tech

Curious tech and technology from the realm of science and science fiction.

Artificial Intelligence and Politics
Many of us won’t be around when the time comes that artificial intelligence completely infiltrates the White House and runs our government. In the meantime, we are relying on artificial intelligence to predict the next President of the United States. With the increase in technology and social media constantly at our fingertips, it seems like the 2016 election is more in your face than ever, making the outcome all the more important, and instantaneous.
By Lindsie Polhemus9 years ago in Futurism
The Science Fiction of Music
My first novel, Big in Japan, is about a neurotic American prog-rocker coming of age in Japan. My second, Jellyfish Dreams, is about a biologist’s quest to reanimate his dead fiancée at the instigation of a black hole beneath his sofa. Readers who’ve read both books usually remark on how different they are, but I don’t see it that way. For one thing: crazy artist, mad scientist—same difference. For another, even if you agree with (a quote I’ve seen attributed to) sf comics genius Warren Ellis that “Prog rock was sick and wrong then and it is sick and wrong now,” one can’t deny that prog drinks as liberally from the sf well as it does from the epic and fantasy ones. And so, a primer on some of history’s more salient prog-sf conjunctions:
By M. Thomas Gammarino9 years ago in Futurism
Buried Screwball Facts About Nikola Tesla
Travel anywhere outside the United States and the name of Nikola Tesla is known. Ask the average person on an American sidewalk? They’re apt to recall the 80’s rock band. Or they’ll nod and mumble about Elon Musk’s motor company.
By Matt Cates9 years ago in Futurism
Why Asteroid Mining Will Never Happen
It’s amazing how people, even smart people, can be trapped by the past. Take the acquisition of metal, for example. For all of its existence, two hundred thousand years, the human race has known only one general way to get metal.
By Jeffrey A. Corkern9 years ago in Futurism
The Best (and Worst) Internet in the World
The internet drives almost every aspect of modern life, more so in developed countries than not. Everything from the phones in our pockets to the watches on our wrists, the fridges we use to the cars we drive. It’s a fast-changing, fast-developing world with broadband speeds only ever rising.
By Word9 years ago in Futurism
A Crash Course on Curved Screens
Curved TV screens are one of those novelties of the 21st century that not many people quite understand. When we thought normal screens were good enough; higher pixel density, higher dynamic range and larger size, things were changed drastically. The flat screen still exists, but now with a glowing new cousin – the curved monitor. Whilst I won’t be buying one any time soon, namely due to the fact that I can’t really find a spare $12,000 without selling one of my organs, there is no denying curved TVs will be the future ‘norm’ as manufacturing and purchasing prices eventually drop.
By Word9 years ago in Futurism
Digital Drugs: The Future of Pain Relief Is Electronic
Could your Apple Watch do double duty as a pain relief device? Maybe the next incarnation of the fitness tracker, The Fitbit, will be the go-to tech to help you endure your torn leg muscle from jogging too much or suffering from the dull ache of early onset arthritis pain. As wearable tech and digital devices become more affordable and powerful, we’re happily strapping onto our bodies all kinds of wonderful electronic toys. In the medical field, digital pain relief for many kinds of common ailments promises to be only an app click away. All that quick relief and convenience sound great—but what, if any, are the potential downsides?
By Will Stape9 years ago in Futurism
Space
In a recent Omni article, "New Words Were Needed," I looked at some of the commonalities between modernism and science fiction. After inventorying some of the ways science fiction transposes modernist formal concerns to the level of story, I wrote, "And those are just some of the techniques of modernism; I won't even mention postmodernism."
By M. Thomas Gammarino9 years ago in Futurism
The Space Museum Lover's Bucket List
One of the best things about going to a space museum is sharing the experience with astrophile friends and family who are as ready to nerd out as you are. If space shuttles, planetariums, lunar rocks, and astronaut suits get you all kinds of excited, then prepare to blast off to geek paradise with this list of the best space museums in the whole world.
By Sarah Quinn9 years ago in Futurism
Dummies Guide to iPhones
Apple continues to dominate the market for smartphones, smartwatches, tablets and portable music players—with a new grasp on the audio market with their acquisition of Beats by Dre, and new bonds with mega-corporations like Nike adding a few more pennies in Tim Cook’s pockets.
By Word9 years ago in Futurism
The Junk Food Has It
Yellow. The out-of-order tape emblazoned over the vending Machine’s cash intake was yellow. Written on the golden surface were the words “Out of Order,” which taken as literal meant, “Stop. No snacks available at this time.”
By Joseph Somers9 years ago in Futurism
When Saucers First Flew
Ray Palmer was the father of a sizable, and still-growing, chuck of Western pop culture. One of the first generation of science fiction editors (Amazing Stories), he discovered and first published writer Isaac Asimov and artist Virgil Finlay. Nonetheless, when it came to pulp, he liked it slapdash, slam-bang, and science-free.
By Jack Womack9 years ago in Futurism