The future is now
Last Saturday I got to go to a book-signing involving 5 authors local to my area, my friend Paul Genesse, an acquaintance Larry Correia (author of Monster Hunter International that I mentioned a few posts back), and 3 authors I'd not met before, John Brown whose first book was released Tuesday, Jessica Day George, and Mette Ivie Harrison.
There are a number of things I like about going to events like this. First, I get to get signed copies of books. Autographs don't really increase their value, but I like having a signed copy instead of just a normal one. It means more to me. Secondly, I get to find out about new authors and new books I've never read before, which is cool (although it doesn't help with getting my 'to read' stack down to manageable levels). Third, I get to talk to the authors, which is fun. It's how I got to be friends with Paul Genesse, and how I've gotten to know Larry Correia, and a few other local authors. Unlike some movie stars, the authors I've met have all been really down to earth, even some of the more wildly popular ones like Tracy Hickman or Brandon Mull.
While I was getting the chance to chat with them, I got into a short conversation with Mette Harrison. One of the things she mentioned was that she always wrote fantasy because she had a hard time trying to write science-fiction in a world where it seemed like anything she could envision appeared on the news the next day. This got me thinking, in conjunction with some articles I've ready in recent weeks and months.
We really do live in a society where much of science-fiction is coming to life around us. And I'm not just talking things like iPhones that can do more than the old Star Trek communicators could, or personal computers that can fit in an envelope.
I don't have links to everything, but what I do, I'll link. I have a friend who recently lost an eye to cancer, and as a result I did some poking around on some websites and learned a lot about prosthetics research. Not only are they working on artificial eyes that can actually see, but they're also doing research into prosthetic limbs that can actually feel-- instead of being wood or plastic shells, they're robotic arms or legs with wires that are surgically attached to nerve endings. These limbs have been tested, and while they don't send transmissions back so that the patient can feel, they do operate in much the same manner as a real limb: intuitively, quickly, and without having to concentrate too much on what they're doing.
I've also read about research into lab-grown organs. So far the research is fairly preliminary, but they have grown bladders that could be implanted into living beings and be functional (apparently the bladder is the easiest organ to grow). And work is in process on trying to do the same with pancreases and kidneys. Eventually they will be able to grow lungs and hearts as well. And speaking of hearts, they have developed smaller artificial hearts that push blood continuously (they can be made smaller this way for smaller patients) in which the patient has no pulse afterwards. A little creepy, but very cool. Considering that the first artificial heart was developed in my lifetime, that's a long way to have come in the 35 years I've been alive.
And today I read an article about research into 'suspended animation' where they hope to be able to slow the body's functions down to almost nothing to assist with surgery and give doctors the time they need to save someone's life.
Not all of these advances are in medicine. I'm a huge astronomy geek, so I tend to follow that research as well. We recently launched a telescope into space designed to detect the presence of Earth-sized planets around other stars. Quite possibly within the next decade we'll hear news of the existence of a (to use a Trek term) class M planet around another star-- one that not only is the right size, but also in the habitable zone (at a distance for water to exist as a liquid) around another star. We also have in orbit around Mars a probe that has such a fine resolution that it can detect the car-sized rovers on the surface and resolve them in an image, as well as a probe that will settle into orbit around Mercury in 2 years with similar detail. And of course, there's the ISS, which, when the solar panels are tilted the right way, becomes the third brightest object in the sky, outshining even Venus. If we need proof that we're a space-faring race, all we have to do is look up at the right time, even in daylight. And to add to that, where we're really hitting the realm of science-fiction, the Large Hadron Collider can be used to conduct experiments into the possibility of hyperdrive travel. That's sci-fi brought right into the present day for you.
Lastly, there's the proposed NOAH project which is a tetrahedraal building about the height of the Empire state building, designed to house 40,000 people with shops and businesses, and withstand hurricanes on the order of Katrina. The architects proposed it as something to include in the rebuilding of New Orleans. That we have the technology to do that is amazing.
I do enjoy watching science-fiction, but I really have started to believe that the things we see in those shows are things I may be able to see in my own lifetime. Which is a really cool feeling. I love technology and I love watching it develop in leaps and bounds before my eyes.
There are a number of things I like about going to events like this. First, I get to get signed copies of books. Autographs don't really increase their value, but I like having a signed copy instead of just a normal one. It means more to me. Secondly, I get to find out about new authors and new books I've never read before, which is cool (although it doesn't help with getting my 'to read' stack down to manageable levels). Third, I get to talk to the authors, which is fun. It's how I got to be friends with Paul Genesse, and how I've gotten to know Larry Correia, and a few other local authors. Unlike some movie stars, the authors I've met have all been really down to earth, even some of the more wildly popular ones like Tracy Hickman or Brandon Mull.
While I was getting the chance to chat with them, I got into a short conversation with Mette Harrison. One of the things she mentioned was that she always wrote fantasy because she had a hard time trying to write science-fiction in a world where it seemed like anything she could envision appeared on the news the next day. This got me thinking, in conjunction with some articles I've ready in recent weeks and months.
We really do live in a society where much of science-fiction is coming to life around us. And I'm not just talking things like iPhones that can do more than the old Star Trek communicators could, or personal computers that can fit in an envelope.
I don't have links to everything, but what I do, I'll link. I have a friend who recently lost an eye to cancer, and as a result I did some poking around on some websites and learned a lot about prosthetics research. Not only are they working on artificial eyes that can actually see, but they're also doing research into prosthetic limbs that can actually feel-- instead of being wood or plastic shells, they're robotic arms or legs with wires that are surgically attached to nerve endings. These limbs have been tested, and while they don't send transmissions back so that the patient can feel, they do operate in much the same manner as a real limb: intuitively, quickly, and without having to concentrate too much on what they're doing.
I've also read about research into lab-grown organs. So far the research is fairly preliminary, but they have grown bladders that could be implanted into living beings and be functional (apparently the bladder is the easiest organ to grow). And work is in process on trying to do the same with pancreases and kidneys. Eventually they will be able to grow lungs and hearts as well. And speaking of hearts, they have developed smaller artificial hearts that push blood continuously (they can be made smaller this way for smaller patients) in which the patient has no pulse afterwards. A little creepy, but very cool. Considering that the first artificial heart was developed in my lifetime, that's a long way to have come in the 35 years I've been alive.
And today I read an article about research into 'suspended animation' where they hope to be able to slow the body's functions down to almost nothing to assist with surgery and give doctors the time they need to save someone's life.
Not all of these advances are in medicine. I'm a huge astronomy geek, so I tend to follow that research as well. We recently launched a telescope into space designed to detect the presence of Earth-sized planets around other stars. Quite possibly within the next decade we'll hear news of the existence of a (to use a Trek term) class M planet around another star-- one that not only is the right size, but also in the habitable zone (at a distance for water to exist as a liquid) around another star. We also have in orbit around Mars a probe that has such a fine resolution that it can detect the car-sized rovers on the surface and resolve them in an image, as well as a probe that will settle into orbit around Mercury in 2 years with similar detail. And of course, there's the ISS, which, when the solar panels are tilted the right way, becomes the third brightest object in the sky, outshining even Venus. If we need proof that we're a space-faring race, all we have to do is look up at the right time, even in daylight. And to add to that, where we're really hitting the realm of science-fiction, the Large Hadron Collider can be used to conduct experiments into the possibility of hyperdrive travel. That's sci-fi brought right into the present day for you.
Lastly, there's the proposed NOAH project which is a tetrahedraal building about the height of the Empire state building, designed to house 40,000 people with shops and businesses, and withstand hurricanes on the order of Katrina. The architects proposed it as something to include in the rebuilding of New Orleans. That we have the technology to do that is amazing.
I do enjoy watching science-fiction, but I really have started to believe that the things we see in those shows are things I may be able to see in my own lifetime. Which is a really cool feeling. I love technology and I love watching it develop in leaps and bounds before my eyes.