Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Futurism.
Can We Live on Venus?
Floating cities on Venus; it sounds like something Hugo Gernsback would have published in the pulp era of science fiction, but colonizing the second planet from the sun may not be as impossible as is widely believed. Despite Dantean-like surface conditions with temperatures that can melt lead, and atmospheric pressure equal to being under 3,000 feet of water, there remains a plausible place humanity might be able to exist—not on the surface but in the atmosphere above.
By Chris Lites8 years ago in Futurism
Remembering Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy
Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy once said, "Spock is definitely one of my best friends. When I put on those ears, it's not like just another day. When I become Spock, that day becomes something special." Commemorating the life and work of Leonard Nimoy could not be done without admiring his accomplishments, as Spock and otherwise. Nimoy passed away on February 27, 2015, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the age of 83. Seemingly inseparable from Star Trek with his role as Mr. Spock, the superrational Vulcan-human, a role Nimoy portrayed for over 40 years, the actor also was a successful poet, author, director, photographer, and music artist. However you remember Nimoy, his career will remain nestled in our memories until the last galaxy flickers out of existence. He embodied the driving tenet of his counterpart, Mr. Spock. Nimoy "Live[ed] long and prosper[ed]."
By Isaac Shapiro8 years ago in Futurism
Java From Hell-Coffee Enhances Super Powers
I should’ve seen it coming when I first saw it. When I saw my guy pal Bob Bloch- flying. Literally! I found that a particular affront, considering that, underneath my modest disguise of a human being like you and everyone else on this planet, I am, in fact (cue the echo chamber):
By David Perlmutter8 years ago in Futurism
The Wheel of Time is Too Long
"Surprising what you can dig out of books if you read long enough, isn’t it?" Character Rand spoke these words in The Shadow Rising: Book Four of The Wheel of Time but they are just as true for the series itself. The book series, The Wheel of Time has become a sensation amongst young and adult readers alike. A mystical and fantastic storyline makes it appealing to all. The book has sold very, very well and is among the best fantasy books of all time. Many fans of this innovative and exploratory series believe that it deserves a movie like its counterparts Eragon, Divergent, Hunger Games etc. While a film on The Wheel of Time would be most intriguing, the likelihood of it ever happening is very, very slim.
By Futurism Staff8 years ago in Futurism
Seinfeld Episodes Wax Philosophical
Seinfeld, the defining 30-minute sitcom that dominated the entire decade of 1990s entertainment, was the brainchild of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. For over a quarter of century, many viewers remain consumed and entertained by this masterpiece of television production. More than just a comedy, the show reflected a new found appreciation for philosophical musings and existentialism. The characters have become pop culture icons immortalized with bobble heads and Funko Vinyl Idol action figure. For some, Jerry Seinfeld was a spiritual guide preaching through observational humor. For others, it was a sociological study of religious stereotypes and codecs. For a small group of existential intellectual highbrows it was an academic study characterizing the philosophical and anthropological identity of the 1990s. This small group of Ivory Tower Mensa Members live in their Upper East Side Manhattan apartments with their German made cars parked below in the garage, looking over the park at what appears to be a different species populating the Upper West Side. These New York west siders are best kept to their 60 square block enclave. When they stray beyond their territory to the Garden State Mall in Paramus, NJ, they enter the Twilight Zone. "The Parking Garage" is perhaps one the of the top Seinfeld episodes ever. Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes, George Costanza, and Cosmo Kramer find themselves in a deep existential dilemma – one of the many.
By Claire Evans8 years ago in Futurism
Dune Art Sites to Follow
Frank Herbet was born in 1920. Growing up during the Great Depression, his young mind could envision worlds and histories that no man had walked on and no civilization had experienced. But even the prophetic visions he had did not foretell the social media age; a period in which his imagination would become indelibly etched into the digital universe. A period in which Tumblr, Facebook, and Pinterest would preserve and evolve the worlds he created.
By Futurism Staff8 years ago in Futurism
Star Trek Sex
Space is the sexual frontier. In Will Stape's Star Trek Sex: Analyzing the Most Sexually Charged Episodes of the Original Series, he explores the fun, sexy, flashy, and lusty world of the original Trek. Covering important and sexually charged moments in the series, Stape analyzes each scene within the Star Trek universe, while focusing on the sexual human (and inhuman) play that has made Star Trek into the beloved and iconic franchise that it is today. Read Stape's five favorite excerpts below…
By Will Stape8 years ago in Futurism
Sci-Fi Artist Vincent Di Fate
A painter of fantastic futures and one of the world's leading visionaries of speculative fiction is sci-fi artist Vincent Di Fate. His work embodies an unrivaled vintage appeal that recalls when drive-in movie theaters scared milkshake-drinking teenagers across the United States. The New York-born artist invented worlds where finned-starships en route to the Messina Dust Cloud sit idly as desperate astronauts shiver awaiting their rescue. Cybernetic humans mutilate their own bodies to integrate with the overwhelming electronic world. Saturn's majestic rings capture irises in their gravity as onlookers gaze from the moon Iapetus. Di Fate has an enormous portfolio stretching across the world of speculative fiction, with more than 3,000 published works of science fiction, astronomical, and aerospace subjects. Considered by many to be one of the coolest sci-fi illustrators, the honors B-movies from the 1950's while envisioning a future life in the cosmos.
By Natasha Sydor8 years ago in Futurism
Roadside Picnic and Stalker Similarities
In the eyes of science fiction author Ray Bradbury, the only crime worse than burning books is not reading them at all. We all remember books our own way. Focusing, forgetting, glazing over, missing parallels, inventing others; we embellish. When talking about a book with other people, I often wonder if we even read the same book—or, somehow, two things with the same title by the same author. It’s like we’ve both seen a whale in the water at one point in our lives, and we’re trying to determine the shape of its eyes. Obviously, there's some overlap, a little play in the bones, but it’s more of a Venn diagram than a flowchart, a sort of private film that plays for each reader, renewed with each read, every scan a fresh translation. Neither film nor literature exists as Object. Rather, each can be reduced to a set of stimuli floating in space, never in one place at one time. Not even at the site of mind.
By Reynard Seifert8 years ago in Futurism
Religious Fanaticism is Dangerous
The difference between religious fundamentalism and fanaticism is belief and action. One could be a fundamentalist in any given religion and believe in the literal truth of their holy scriptures. Most Christians, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jewish people follow this strict dogma. For the most part, fundamentalists act within society's law, and while it may pain them that secular society doesn't adhere to God's will, they recognize and respect that they are part of a larger collective. Fanatics, on the other hand, are an extremist sub-set of fundamentalists who see only their own point of view. They seek to force their ideology on others through intimidation and are more than happy to break the law and commit religious blasphemy, including, murder in the name of their God. From the Medieval Holy Crusades to modern-day terrorists committing atrocities in the name of Islam, to illegal Israeli settlement in the Gaza strip and right-wing Christian groups threatening US government from within, it seems that strict adherence to one's holy book of choice has been a source of much division throughout human history. It's interesting to think how many great scientific discoveries would have happened centuries earlier, if not for religion? What if Copernicus and Galileo were never tried as heretics?
By George Gott8 years ago in Futurism
The Watcher
From the dome of his mile-long tower, peeking above the cracked earth of a former schoolyard, Dalen studied a wall of sulfuric storm clouds overshadowing the husks of Chicago’s skyline. One level below, a window wrapped around the tower’s shaft overlooked the hidden city, laid out like the layers of an onion. Were the city lifted to the surface, it would look like a giant toy top. The carved streets and homes lay open like a labyrinth, lit by cauldrons of engineered glowworms hanging from the cavern ceiling.
By Sequoia Nagamatsu8 years ago in Futurism