is covered in windows to help make that building green. They took What if and made it a feasible solution. How cool is that!
I would love to get a print out what I am thinking sometimes, thinks never come out as you imagined them but what if they could?
But there is risk of abuse, I am worried about what else this could lead to. Could you use this to invade someone’s privacy?To steal information from someone?Could they use this to see if someone murdered someone?
