LitMUSE - Latest Comments

Re: Gibson’s “The Gernsback Continuum”

Monica Russ — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 02:10:45 -0000

Hugo Gernsback, originally Hugo Gernsbachner was known to many as the "Father of Science Fiction". He was an inventor, editor and author of several short stories. Gernsback was famous for his "Amazing Stories" science fiction magazine as well as his "Modern Electric" magazine. The "Modern Electric" magazine, which was also his first magazine was founded in his early 20's. It was created as means of communicating his scientific inventions and ideas to his audience. Since he was a child, he knew he'd be interested in SF. His initial approach was to incorporate instruction with entertainment because he believed science fiction would be a way to educate his readers. Before he died in 1967, he had started several magazines, created his own publishing company and held over eighty different patents among other things. Hugo Gernsback is important in "The Gernsback Continuum" because of the science fiction genre of the story. This short story takes place in the early 1930's, blends a bit of reality and fantasy with some artistic features (photography) all to excite your imagination. I also believe that "The Gernsback Continuum" could be a tribute to Hugo Gernsback since he was the start of science fiction. Gernsback wanted science fiction to go beyond the imagination and I believe this story does just that. This brings the question of would Hugo Gernsback be satisfied with the outcome of science fiction in this story??

Re: Singularity

Monica Russ — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 11:27:37 -0000

What is the “technological singularity”?
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines singularity as: unusual or distinctive manner or behavior peculiarity. It also defines technological as: resulting from

Re: Singularity

nicole poss — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 20:30:42 -0000

I totally understand how incredibly scary singularity is. Our tweets have been all very negative and scary this week. I wanted to find out if there were any positive theories out there on singularity. I decided to google it. There really wasn't a lot that came up, however, i did find couple of interesting sites. James
Miller. talks about this impact on five different pieces of society and how singulariity would be positive in that field. Vinge. talks a bit about the positive effects of sigularity on society. There seems to be much more fear and negativity, however, than there is hope that singularity will be good for the human race.

Re: Singularity

lindsey rogers — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 17:49:54 -0000

Apart from Ray Kurzwiel being called a “relentless genius” or the “ultimate thinking machine”, he is also an inventor. So far he has worked on cybernetic art, reading technology, virtual reality, music synthesis and speech and character recognition. He has been known for developing the first large vocab speech recognition that was marketed and the first print to speech reading device for the visually impaired. He is also known for his views on humans one day transcending biology and utilizing technology to work in combination. He has been awarded the National Medal of technology, MIT-Lemelson Prize and he is in the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. His published work includes:
The Age of Intelligent Machines
The Age of Spiritual Machines
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever
The Singularity is Near, When Humans Transcend Biology

Re: Singularity

Rebekah Green — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:36:50 -0000

Ray Kurzweil is an inventor, author, and futurist. Kurzweil says that in 2020, we will have computers powerful enough to stimulate the human brain.
The Wall Street Journal describes him as "a restless genius" and "the ultimate thinking machine". Ray Kurzweil was born in Febuary of 1948 in Queens, New York. His wife is Sonya and he has 2 kids. He is 65 years old, and 60 years ago he decided that he wanted to be an inventor. a mere 10 years late, at age 15, he write his first computer program. And he hasn't stopped since then.

Re: Singularity

Samuel Williams — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 14:32:26 -0000

By my viewing of this site, being the person that I am I jumped to the 22nd century, and the first thing that I saw was 2120. The 22nd's centuries Mind Uploading Enters Mainstream Society is what first came to mine the postmodern version of updating your status on Facebook. Now just in this section what I see that to me show's the a prevision of "an iron first" is when I read "Once it could be demonstrated as being safe and reversible, the project garnered a steady stream of free and healthy volunteers, tempted by this new form of computerised immortality. Where it talks about being able to reverse the uploads that the mind sends I felt myself that the governing system could remove things that would seem out of the norm.

Then I read back through the whole section and saw 2110. Man-Made Control of earthquakes and tsunamis at first glance made me think of HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program). Now for me knowing of HAARP years before, and then going over the 2110 . How could man control things of this such power, when anything of greatness is used for damning reason? HAARP is describe as a weapon that is use gaining control of, or bettering outcomes of warfare. By altering weather via ELS radio waves into a point out in the atmosphere such as Earthquakes and Tsunamis. The 2110 Man-Made Control being for good and what I know about HAARP is just what I was saying about the "iron Fist" to much control I feel.

Re: Singularity

Alisha Merritt — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 14:25:54 -0000

On the Future Timeline there were so many different things that caught my attention. One that really got me was Bionic Eyes that would have high resolution and were commercially available. This is so weird to me because it really is like a robot taking over your body. The brief description about the bionic eyes said that even people with normal vision will want to "upgrade" their sight with these bionic eyes. I think that because people do have such bad eye sight today, they tend to try and find alternatives to gain better eyesight. I personally wear contacts and have very blurry vision without them but I'm not so sure that I could go through with getting these "installed" in my body.

In the year 2120, mind uploading will be popular. People will have access to specialized clinics where their biological brains can be traded for an artificial one. According to Ray Kurzwiel, we will be able to upload our minds to computers in just 30 years. This is just another form of the technology being able to takeover the world.

To me, the descriptions and predictions of the years so far away are really hard to understand and comprehend. I'm not really sure that there is any proof for things that are said to happen 100s of years from now. I just don't see how it is possible to necessarily know what will and won't happen in the world. I do know that technology is moving fast in the world and we never know what is coming or what will be the next big thing in technology.

Re: Singularity

Alisha Merritt — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:38:03 -0000

I couldn't agree more. The whole thing about the singularity movement is just scary and I don't know how any of the children now or the ones who aren't born yet will ever be able to grow up in world that we think is normal. It is scary to think about technology taking over the world. I know that technology is a big part of the world we live in today but like Haley stated, I don't want to live in a world like the Terminator movies.

Re: Singularity

Ian Maney — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 20:42:27 -0000

When I went on the site, I was curious to see how far in years it would take you, the farthest is all the way to 10^100 years from now and according to Dan Falk's article "End of Days: A Universe in Ruins" in around 100 trillion years from now stars will run out of nuclear fuel and there will be will me no new stars forming. On Future Timeline, their explanation is that the universe will be just what it was in the very beginning, nothing but particles floating.
In 22,000 AD Chernobyl will be safe to live in, which is crazy to believe that it takes that long for radiation to go away. And for something like this to have happened in our generation in 1986, I thought everything about our history would have been irrelevant in 22,000 AD.
In 2029, humans will be unable to tell the difference between a real human and A.I. Ray Kurzweil believes in his video that in 2029 singularity will be in full operation. In 2092, Antarctica will be one of the fastest growing areas in the world.
In just 10 years, memory implants that remember lost memories will be available to be put inside of humans.

I agree with you Lisa, that we can have some proof on the events in these next 100 years, but after that, it is hard to have proof on the events in say the year 4534 or even the 23rd century. As master Yoda says, "always in motion is the future."

Re: Apocalypse

Rebekah Green — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 16:40:43 -0000

Haha the Bible is the main apocalyptic story out there.
I have always meant to read I Am Legend because i love reading and i loved the movie. I just haven't found the time to start reading again.

Re: Singularity

Lisa Lee — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 22:25:55 -0000

Whether the world needs to slow down or not, the fact of the matter is that the world can't slow down and will only move forward at an exponential rate. This rate of discovery and change is something that humans are not used to, and change has always been something humans have been hesitant to accept. This type of technological growth is a first in human history. There is nothing to compare it to, and it is impossible to predict what may happen. For some, this is frightening. For some, this is exciting. For others, it is a mixture of both.

The future is inevitable and will wait for no one. With that line of thought, one can almost say that we have already reached a type of singularity in which the human need for progress has grown to eclipse the current human capabilities, which in turn drive us toward an inevitable technological singularity in order to fulfill the human desire for progress.

Re: Singularity

Lisa Lee — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 12:24:26 -0000

The Future Timeline definitely had a lot of interesting predictions , but there were a couple that really stood out.

1. In 2095, much of the world's languages will no longer be in use. It makes sense that as the world becomes more connected that it also becomes more homogenous. Sean Korsgaard also confirms that the many languages will be extinct in the future. I love languages, and the fact that so many, probably including my native Korean, will disappear is very sad.

2. The timeline mentioned that survival rates of people with diseases, such as a variety of cancers, will approach 100%. This is amazing news. There is so much research being done in this field already, but to see it written out that today's cancers will virtually be eliminated by such and such date is mind blowing. However, this raises the question of what new diseases will be effecting humans in the future. If we really do merge with computers will computer viruses be the new scourge? Or will there also be a merging of human and computer diseases?

Honestly, most of the predictions beyond the 22nd century, and even some in that time period, are so far beyond my level of comprehension. Obviously there will be technological advancements, but the capabilities and possibilities they present seem so unattainable now that it's hard to believe that they will become reality.

Re: Singularity

Lisa Lee — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 11:40:50 -0000

For me, one example of the singularity in popular culture that immediately comes to mind is the iconic film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film was produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on Sir Arthur C. Clarke's story story "The Sentinel". Clarke also wrote a novel version concurrent with the film version but contains differences.

HAL 9000 is the spaceship's artificial intelligence who takes control, leaving its human passengers at the mercy of the computer. HAL is terrifying in its cold logic when compensating for "human error".

Here is the trailer for the movie:

http://youtu.be/N6ywMnbef6Y

Re: Apocalypse

Samuel Williams — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 12:34:04 -0000

Why are zombies so prevalent in popular culture today.

In todays world I feel that lots of situations come up to explain whats on the other hand or plainly in one word parables. One reason that zombies are so popular is that is a way that people can explain the unaware or unconsinous people of the world. I think one of the most amazing things about zombies as a cultural phenomenon is how they can manage to apply themselves across so many platforms and serve so many functions. For one function that I see more prevalent is something that my dad told me about in his Masonry, which is " you come from dead ground to a standing perpendicular". That statement meant to me was until you come in to knowledge or a consinouns way of thinking you are dead to many aspects of life. The fascination is not because of the zombies themselves, they are merely the catalyst; the real fascination is with surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Re: Apocalypse

Monica Russ — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 23:53:18 -0000

An Apocalypse is a great disaster that destroys the world we live in. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as a great disaster or a sudden and very bad event that causes much fear, loss and destruction. Apocalypse is the term traditionally given to a great calamity that will end the world, or drastically change the role of humanity. Apocalypses are present in all world religions. A few examples of where one could come from are chemical weapons, diseases, nuclear war, and global warming. Science fiction also depicts different apocalyptic themes. The movies "Armageddon", "Asteroid", "28 Days", and "The Stand" are all with calamity themes. There are books, comics and television shows that show the struggle of mankind after great calamities.The idea comes from the Jewish and Christian religions. It is a revelation of a coming war between good and evil in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil and raises the righteous to life in a messianic kingdom. It discussed in the Bible and several books, especially the Book of Revelation. Chapter 6 of this book introduces the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. They personify pestilence, war, famine, and death. They are released to bring the unbelievers to God.

Re: Apocalypse

nicole poss — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 20:15:53 -0000

I assumed, when the zombie craze started years ago, that it would be short lived. I really didn't give it a second thought. Then my children became teenagers. I began hearing rumblings in their talking about zombies. I began to see video games where zombies were killing people. I remember a couple of years ago when they were talking of a zombie apocalypse. I remember that they were planning what they would do. This week I texted them (which is how you talk to your teenagers these days) and asked them what their plan was for a zombie apocalypse. The following is what I got back..... "A Zombie is characterized by the brain shutting down and then reanimating but slowly decomposing as well. There is no central nervous system and no way of keeping their bodies warm. The base of the plan is to go as far north as possible because with no internal body heat they will freeze. Stockpile food and weapons and vehicles and wait it out carefully. Agriculture and water distillation are super important." He then explained to me that the way to kill a zombie was to remove the head or destroy the brain.

Alisha, i agree that most people don't assume they are real, but there are so many people in the world that have given a whole lot of thought to what would happen if they were. As I was googling "zombies", I noticed that there are hundreds of web pages on zombies. It seems that these scary creatures have become something that each discipline can learn something from. The Zombie
Run. has been a way the fitness community has use the zombie craze. Education and Zombies. has become a popular way to get kids and adults to learn different skills. The Today
Show. gives a great explanation of the popularity of zombies.

Re: Apocalypse

lindsey rogers — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 19:49:12 -0000

Aw, you left out my favorite, Zombieland -Woody Harrelson........This film seems to incorporate all the post-apocalyptic qualities seen in pop culture but it adds a twist of humor to target a younger audience.

Re: Apocalypse

lindsey rogers — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 19:38:08 -0000

2. Why are zombies so prevalent in popular
culture today?

The idea of a zombie apocalypse has always been an exciting and
almost realistic idea and it’s the going topic for our entertainment. The
reasons zombies are so prevalent are endless but I think the two most important
reasons are; we like to be bit scared in general and the idea of humans contracting
a virus or contagion that turns us
into a mindless, cannibalistic creature is sort of realistic. While there is no
known virus or contagion of any sorts that could possibly produce the characteristics
of a zombie, it’s exciting for us to speculate the possibly that one day there
might be one that could be airborne and strip us of our humanity. The reason we
choose to be stuck on the idea of a zombie
apocalypse is because it’s attainable whereas as Vampire or Werewolf apocalypse
isn’t because they require an entire genetic transformation versus
contracting a virus or contagion. There are some viruses out there called
neurotropic viruses that have the ability to alter our behavior and actions and
even cause aggressiveness, for example; rabies. So while we are 99% sure a
zombie apocalypse won’t occur, the 1% left is the source of our entertainment
due to the unknown possibility. Here , the author explains the possibility of how a zombie
apocalypse could occur.

Re: Apocalypse

Lisa Lee — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 16:44:58 -0000

What does Joy identity as the three major threats to humanity?

Bill Joy explains in his article "On Why the Future Doesn't Need Us", that "our most powerful 21st century technologies - robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech - are threatening to make humans an endangered species".

While each has their own effect on humans and human society, Joy identifies the reason that these 21st century technologies are more dangerous than any previous technological advancements is because of "the possibility not just of weapons of mass destruction but of knowledge-enabled mass destruction (KMD), this destructiveness hugely amplified by the power of self-replication."

Re: Apocalypse

Alisha Merritt — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 12:20:29 -0000

Why are zombies so prevalent in popular culture today?

Zombies are something that normal people don't assume are real. They are like a fixation of our imagination and we get excited about stuff like that. People throughout the world get really into scary things that are necessarily perceived as being a "real" thing. When we think of the dead, we tend to think of someone being in a coffin six feet under and there is no way that we will ever see them again. With zombies, it is the complete opposite. You see the dead again and that seems to excite people. Zombies are so close to being human that they prompt instant revulsion of the people watching/seeing them. To me, it is like zombies are so human-like that we want to know what they are and why they are the way they are.

In The Walking Dead, it isn't just about the walkers/zombies, it is about survival. I think that this catches the eye of so many people. There tends to be some type of emotion in every zombie movie or tv show. That emotion is brought through the screen so well that it makes the person watching it feel like they are involved in what is going on.
I don't think that the whole zombie craze will die out anytime soon. (No pun intended)

Re: Apocalypse

Ian Maney — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 21:06:00 -0000

The ideas and fantasies of a post-apocalyptic world are huge in pop culture. People love to see movies and read books that deal with survival, outbreak, mass extinction and the "what's next question." Movies and novels don't even have to deal with a zombie infested world, or nuclear holocaust, but merely the demise of a society or nation. To name a few movies/novels that deal with a post-apocalyptic world are:

Mad Max - Mel Gibson
The Terminator - Arnold Schwarzenagger and Christian Bale
Apocalypto - Directed by Mel Gibson
Equilibrium - Christian Bale
The Stand - Stephen King (Novel)
The Walking Dead - On AMC
World War Z - By Max Brooks (Novel)
The Matrix - Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne
Stealth - Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel.....this one deals with technology creating a mind of it's own
i,Robot - Will Smith
12 Monkeys - Bruce Willis
Oblivion - Tom Cruise
9 - Animated

Re: Apocalypse

Lisa Lee — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:08:34 -0000

The Hunger Games is not currently experiencing an apocalypse, but the foundations of its current nation, Panem, "was established during an unknown time period in a post-apocalyptic world". So that series shows a possible future of a post-apocalytic world.

I can't believe I forgot The Bible. The Left Behind series is based on the aftermath of the Biblical apocalypse.

Also, I really recommend the novel version of I Am Legend. It's different than the movie and explores a new take that I haven't really seen anywhere else on the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The Dr. Strangelove movie, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is really good too.

Re: Apocalypse

Rebekah Green — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 16:10:48 -0000

I have seen and agree with the following on your list:
World War Z
I Am Legend
Resident Evil
The Walking Dead
and Independence Day
However, the Hunger Games is one the i will have to disagree with. The online dictionary defines the apocalypse as "the complete final destruction of the world." The Hunger Games are about: government takeover, survival, rebellion, hope, and many other things; but it is not about the end of the world. It's about a whole new world that could very possibly happen in real life... just give it a few years.

A couple things that i would add to your list is:
The Bible (Revalation is all about the end of the world)
and Supernatural (Season 4 is about breaking the seals that will lead to the apocalypse and season 5+ is about the coming of the apocalypse. This show is actually playing out scenes from Revalation.)

Re: Apocalypse

Lisa Lee — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 22:29:37 -0000

What is another text (short story, novel, film, etc.) that had apocalyptic themes?

Here are a few examples of texts with apocalyptic themes:

Novels:
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
This is the Way the World Ends by James K. Morrow
Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon
Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb by Philip K. Dick
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - Inspiration for the movie Blade Runner
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - Inspiration for the movie Cloud Atlas
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins - Inspiration for the movie The Hunger Games
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
The Postman by David Brin
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells - Inspiration for the famous 1938 radio drama adaptation
Red Alert by Peter George - Inspiration for the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
World War Z by Max Brooks - Inspiration for the movie World War Z
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - Inspiration for the movie I Am Legend
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse Anthology

I may have gone a little overboard, but here are a few special mentions from other types of media:

Halo (Video Game)
Resident Evil (Franchise)
Homestuck (Webcomic)
Adventure Time (Cartoon)
Darkness by Lord Byron (Poem)
Akira (Anime/Manga)
The Walking Dead (TV Series)
Independence Day (Movie)
Terminator (Franchise)
The Matrix (Franchise)
Planet of the Apes (Franchise)

This Wikipedia page has a much more comprehensive list of other examples of post apocalyptic texts.

Re: Posthuman

Monica Russ — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 12:00:14 -0000

Robotics is the study of robots and the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots. They are often used to imitate humans and some are trained to protect. When I think of robots protecting humans for example, it puts me in the mind of the movie "Transformers". They can also be used with a negative aspect to defeat humans. As stated earlier, robots often imitate humans. However, they don't have the common sense that humans are born with. According to Rodney Brooks and colleagues from MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, they are working to create this quality in robots. Some may believe this is a great idea and I too believe it may be interesting to see but I also feel that this could potentially harm society by allowing robots to take over jobs like technology is currently in the process of doing.