Creating and breaking Imaginations
September 25th 2006 07:59
You’d have to be one hell of a luddite to deny that technology expands our imaginations. Sci-Fi is a direct consequence of technological advances, it has inspired forward thinking writers to come up with some great novels, Isaac Asimov’s ‘i, robot’ being a prime example.
Unfortunately we are now nearing our upper level of technological advances and what we are finding is that what excited us so much in the past is no more than fiction or figments of our imaginations.
For instance one of my high school teachers mentioned how during his childhood it was thought that science would cure all diseases and how people were supposed to inhabit the moon before the 1990’s even came by. This is a result of hype, too much hype for too little promise.
Still, it isn’t all bad, in a way science did cure many diseases… and created a myriad of others. I remember a saying, I’m not too sure who it’s associated with but it goes something like ‘science creates a solution for every problem science creates’. While not directly relating to over hype in the world of technology or an unknown asymptote in peoples ability to develop technology it does have its meanings.
Back in the good old ‘60’s people were content and so it went until sometime around the 90’s when the internet came about and completely changed everything. You’d think it was for the better, and in a way it was, but if you think about it all it really has done is made our lives that much more hectic. What's the point? So our fridge can order our milk to be home delivered, it seems like all it has done is freed us more time to be stressed... and grow fat, but that’s another story altogether.
Still, it is also now hitting us in our imaginations. Just as technology brought us pictures of a possible alien civilization on mars by way of the ‘Cydonia Mensae’ is has also taken it away from us more recently.
Just compare the pictures taken of the Cydonia back in 1972 by the Viking space probe with that of the Mars Global Surveyor.
Throw onto that the digital imaging of Cydonia and be even more disappointed.
While we still say so many advances being made, so many new fictional ideas coming from it that can even lead to reality, we have to wonder, is our own desire to improve the world around us our own limit? Or is there going to be some artificial barrier that will stop us?
Unfortunately we are now nearing our upper level of technological advances and what we are finding is that what excited us so much in the past is no more than fiction or figments of our imaginations.
For instance one of my high school teachers mentioned how during his childhood it was thought that science would cure all diseases and how people were supposed to inhabit the moon before the 1990’s even came by. This is a result of hype, too much hype for too little promise.
We are still making advances in our technology, but is there a limit?
Back in the good old ‘60’s people were content and so it went until sometime around the 90’s when the internet came about and completely changed everything. You’d think it was for the better, and in a way it was, but if you think about it all it really has done is made our lives that much more hectic. What's the point? So our fridge can order our milk to be home delivered, it seems like all it has done is freed us more time to be stressed... and grow fat, but that’s another story altogether.
The 'Face on Mars' digitally enhanced. While it's amazing we can see it in three dimensional detail, it really is not much of a stunner is it?
Just compare the pictures taken of the Cydonia back in 1972 by the Viking space probe with that of the Mars Global Surveyor.
Throw onto that the digital imaging of Cydonia and be even more disappointed.
While we still say so many advances being made, so many new fictional ideas coming from it that can even lead to reality, we have to wonder, is our own desire to improve the world around us our own limit? Or is there going to be some artificial barrier that will stop us?
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Comment by Damo
But before I go down the negative path I should qualify what I think the problem is.
Arthur C Clark once called the inability to predict new innovation as a 'Failure of Nerve'. There was a stary eyed hope in the 60s and 70s that because we landed on the moon we could do anything.
The recessions of the 80s and 90s more or less crushed this hope and earthly survival became more important.
The saddest indication of our failure to innovate is that it has been 30 years since man walked on the moon. I may be another 20 before we go their again. Total 50 years
From the first powered flight to walking on the moon was only 70 years. I think we've been slack.
Comment by Joy
For example, war just got scarier. We've stopped throwing sticks at each other and started threatening to throw nukes.
It's scary. And yes, we do not need our fridges to order our meals.
But the scariest part? It may not even be safe to go outside anymore. Even scarier? We may not need to.
Comment by The Daily Sonnet
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Comment by Ahmed
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