Clipmarks | skwirlinator's 'scifi' clips

Stephen Hawking Writing a SciFi Trilogy

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:07:52 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: I will buy this set for sure - I love hard scifi

Science should be 'as exciting as science fiction' says Hawking

CAMBRIDGE, England (AFP) — British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking revealed his desire on Monday to make "real science as exciting as science fiction" as he publicised a new book for children about the cosmos.

"George's Secret Key to the Universe", the first book in a planned trilogy, explains the workings of the solar system, asteroids, black holes -- one of Hawking's favourite topics -- and other celestial bodies with the help of a set of young heroes.

It will be released in French on Thursday, and in English a week later, and is set to be sold in 29 countries. The second book in the trilogy will be published next year.

"Our aim is to make real science as exciting as science fiction," Hawking said.

Asked about the choice facing the heroes in his book -- saving the world from global warming or finding another planet that is habitable for humans -- he said that, like George, he would opt to focus on both.

Tags: science, scifi, stephen hawking, cambridge, trilogy, literature

Happy Birthday, Arthur C. Clarke!

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:33:41 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

British sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke turns 90 on Dec. 16. Clarke penned the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was adapted into Stanley Kubrick's big-screen freaky fav.

Clarke is also the last surviving member of the "Big Three" of science fiction authors (the other two members of the geeky coterie were Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein).

Other fun facts (thank you, Wikipedia!): the command center of the Apollo 13 craft was named "2001" after the movie, Clarke had a whole friggin' asteroid AND a new species of dinosaur Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei named after him. Coolness.

And yes, you CAN sync Pink Floyd's Echoes to Dave's triptastic voyage scene at the end. Not that we've tried that or anything. But if we did, we'd say it rocks and that you should try it.)

Tags: arthur c. clarke, scifi, influence

Prime Numbers & Quantum Physics

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 20:28:44 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: Douglas Adams might've been right all along ...

Clip Source: novaspivack.typepad.com

The Hidden Structure of Quantum Mechanics and The Prime Numbers Turns Out to Be 42 After All

This is a wonderful article about how a chance encounter led to the discovery of a connection between physics and number theory that may help explain everything from quantum mechanics to the prime numbers....and the most incredible thing is that the answer may actually really be "42" after all. You've heard of "Life Imitates Art," well this is "Life Imitates Humor" at it's best.

Clip Source: www.seedmagazine.com

Prime Numbers Get Hitched

by Marcus du Sautoy • Posted March 27, 2006 12:40 AM

In their search for patterns, mathematicians have uncovered unlikely connections between prime numbers and quantum physics. Will the subatomic world help reveal the elusive nature of the primes?

It would also prove to be significant in confirming the connection between primes and quantum physics. Using the connection, Keating and Snaith not only explained why the answer to life, the universe and the third moment of the Riemann zeta function should be 42, but also provided a formula to predict all the numbers in the sequence. Prior to this breakthrough, the evidence for a connection between quantum physics and the primes was based solely on interesting statistical comparisons. But mathematicians are very suspicious of statistics. We like things to be exact. Keating and Snaith had used physics to make a very precise prediction that left no room for the power of statistics to see patterns where there are none.

Tags: prime, number, numerology, quantum physics, science, mathematics, math, douglas adams, 42, life, answer, riemann, hypothesis, zeta, sf, scifi, literature

Paleo-Future

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:15:37 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: such a marvelous blog.
so much to read

Clip Source: paleo-future.blogspot.com

A Smattering of Categories

transportation (62)

robots (32)

space travel (31)

computers (30)

paleo-future (28)

cars (24)

future business (24)

internet (20)

future cities (17)

space colony (16)

user interface (15)

postmodern paleo-future (14)

education (13)

paleofuture (13)

fashion (12)

space exploration (12)

vision of the future (11)

optimism (10)

politics (10)

Tags: future, scifi, history, blog, technology, science, inspiration, resource, time

Band-Aids Become Obsolete

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 08:47:52 GMT

clipped by: haraya
clipper's remarks: I still think the good old stickies are fun especially the ones with kiddie designs.

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Sick of bloodied Band-Aids floating by as you swim in the local pool at the YMCA? Researchers at MIT and Hong Kong University have come up with a solution to our old bandage woes by making the old adhesives obsolete. The researchers have created a paint-on peptide smear that will not only instantly close wounds and stem the flow of blood, but will break down into amino acids that will help the wound heal.

Now get back to the pool!

via SciFi.com

Tags: heath, science, technology, band-aid, bandage, medicine, wounds

Best Older Science Fiction Movies

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:02:54 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: A personal selection. I also added some that I haven't seen yet, but of which I heard good things.
Feel free to add yours in the comments.

Clip Source: www.google.be

best Old

Science Fiction

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Solyaris (1972)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Stalker (1979)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Soylent Green (1973)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

THX 1138 (1971)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Videodrome (1983)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Westworld (1973)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Brazil (1985)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Barbarella (1968)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Logan's Run (1976)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Sleeper (1973)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

TRON (1982)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

When Worlds Collide (1951)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Star Wars

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Blade Runner (1982)

Tags: movie, film, list, scifi, science fiction

Sci-Fi Costs

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:27:48 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Gundam Mecha
Cost: $725M (Estimated parts total)

Moonbase
Cost: $105bn (Half of NASA's anticipated $14bn 2019 Exploration Missions budget every year for a decade)

Orbital Hotel

Cost: $1.2bn (Britain's Proposed ISS Astronaut's Lounge)

Transatlantic Tunnel

Cost: $1.6 trillion to $10 trillion, depending on how it's cut.

Supersonic Transport

Cost: $30m (Repair decaying BA Concorde) to $180m (Inflation-adjusted cost of a new one)

New York-L.A. Maglev Express

Cost: $70bn (Based on established construction costs)

A Floating City
Cost: $11bn For 18,000 Homes
International waters offer plenty of real estate, but getting foundations to stay put is another matter. Micronations like Sealand don't count: we want the gigantic floating pyramid cities (pictured here) that Future Cities promised us in 1979.

Android Armies

Cost: $1bn a battallion

Blasters and Railguns

Cost: $10m for a field-effective weapon

Interstellar Exploration

Cost: Unimaginable.

Tags: scifi

The Physics of Interstellar Travel - by Dr. Michio Kaku

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:00:10 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: www.mkaku.org

The Physics of Interstellar Travel

To one day, reach the stars.
By Michio Kaku

The first realistic attempt to analyze extra-terrestrial civilizations from the point of view of the laws of physics and the laws of thermodynamics was by Russian astrophysicist Nicolai Kardashev. He based his ranking of possible civilizations on the basis of total energy output which could be quantified and used as a guide to explore the dynamics of advanced civilizations:

Type I: this civilization harnesses the energy output of an entire planet.

Type II: this civilization harnesses the energy output of a star, and generates about 10 billion times the energy output of a Type I civilization.

Type III: this civilization harnesses the energy output of a galaxy, or about 10 billion time the energy output of a Type II civilization.

Type 0:

Chemical rockets
Ionic engines
Fission power
EM propulsion (rail guns)

Type I

Ram-jet fusion engines
Photonic drive

Type II

Antimatter drive
Von Neumann nano probes

Type III

Planck energy propulsion

A Type I civilization would be able to manipulate truly planetary energies. They might, for example, control or modify their weather. They would have the power to manipulate planetary phenomena, such as hurricanes, which can release the energy of hundreds of hydrogen bombs. Perhaps volcanoes or even earthquakes may be altered by such a civilization.

Tags: physics, science, sf, scifi, michio kaku, kaku, article, essay, space, space travel, civilizations, kardashev, energy, travel, et, type, types, literature, interstellar, astronomy, light, speed

Skwirlinator's PicasaWeb Public Collection (pics)

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:25:05 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: Album picture then its name and # of pics in album in parenthesis.
At least click in and take a look- if you want to you can comment.
Most come from the web but I do have some of my own stuff there too.

Clip Source: picasaweb.google.com

Religion (164)

Fantasy (161)

Flowers (5)

Animals (69)

creatures5 (22)

Textures2 (136)

CooL (17)

Addons (40)

Honor (37)

creatures2 (35)

picture boxes (76)

creatures7 (40)

creatures6 (40)

creatures4 (65)

Creatures3 (40)

AlbumCovers (33)

AlbumCovers (40)

Saberhagen (68)

AnimalCollection (493)

AnimalCollection (478)

milkdrops (21)

Babylon5ive (41)

OldMovies (8)

MovieLoGos (198)

Movie Titles (67)

Barsoom (5)

Pellucidar (15)

Warcraft (14)

Mr Sanity (48)

Experimentals (21)

AeonFlux (23)

Serenity (32)

Godzilla FinalWars (92)

Fantastic Four (30)

Armageddon (60)

King Kong (84)

UnderWorld (47)

JurassicPark123 (406)

Godzilla (78)

VanHelsing (74)

Zathura (14)

SnakeMan (7)

Mummy (36)

AVP (75)

Starwars (21)

uploaded Stuff (85)

ChronRiddik (38)

Blade (152)

OldCovers (92)

Transports (259)

scifi (16)

tortured souls (108)

cartoons (37)

Dogskulls (43)

My Stuff (55)

Tattoos (42)

Dinosaurs (182)

Artworks (129)

Image Savant (280)

GodzillaRenders (106)

masks (32)

Tattoos (13)

Space (142)

Places (22)

Creatures (326)

Textures (70)

Tags: skwirlinator, picasaweb, pictures, collection, hobby, art

The Technology of Mind and a New Social Contract

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:04:56 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: jetpress.org

The Technology of Mind and a New Social Contract

Bill Hibbard

Abstract

The progress of biology, neuroscience and computer science makes it clear that some time during the twenty- first century we will master the technologies of mind and life. We will build machines more intelligent than ourselves, and modify our own brains and bodies to increase our intelligence, live indefinitely and make other changes. We live together according to a social contract, consisting of laws, morals and conventions governing our interactions. This social contract is based on assumptions we rarely question: that all humans have roughly the same intelligence, that we have limited life spans and that we share a set of motives as part of our human nature. The technologies of mind and life will invalidate these assumptions and inevitably change our social contract in fundamental ways. We need to prepare for these new technologies so that they change the world in ways we want

Tags: journal, technology, mind, biology, future, scifi, article, literature, morality, ethics

The Future of 2057 - A Chat with Michio Kaku

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 12:39:01 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: Worth reading the whole transcript.

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Michio Kaku Chat Transcript

Discovery: What would you see and experience if the clocks rolled forward 50 years? Physicist and 2057 host Michio Kaku is here for the next hour to answer your questions about our possible futures. So ask away!

andres: What about advances in neurotechnology? Will we be able to achieve technological telepathy?

Dr. Kaku: I think a limited form of telepathy may be possible in the coming decades. At the very minimum, we should be able to create a dictionary of thought. That is, a one to one correspondence between certain MRI and EEG patterns, and certain specific thought patterns. However, at the present time, we cannot even reliably detect when a person is telling a lie. But in the next decade, we will be able to establish that certain thoughts like love, hate, lying, or telling the truth, correspond to certain neural pathways as detected by MRI and EEG scans. So I don't think we will have perfect telepathy, but I do think we will eventually construct a dictionary of thought.

Tags: kaku, michio kaku, future, futurism, futurology, sf, scifi, chat, transcript, literature, science, brain, quantum physics, technology

Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:16:15 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: www.molecularassembler.com

Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines

2004 Robert A. Freitas Jr. and Ralph C. Merkle.

Chapter 1. The Concept of Self-Replicating Machines ..... Local Copy (HTML)

Chapter 2. Classical Theory of Machine Replication ..... Local Copy (HTML)

Chapter 3. Macroscale Kinematic Machine Replicators ..... Local Copy (HTML)

Chapter 4. Microscale and Molecular Kinematic Machine Replicators ..... Local Copy (HTML)

Chapter 5. Issues in Kinematic Machine Replication Engineering ..... Local Copy (HTML)

Chapter 6. Motivations for Molecular-Scale Machine Replicator Design ..... Local Copy (HTML)

Clip Source: www.rfreitas.com

A Self-Reproducing Interstellar Probe

Robert A. Freitas Jr.

1980.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Robert Freitas

Tags: freitas, scifi, ebook, literature, science, nasa, space, resource, replication

New Scifi Story About How Google Achieves Consciousness

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:17:17 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: rom the story:

When Ed examined the traffic, he realized that Google was doing more than mapping the digital universe. Google doesn't merely link or point to data. It moves data around. Data that are associated frequently by search requests are locally replicated—establishing physical proximity, in the real universe, that is manifested computationally as proximity in time. Google was more than a map. Google was becoming something else.

Clip Source: io9.com

If you're looking for some seriously mind-blowing hard science fiction online this afternoon, look no further than a new (free online) short story, "Engineers' Dreams," by science historian George Dyson.

George is known for his meticulous, entertaining historical investigations into secret government science projects of the twentieth century. Now he's turned his eyes to the twenty-first century, and has written a highly-informed and brainy tale of how Google could become the first true artificial intelligence

I've heard many webbish futurists speculate that A.I. is going to come from search algorithms and user-generated content, but this is the first time I've ever seen anybody explain it in a plausible way. Excellent read.

Engineers' Dreams [Edge via BoingBoing]

Tags: scifi, sci-fi, science fiction, google, consciousness

Which Scifi Drug Do You Wish You Could Take?

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:24:48 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: io9.com

Which Scifi Drug Do You Wish You Could Take?

There's a natural crossover between druggies and science fiction fans, writes Robert Silverberg, author of Son Of Man:

Surveys have shown that the audience for science fiction is primarily adolescent and above average in intelligence; most of the readers are between 15 and 25 years of age (though of course some remain addicts of the genre throughout their lives.) Therefore, there is great correspondence between the main drug-using and science-fiction-reading segments of the population.

That quote comes from a giant survey (PDF) of drug themes in science fiction which Silverberg wrote for the National Institute of Drug Abuse in 1974.

Substance D from A Scanner Darkly

Spice, the awareness heightening drug from Dune.

Soma, the sexy antidepressant from Brave New World

Dust, the drug from Babylon 5 that makes you a telepath for a few hours.

Rapture, the addictive hallucinogen that bonds with you genetically

Tags: scifi, literature, drug, drugs, silverberg, soma, substance d, spice, survey

"Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep?" -Philip K. Dick SciFi Video Greats

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:02:48 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.

Philip K. Dick

Since Ridley Scott turned "Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep?" into the science fiction classic Blade Runner, seven of Philip K. Dick's novels or short stories have made their way to the big screen including Minority Report and Total Recall. Maligned and misunderstood in its day, "Blade Runner" established much of the aesthetic that defines cinematic sci-fi, from the movie's wet-streets, neon-and-steam look to the stark, pessimistic tone that foreshadowed the cyberpunk genre.

Dick novels explored sociological and political themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations and authoritarian governments

Tags: philip k dick, scifi

Clipmarks | skwirlinator's 'scifi' clips

Stephen Hawking Writing a SciFi Trilogy

Science should be 'as exciting as science fiction' says Hawking

Happy Birthday, Arthur C. Clarke!

Prime Numbers & Quantum Physics

The Hidden Structure of Quantum Mechanics and The Prime Numbers Turns Out to Be 42 After All

Prime Numbers Get Hitched

Paleo-Future

Paleo-Future

Browse by Decade

A Smattering of Categories

Band-Aids Become Obsolete

Best Older Science Fiction Movies

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Solyaris (1972)

Stalker (1979)

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

Soylent Green (1973)

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

THX 1138 (1971)

Videodrome (1983)

Westworld (1973)

Brazil (1985)

Barbarella (1968)

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Logan's Run (1976)

Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)

Sleeper (1973)

TRON (1982)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

When Worlds Collide (1951)

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Blade Runner (1982)

Sci-Fi Costs

The Physics of Interstellar Travel - by Dr. Michio Kaku

Skwirlinator's PicasaWeb Public Collection (pics)

The Technology of Mind and a New Social Contract

The Future of 2057 - A Chat with Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku Chat Transcript

Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines

Robert A. Freitas Jr.

New Scifi Story About How Google Achieves Consciousness

Which Scifi Drug Do You Wish You Could Take?

Which Scifi Drug Do You Wish You Could Take?

"Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep?" -Philip K. Dick SciFi Video Greats