evolution
The evolution of science, science fiction, and mankind throughout the years.
Our Stellar Family
I was taught by my elders that there are twelve members of our ancestral family in the stars and three are directly involved in our planetary family. To be clear, all these Star People are living sentient beings in a physical form. These are not gods or angels, although many people throughout the past have confused them as such. When we are able to communicate with these beings, we will still be in physical form, just as our human ancestors were centuries ago. If we learn these gifts through the help of others, it will in all likelihood be with the direct help of the Star People. There are many legends that tell of Star People bringing us the gift of fire.
Hyapatia LeePublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Science of Smell
Straddling the disciplines of art and science, Sissel Tolaas has travelled the globe collecting over 7,000 different smells, which she stores in her Berlin research laboratory. Along the way she has made cheese from the bacteria in David Beckham’s football boots, simulated the sweaty smell of fear, and recreated the scent of space as a training aid for NASA astronauts. Having avoided deodorant her entire life, Tolaas is on a quest to educate “the smell-blinded” by separating odours from visual stimulus. She has made scents that help people learn biology and has mapped out molecular smellscapes from Amman to Calcutta. When the wind blows, her nose becomes filled with a “symphony of music”, and she dreams of everyone being able to experience the same sensation. Tolaas believes that once we retrain our noses, we will be able to overcome society’s pre-conceptions of what smells good and bad. And if that happens, we’ll all be able to see everything from a new perspective… without even having to open our eyes.
Tim NoakesPublished 7 years ago in FuturismMx
Mx An elderly woman walked down the grassy hill and stopped at the riverbank below. She pulled out a tattered blanket before sinking onto it with a sigh, making the child wading at the bottom look up at the noise.
Elisa MaskPublished 7 years ago in FuturismTerence McKenna Unraveled Consciousness
An adamant critic of culture, Terence McKenna was a 20th century shaman that pioneered an in-depth analysis of one's consciousness and the lives we live. He birthed radical hypotheses about the development of the mind, posited "the stoned ape" hypothesis, and declared he had deciphered the nature of time using the I Ching. Mckenna held that individuality and social constructs were detrimental illusions to living a fulfilling life. He was called the "Timothy Leary of the 1990s," inspiring millions of people to question their reality.
Stephanie GladwellPublished 8 years ago in FuturismCeratoid Anglerfish Spermatozoa
A man generates billions or so spermatozoa during his "active" lifetime. In the same time, a female ovary releases a strictly limited number of eggs (around 400). Despite the contrast in productivity each sex contributes exactly the same amount of genetic material to the next generation. It is an uncomfortable truth that the main biological role of males is to manufacture vast quantities of sperm to fulfill a genetic function that the other gender accomplishes much more efficiently
Caesar FinklePublished 8 years ago in FuturismWhat is Space?
The general idea of 19th century Empty Space was that as soon as one ventured beyond Earth's atmosphere, a few tens of miles over our heads, there was absolutely nothing there. It was a total vacuum, not an atom within range. A complete void was thought to exist above our heads.
Conrad MorningstarPublished 8 years ago in FuturismBiological History of the Vampire Legend
Bram Stoker, through his novel Dracula, and the motion-picture industry with its many portrayals, have led us to consider Count Dracula, a fifteenth-century Romanian nobleman, as the vampire. The Count, who was known as Vlad the Impaler, was a seemingly unpleasant person who was known to feast in the presence of impaled enemies. Once, during such a feast, an ambassadorial guest complained that the sights and sounds interfered with his appetite. Count Dracula ordered one more stake (pun intended), on which he had his guest impaled. He then continued dining, alone.
George GottPublished 8 years ago in FuturismGender, an Alternate Reality
I sat on the cheap plastic chair and tried to stop shaking. I felt like I was going to vomit. I couldn’t get my head around what the woman was saying, although she’d been saying it for some time now. I’d managed to grasp she was a scientist though, the ill-fitting lab coat and science fiction t-shirt were a bit of a giveaway.
Dan SwindlehurstPublished 8 years ago in FuturismDr. Hans Moravec's Robotic Future
Dr. Hans Moravec was perhaps the world's most vocal advocate of humanlike robots: creations resembling us that could theoretically live forever—and make us obsolete. As the author of a controversial book that proposed that robots replace the human species, Moravec was able to start arguments almost at will. He even went so far as to say that God (as he understands him) is probably using computers to design earth species. He was completely unconvinced by how traditional religions explained the future of human beings. If you explain the human condition in terms of continual progress, it's easy to look at humans evolving into robots.
James LizowskiPublished 8 years ago in FuturismSci-Fi's Obsession with Ancient Greece and Rome
Sometimes science fiction returns to the past for places, people, and themes to enrich its mind-journeys into the future. Such is the case with these sci-fi movies, TV episodes, and works of fiction, each one drawing from the ancient worlds of Greece or Rome to dress its story. Brit Marling, a screenplay co-writer of Another Earth, says that this isn’t really surprising. “We’re retelling the same dramas from Ancient Greece,” Marling said. “These stories are so fundamentally old, the mythology that they come from, the hero’s journey — the way a narrative works. Science allows you to take the same story and see it from a new perspective because the science is always new and fresh.” Science fiction’s interest in the ancient world goes beyond mere allusion, as in the middle name of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Tiberius, in case you’re wondering, was a somber, reclusive Roman ruler who nevertheless left the empire in a better state than he found it). If you’re deeply interested in how the speculative worlds of the future and the worlds of ancient Rome and Greece intersect, you may be interested in a serious paper by academic Tony Keen, “The 'T' stands for Tiberius: models and methodologies of classical reception in science fiction.” If that sounds a little heavy, enjoy the following summary of a few times when togas, laurel wreaths, aliens, and spaceships partied it up in one crazy combination.
Sarah QuinnPublished 8 years ago in FuturismA 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.
The Atomic Age of Technology
Fallout 4 is one of my favourite video games of all time for one obviously-giant reason, its set in the 1950s, which is conveniently my favourite era of humanity. Without recognising the disgusting oppression of females and ethnic minorities that plagues the decade, everything was ‘perfect’. Of course, whilst these two subjugations are arguably what fuelled the perfect ‘American Way’, the Civil Rights movement made incredible steps towards equality and fairness – whilst there’s still issues to iron out, most of the ‘old ways’ are gone.