evolution
The evolution of science, science fiction, and mankind throughout the years.
Sci-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.
By Sarah Quinn8 years ago in Futurism
Who Will Survive the Next Biotic Crisis?
While the next biotic event is probably not in the near future, fossil records clearly testify that extinction is an unavoidable fate for all species. The real question remains: what is left in the wake of mankind? Our lineage is more likely to be altered through evolution than entirely snuffed out.
By Brian Switek8 years ago in Futurism
Octopus Facts
Researchers at the University of Chicago and a group at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan combined forces in the Octopus Genome Project. This huge undertaking maps out the entire DNA structure of this complex cephalopod. The Octopus facts, which were published in the science journal Nature, are simply incredible. Octopuses, not octopi, are so vastly different in their genetic makeup that they might as well be considered aliens from outer space. In uncovering the sequence, scientists found that octopuses have a significant expansion of a family of genes that play a role in neuronal development. A similar set of genes are found in humans, and until the Octopus facts were published, this gene expansion was believed to be a unique characteristic of vertebrates. Now, thanks to this research, we know that similar processes happened in octopuses.
By Stephanie Gladwell8 years ago in Futurism
Science of Identical Twins
“Double your pleasure, double your fun” couldn’t be more true when it comes to identical twins. Starting with the moment your obstetrician tells you, “There are two of them,” your life is never the same. Twins are double the fun and doubly amazing. Aside from the remarkable science behind them and the totally random happenstance of their creation, the very fact that two people can have identical faces and DNA is just miraculous. Here you have two babies who have spent nine months keeping each other company in the womb and then, upon being released into the world, continue to amaze all those around them. Parents of twins have reported identical sleeping positions, finding their twins sleeping in the same bed; As babies, when they would nap in the same crib, and even if they started out on opposites sides, they would always end up holding on to each other, most likely as they did in-utero.
By Stephanie Gladwell8 years ago in Futurism
History of Japanese Seppuku
Japanese culture is everywhere in today’s world. However, one particularly grisly aspect has affected our general consciousness—seppuku. You may not get the same sensation when reading it, but the evocative image of a samurai stabbing himself in the gut with a tanto is one you’re not likely to forget. But why did this form of honorable suicide take hold in Japan? What would cause someone to commit Japanese seppuku? Does it still exist today?
By Futurism Staff8 years ago in Futurism
How to Find Fossils
The next time you find yourself nodding behind the wheel from the monotony of turnpike driving, pull off beside a road cut where highway engineers have blasted the rock outcrop. Your reward will not only be a well-earned rest, but also the possibility of finding some of those exquisite treasures in the dust that we call fossils. Learning how to find fossils is both and entertaining and educational skill.
By Futurism Staff8 years ago in Futurism
Campfire Story
The following article was originally published on The Free Advice Man's website here. I am going to tell you a story. Come sit down here by my side, and enjoy the warmth of an imaginary Campfire. The flames light up the darkness around us. The warmth of the crackling embers of burning wood keep us cozy. It is a controlled fire, and one that we started. Unlike the fires that come from above!
By Jean-Pierre Fenyo8 years ago in Futurism
Genetically Engineering a Super Race
When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932, he described a world state several centuries in the future where all human beings were reared from eggs in factories or incubators. Scientists could produce several classes of personality ranging from the highly intelligent, whose sole purpose was to enjoy life, to the feeble-minded who were suited only for manual labor. The novel was set in the distant future because the scientific knowledge needed to bring about this type of society was not available when Huxley wrote it.
By Futurism Staff8 years ago in Futurism
Forecast 2085
Joanna checked the weather app on her watch. Tornadoes likely, flooding possible in the evening, and a chance of earthquakes at night. She grabbed a fluffy red scarf off the rungs in her closet and pulled the hat her dad bought her at the fair over her ears.
By Marlena Chertock8 years ago in Futurism