The three laws form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic-based fiction, appearing in his Robot series and the stories linked to it. The Laws are incorporated into almost all of the positronic robots appearing in his fiction, and cannot be bypassed, being intended as a safety feature. Many of Asimov's robot-focused stories involve robots behaving in unusual and counter-intuitive ways as an unintended consequence of how the robot applies the Three Laws to the situation in which it finds itself. Other authors working in Asimov's fictional universe have adopted them and references, often parodic, appear throughout science fiction as well as in other genres.
The original laws have been altered and elaborated on by Asimov and other authors. Asimov himself made slight modifications to the first three in various books and short stories to further develop how robots would interact with humans and each other. In later fiction where robots had taken responsibility for government of whole planets and human civilizations, Asimov also added a fourth, or zeroth law, to precede the others:
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics
Here they are, straight from Asimov himself.
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
June 5, 2016
Fantastic Voyage: Way out there, what's inside matter(s).
Last night I was casually strolling around the internet, wasting time as usual, until suddenly I stumbled upon this rather excellent Sci-Fi Science game. In Zoom you take on the role of an agent sent out on a mission into deep space for a large corporation that operates under the name Xenofusion. A few days ago one of their mining vessels, the Polaris, sent out a distress signal but shortly after it went dead... It does not respond to any calls so now it's up to you to find out what happened.
It's not very long, it can be finished in about half an hour. It does take about 5 minutes or so to get going but once you receive the NanoZoom™, an insanely powerful microscope and manipulator that allows you to see and work with individual atoms, things really pick up. If you've got kids, I think they are likely to love it, but I dare say that, as you will be busy repairing all sorts of mechanical and even biological damage at the atomic, molecular and cellular level, even most adults might just learn a thing or two as well!
+ScienceSunday curator +Rajini Rao, whose lab focuses on intracellular ion transport, will be glad to hear that this game includes the operation of a Sodium-potassium pump where you have to move around ions to build up the transmembrane potential! You'll also find out how a laser works when you have to manually excite gas atoms using photons to build up a beam and you'll even be tasked with arranging various types of electromagnetic radiation from high to low frequency during which you'll get to see Messier 74, a spiral galaxy, in all its glory. And that's not even half of it!
The game does a pretty good job at explaining what's going on during various interesting processes but you should probably check out the dedicated companion site that takes a deeper look at the science on display in the game. http://splash.abc.net.au/web/zoom/science
As a bonus, the explanations come in a delicious Aussie accent. :p
Play the game here:
http://splash.abc.net.au/res/zoom/game/main.html
Note that you can even use this game in the classroom!
http://splash.abc.net.au/web/zoom/learning
Picture; Damián Ortega - Controller of the Universe
It's not very long, it can be finished in about half an hour. It does take about 5 minutes or so to get going but once you receive the NanoZoom™, an insanely powerful microscope and manipulator that allows you to see and work with individual atoms, things really pick up. If you've got kids, I think they are likely to love it, but I dare say that, as you will be busy repairing all sorts of mechanical and even biological damage at the atomic, molecular and cellular level, even most adults might just learn a thing or two as well!
+ScienceSunday curator +Rajini Rao, whose lab focuses on intracellular ion transport, will be glad to hear that this game includes the operation of a Sodium-potassium pump where you have to move around ions to build up the transmembrane potential! You'll also find out how a laser works when you have to manually excite gas atoms using photons to build up a beam and you'll even be tasked with arranging various types of electromagnetic radiation from high to low frequency during which you'll get to see Messier 74, a spiral galaxy, in all its glory. And that's not even half of it!
The game does a pretty good job at explaining what's going on during various interesting processes but you should probably check out the dedicated companion site that takes a deeper look at the science on display in the game. http://splash.abc.net.au/web/zoom/science
As a bonus, the explanations come in a delicious Aussie accent. :p
Play the game here:
http://splash.abc.net.au/res/zoom/game/main.html
Note that you can even use this game in the classroom!
http://splash.abc.net.au/web/zoom/learning
Picture; Damián Ortega - Controller of the Universe
February 17, 2016
Similo
The year is 2065. Thanks to climate change the arctic is one of few places left where it's still relatively easy to live. There the ruling technology giants have built private cities in which they allow the people fortunate enough to work for them to live. It's here we meet the couple Hebe en Ciro whose relation is going through a bit of a rough patch now that Ciro's having a hard time recovering from a serious accident.
Check out the full film here: https://vimeo.com/84637610
Written & Directed by Zac&Mac
blackmilk.eu
Check out the full film here: https://vimeo.com/84637610
Written & Directed by Zac&Mac
blackmilk.eu
February 16, 2016
Sight
This disturbing short imagines a world in which Google Glass-inspired apps are everywhere.
Directe by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo,
Directe by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo,
The Congress
Wow. No words to describe it. They should've sent a poet. In this "documentary", Robin Wright, who you might know as The Princess Bride or Jenny from Forrest Gump, plays herself. She is now over 40, her career is running to an end and she accepts or gets pressured into accepting one last contract from MiraMount. In exchange for a large payout, the studio gets to use a virtual copy of her in any manner they see fit.
I am going to cut it there cause really, the less you know, the better. Suffice to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that events set in motion by the description above will have consequences far beyond any one person. The film is very loosely based on a story from Stanislaw Lem and has been criticized for not sticking to the source material but personally I am glad that they decided to add and spin so much that you end up with something almost completely new.
The Congress couldn't be any more different from Ari Folman's previous theatrical release, "Waltz With Bashir", the both thematically and visually dark documentary on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Instead, The Congress is a vibrant explosion of colorful imagination. About the only thing that stayed the same is the mix of live action and powerful animation. Harvey Keitel and Paul Giamatti add a bunch of class to the live action and the animation, probably some of the best I've ever seen, really doesn't need any help.
I don't want to create impossible expectations but for me this is the most fun I've had in the cinema since The Tree of Life. No, this is not 2001: A Space Odyssey but it is the sort of film that takes many liberties with story and pacing, more concerned with making you think about a variety of interpretations than telling a sharply defined completely coherent story, although there are some of those too. Some aspects don't make sense and would look like plot holes in any other film but I am willing to forgive here simply because it feels right here. Dreams, different realities and the truth are things you can play with. I'll save the spoilers for when the rest of the world gets to see it.
This is not something everyone will enjoy but I am pretty sure that anyone who sees it is unlikely to forget it any time soon.
SPOILERS START HERE!
I love films that introduce a ton of dots and then leave it up to you which ones you want to connect and what their relationship should be. The Congress contains a stunning amount of layers and can be interpreted in many different ways. The open and at times almost lucid dream like approach to everything from narrative to visuals and sound sure makes it hard to put into words what you think you saw. There are single scenes that contain so much meaningful background porn that I could fill a page on them. Although the animation might not be for everyone, I think it looks great. There's also Max Richter's hauntingly beautiful score which adds another few gigatons of emotion and all this truly adds up to an enormous explosion out of leftfield. Amazingly it didn't make much noise upon arrival but I am pretty sure that, as we go forward, it will be cherished by its ever growing audience.
Now for some more meaty thoughts; This review will be as disjointed as the film so I am just going to throw out a bunch of random thoughts, make of them what you will.
One of my favorite characters was Jeff, the head of MiraMount. Originally, during the live action part, most of the stuff that comes out of his mind is prophetic, as we move into the animated zone he becomes more of a prophet of doom and ultimately an instigator of said doom. The way he says "this is not science fiction, it's a documentary" about Triple R (Robyn's SF film) which also pointed back to the live action (today) really drives home that the first half hour of the Congress is reality today. The next half hour we move into the near future with Ms. Wright's scan becoming the focal point through which we ultimately get to see the birth of a new world.
Each time she meets Jeff, the Miramax head, he shakes up the world. The embodiment of blind, profit driven disruption, the kind that places dollar signs above life and creativity? The first time they meet he tells her that actors of flesh and blood are a thing of the past, the second time they meet, he's moved a level up, now it's no longer just the actors that get scanned but also the environments which means most people are let go because they no longer need a set crew, make up artists, lighting experts, designers, prop makers, ... Their next meeting takes place in the animated zone. The consequences of his disruptive actions are becoming far more severe. MiraMount has spread its tentacles to other industries and thanks to the development of a new drug the magic of cinema has left the big screen and entered the real world. This new drug seems to take over the interface between sensory input and experience and allows the traversing signals to be modulated. It conjures up vivid and realistic hallucinations which allow consistent and even shared alternate realities. First the drug was rigidly defined and its effects limited in time but as research progressed the drug became more potent, ultimately allowing users to take control over their hallucinations which sets them free but disastrously also closes the feedback loop between want and get with enormous consequences. The last time Wright meets Jeff, he has basically fired everyone that had anything to do with movies. He's still in entertainment but now only sells drugs or "experiences". Things take a turn for the worse when MiraMount starts losing control over its product and global unrest sparks violence.
Ultimately we end up in what I would describe as something similar to a post singularity environment. When the world goes almost completely animated and everyone can be whoever they want to be and do whatever they want to do. What you think is what you get. That in The Congress this is achieved through controllable hallucinogenics doesn't matter much as the result is pretty much indistinguishable from digital reality substitution, programmable matter or a virtual life. The parallels you can draw between these approaches can be quite surprising. In all these worlds the lag time between imagination and instantiation is basically zero.
Some more thoughts;
The Wright family, thanks to Aaron's disease was the first one that really learned to fly? I have the feeling that there is more to the wright/flyers/Wright brothers connection but I'll probably have to see it again to unravel that further.
The animated zone as a liberal offshore island.
Can you be yourself as someone else? If you relive someone else's entire life, how much of the original you would be left?
Do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Here the pill is chemical instead of digital in nature but here too you could very much hold the opinion that life inside beats the Zion outside.
Does her animator know more about herself than she does?
Should the human race die happy or should we toil in misery? It almost looks like mankind has collectively decided to euthanize itself in the most painless way possible.
Alternatively, are we simply machines that got tricked and manipulated by chemicals to willingly and happily engineer our own demise?
I also really liked how they introduced Aaron and his "illness". Giamatti doesn't yet know how right he is when he says of him that he was born before his time. His condition could be seen as an evolutionary step up because in many ways his mind functions similarly to those who later on end up taking the drug. Before the "singularity" he heard what he wanted to hear and was wrong, after the "singularity" he really hears what he wants to hear and becomes "wright"?
It's not explicitly stated but I can imagine that Aaron would be much better adapted to living a life in a world you shape yourself compared to living a life in the world forced upon him in which he grew up. After taking the drug his condition is likely to work in symbiosis with the drug, boosting his ability to perceive creatively, to play with what is real, to new heights.
It's especially interesting to connect his "illness" with a statement from Jeff who at one point says we make movies so we don't have to read books. The less information you get, the more blanks you fill in yourself which is what makes a story more personal. In this sense a movie is a pre-chewed book, largely the same for everyone who lays eyes upon it. Aaron has the ability to always spin his surroundings and experience into something uniquely personal so for him every movie and life itself will likely be about airplanes or something he cares about. In many ways it's a biological analogue for the digital filter bubble. It comes with both pros and cons.
I could talk about this flick for hours and hours. There are many other dots I haven't pointed at yet, like the meaning of identity in a world where it can be copied and replicated to someone else, but likely you've connected your dots a bit or completely differently so first I want to hear your side.
I am going to cut it there cause really, the less you know, the better. Suffice to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that events set in motion by the description above will have consequences far beyond any one person. The film is very loosely based on a story from Stanislaw Lem and has been criticized for not sticking to the source material but personally I am glad that they decided to add and spin so much that you end up with something almost completely new.
The Congress couldn't be any more different from Ari Folman's previous theatrical release, "Waltz With Bashir", the both thematically and visually dark documentary on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Instead, The Congress is a vibrant explosion of colorful imagination. About the only thing that stayed the same is the mix of live action and powerful animation. Harvey Keitel and Paul Giamatti add a bunch of class to the live action and the animation, probably some of the best I've ever seen, really doesn't need any help.
I don't want to create impossible expectations but for me this is the most fun I've had in the cinema since The Tree of Life. No, this is not 2001: A Space Odyssey but it is the sort of film that takes many liberties with story and pacing, more concerned with making you think about a variety of interpretations than telling a sharply defined completely coherent story, although there are some of those too. Some aspects don't make sense and would look like plot holes in any other film but I am willing to forgive here simply because it feels right here. Dreams, different realities and the truth are things you can play with. I'll save the spoilers for when the rest of the world gets to see it.
This is not something everyone will enjoy but I am pretty sure that anyone who sees it is unlikely to forget it any time soon.
SPOILERS START HERE!
I love films that introduce a ton of dots and then leave it up to you which ones you want to connect and what their relationship should be. The Congress contains a stunning amount of layers and can be interpreted in many different ways. The open and at times almost lucid dream like approach to everything from narrative to visuals and sound sure makes it hard to put into words what you think you saw. There are single scenes that contain so much meaningful background porn that I could fill a page on them. Although the animation might not be for everyone, I think it looks great. There's also Max Richter's hauntingly beautiful score which adds another few gigatons of emotion and all this truly adds up to an enormous explosion out of leftfield. Amazingly it didn't make much noise upon arrival but I am pretty sure that, as we go forward, it will be cherished by its ever growing audience.
Now for some more meaty thoughts; This review will be as disjointed as the film so I am just going to throw out a bunch of random thoughts, make of them what you will.
One of my favorite characters was Jeff, the head of MiraMount. Originally, during the live action part, most of the stuff that comes out of his mind is prophetic, as we move into the animated zone he becomes more of a prophet of doom and ultimately an instigator of said doom. The way he says "this is not science fiction, it's a documentary" about Triple R (Robyn's SF film) which also pointed back to the live action (today) really drives home that the first half hour of the Congress is reality today. The next half hour we move into the near future with Ms. Wright's scan becoming the focal point through which we ultimately get to see the birth of a new world.
Each time she meets Jeff, the Miramax head, he shakes up the world. The embodiment of blind, profit driven disruption, the kind that places dollar signs above life and creativity? The first time they meet he tells her that actors of flesh and blood are a thing of the past, the second time they meet, he's moved a level up, now it's no longer just the actors that get scanned but also the environments which means most people are let go because they no longer need a set crew, make up artists, lighting experts, designers, prop makers, ... Their next meeting takes place in the animated zone. The consequences of his disruptive actions are becoming far more severe. MiraMount has spread its tentacles to other industries and thanks to the development of a new drug the magic of cinema has left the big screen and entered the real world. This new drug seems to take over the interface between sensory input and experience and allows the traversing signals to be modulated. It conjures up vivid and realistic hallucinations which allow consistent and even shared alternate realities. First the drug was rigidly defined and its effects limited in time but as research progressed the drug became more potent, ultimately allowing users to take control over their hallucinations which sets them free but disastrously also closes the feedback loop between want and get with enormous consequences. The last time Wright meets Jeff, he has basically fired everyone that had anything to do with movies. He's still in entertainment but now only sells drugs or "experiences". Things take a turn for the worse when MiraMount starts losing control over its product and global unrest sparks violence.
Ultimately we end up in what I would describe as something similar to a post singularity environment. When the world goes almost completely animated and everyone can be whoever they want to be and do whatever they want to do. What you think is what you get. That in The Congress this is achieved through controllable hallucinogenics doesn't matter much as the result is pretty much indistinguishable from digital reality substitution, programmable matter or a virtual life. The parallels you can draw between these approaches can be quite surprising. In all these worlds the lag time between imagination and instantiation is basically zero.
Some more thoughts;
The Wright family, thanks to Aaron's disease was the first one that really learned to fly? I have the feeling that there is more to the wright/flyers/Wright brothers connection but I'll probably have to see it again to unravel that further.
The animated zone as a liberal offshore island.
Can you be yourself as someone else? If you relive someone else's entire life, how much of the original you would be left?
Do you take the red pill or the blue pill? Here the pill is chemical instead of digital in nature but here too you could very much hold the opinion that life inside beats the Zion outside.
Does her animator know more about herself than she does?
Should the human race die happy or should we toil in misery? It almost looks like mankind has collectively decided to euthanize itself in the most painless way possible.
Alternatively, are we simply machines that got tricked and manipulated by chemicals to willingly and happily engineer our own demise?
I also really liked how they introduced Aaron and his "illness". Giamatti doesn't yet know how right he is when he says of him that he was born before his time. His condition could be seen as an evolutionary step up because in many ways his mind functions similarly to those who later on end up taking the drug. Before the "singularity" he heard what he wanted to hear and was wrong, after the "singularity" he really hears what he wants to hear and becomes "wright"?
It's not explicitly stated but I can imagine that Aaron would be much better adapted to living a life in a world you shape yourself compared to living a life in the world forced upon him in which he grew up. After taking the drug his condition is likely to work in symbiosis with the drug, boosting his ability to perceive creatively, to play with what is real, to new heights.
It's especially interesting to connect his "illness" with a statement from Jeff who at one point says we make movies so we don't have to read books. The less information you get, the more blanks you fill in yourself which is what makes a story more personal. In this sense a movie is a pre-chewed book, largely the same for everyone who lays eyes upon it. Aaron has the ability to always spin his surroundings and experience into something uniquely personal so for him every movie and life itself will likely be about airplanes or something he cares about. In many ways it's a biological analogue for the digital filter bubble. It comes with both pros and cons.
I could talk about this flick for hours and hours. There are many other dots I haven't pointed at yet, like the meaning of identity in a world where it can be copied and replicated to someone else, but likely you've connected your dots a bit or completely differently so first I want to hear your side.
February 15, 2016
The Final Moments of Karl Brant
Set in the near future where experimental technology allows two detectives to bring a murder victim back to life in a digital state in order to question him about his final moments.
Starring Paul Reubens, Janina Gavankar, Fay Masterson, Jon Sklaroff, and Pete Chekvala
Writer/Director/Producer: M.Francis Wilson
Starring Paul Reubens, Janina Gavankar, Fay Masterson, Jon Sklaroff, and Pete Chekvala
Writer/Director/Producer: M.Francis Wilson
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
In the best possible future, there will be
no war, no famine, no crime,
no sickness, no oppression,
no fear, no limits, no shame...
...and nothing to do.
http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiidx.html
A Novel by Roger Williams
This online novel contains strong language and extreme depictions of acts of sex and violence. Readers who are sensitive to such things should exercise discretion.
Chapter 1
Caroline at Play
Chapter 2
Lawrence Builds a Computer
Chapter 3
Caroline and Anne-Marie
Chapter 4
After the Night of Miracles
Chapter 5
Caroline Approaches
Chapter 6
After the Change
Chapter 7
Caroline and Lawrence
Chapter 8
After the Fall
no war, no famine, no crime,
no sickness, no oppression,
no fear, no limits, no shame...
...and nothing to do.
http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiidx.html
A Novel by Roger Williams
This online novel contains strong language and extreme depictions of acts of sex and violence. Readers who are sensitive to such things should exercise discretion.
Chapter 1
Caroline at Play
Chapter 2
Lawrence Builds a Computer
Chapter 3
Caroline and Anne-Marie
Chapter 4
After the Night of Miracles
Chapter 5
Caroline Approaches
Chapter 6
After the Change
Chapter 7
Caroline and Lawrence
Chapter 8
After the Fall
The Controller
This might lean closer to fantasy than Science Fiction but as Clarke once said; "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." ;)
Written & Directed by Saman Kesh
Written & Directed by Saman Kesh
PostHuman
Animated sci-fi thriller short film featuring the voice of Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica). Directed by Cole Drumb.
Set in an adrenalized future of espionage, assassins, and out of control super science, PostHuman follows a genius hacker and his dog as they help an enigmatic young woman to free the remaining test subject of a black ops ESP test lab.
Set in an adrenalized future of espionage, assassins, and out of control super science, PostHuman follows a genius hacker and his dog as they help an enigmatic young woman to free the remaining test subject of a black ops ESP test lab.
Natalis
Natalis tells the story of the robot Ea, who is threatened by visions and fear of a devastating future. To avoid this, she has to decide about the life or death of the newborn baby creature, Enki.
Directed by
Daniel Brkovic
Directed by
Daniel Brkovic
Richard Matheson, a Legend
Richard Matheson, sci-fi author, dies aged 87 | guardian.co.uk - IMDB
"I think we're yearning for something beyond the every day. And I will tell you I don't believe in the supernatural, I believe in the supernormal. To me there is nothing that goes against nature. If it seems incomprehensible, it's only because we haven't been able to understand it yet."
"I think we're yearning for something beyond the every day. And I will tell you I don't believe in the supernatural, I believe in the supernormal. To me there is nothing that goes against nature. If it seems incomprehensible, it's only because we haven't been able to understand it yet."
What is Science Fiction?
Although most people have a rough idea of what Science Fiction is all about, there's not really a singular agreed on definition. Personally I'm a big fan of the one cooked up by Rod Serling's, The creator and host of the Twilight Zone. He once stated that; "Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible." That being said, almost all big names in SF have their own idea of just what Science Fiction really is. You can check out Wikipedia's extensive list of SF definitions to get an idea of the variety of ideas out there.
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -Alan Kay
Did you know that the literally thousand year old Indian epic "Ramayana" (5th to 4th century before chirst) featured SF elements? Those ancient texts refer to flying contraptions that could traverse not just the skies but also space and the oceanic depths. These supremely speedy craft carried weapons of mass destruction so powerful that they could level entire cities! In the second century the Syrian-Greek writer Lucian wrote about a trip to space where he met alien life. In his conversation with them he criticized certain earthly behavior and in doing so Lucian became one of the first to employ SF as a tool for societal criticism He turned the lens back around, using it to look at ourselves through the eyes of an outsider. The first story that incorporated time travel as a device to study our ever more rapidly changing world emerged from Japan in the 8th century. In said story, a man who gets sent 300 years into the future desperately tries to find the way back to his old hometown in a for him almost unrecognizable world. It's clear that the history of SF goes back quite some time. From the mythic stories produced in ages nearly lost to history to the more recent European proto-SF movement and the 40s & 50s US golden age to ultimately the modern cyberpunk and biofunk of today. SF keeps renewing itself, a necessity brought about by its core task; to stay ahead of the future.
"Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century." -J. G. Ballard
Science Fiction has a whole lot more to offer than just entertainment. SF can help us think through some of the possibly dangerous implications present in changing technology, culture or human nature. It allows us to simulate possible future scenarios which in a sense make it possible for us to anticipate and thus plan for and even guide our fates towards certain outcomes above others. There is a lively feedbackloop active between technological innovation and SF literature. Both push each other onward to ever greater feats of imagination and engineering prowess. A good example of this is the communication satellite which was first dreamt up by Arthur C. Clarke and took more then a decade to be translated from page to reality. Today more than 3000 of them circle or planet every day. People like Clarke allow us to pull a certain future into the present.
"A good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam." -Frederik Pohl
"Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories." -Arthur C. Clarke
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
Outline of Science Fiction - Wikipedia
Science Fiction Essentials
Science Fiction Classics
Forgotten Gems & Future Classics
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -Alan Kay
Did you know that the literally thousand year old Indian epic "Ramayana" (5th to 4th century before chirst) featured SF elements? Those ancient texts refer to flying contraptions that could traverse not just the skies but also space and the oceanic depths. These supremely speedy craft carried weapons of mass destruction so powerful that they could level entire cities! In the second century the Syrian-Greek writer Lucian wrote about a trip to space where he met alien life. In his conversation with them he criticized certain earthly behavior and in doing so Lucian became one of the first to employ SF as a tool for societal criticism He turned the lens back around, using it to look at ourselves through the eyes of an outsider. The first story that incorporated time travel as a device to study our ever more rapidly changing world emerged from Japan in the 8th century. In said story, a man who gets sent 300 years into the future desperately tries to find the way back to his old hometown in a for him almost unrecognizable world. It's clear that the history of SF goes back quite some time. From the mythic stories produced in ages nearly lost to history to the more recent European proto-SF movement and the 40s & 50s US golden age to ultimately the modern cyberpunk and biofunk of today. SF keeps renewing itself, a necessity brought about by its core task; to stay ahead of the future.
"Everything is becoming science fiction. From the margins of an almost invisible literature has sprung the intact reality of the 20th century." -J. G. Ballard
Science Fiction has a whole lot more to offer than just entertainment. SF can help us think through some of the possibly dangerous implications present in changing technology, culture or human nature. It allows us to simulate possible future scenarios which in a sense make it possible for us to anticipate and thus plan for and even guide our fates towards certain outcomes above others. There is a lively feedbackloop active between technological innovation and SF literature. Both push each other onward to ever greater feats of imagination and engineering prowess. A good example of this is the communication satellite which was first dreamt up by Arthur C. Clarke and took more then a decade to be translated from page to reality. Today more than 3000 of them circle or planet every day. People like Clarke allow us to pull a certain future into the present.
"A good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam." -Frederik Pohl
"Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories." -Arthur C. Clarke
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
Outline of Science Fiction - Wikipedia
Science Fiction Essentials
Science Fiction Classics
Forgotten Gems & Future Classics
October 5, 2015
Under the Skin
108 min - Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
A mysterious seductress preys upon the population of Scotland.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Stars: Scarlett Johansson
Films like this don't come around often and deserve to be experienced on a massive screen with a sound system capable of generating 200 mph vortex winds. From the first minute alone you just know that you are in store for a treat. They say there are two sorts of schools for films to follow. Almost all the films made today are focused on telling a well defined story through dialogue and narration but there is another school which tries to get away from that and instead uses the language of the visual to hint at underlying meaning. This film is most definitely a follower of this second school. It automatically brings with it echoes of films like 2001 or the Tree of Life simply because there isn't much else to compare it to. Without a doubt this is one of the most original movies of the past decade. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen something quite like this before.
It took Glazer a decade to get this out and it shows. It's a deeply personal film that doesn't care if you'll like it. Where most commercial films try to please their audience by checking the usual boxes and some artsy directors will try to meet their audience halfway, It's obvious that Glazer didn't compromise on anything but instead chose to fanatically execute his singular vision.
This is not market researched mass production which scores an "it's okay" with 90% of its audience. If a film is made for everyone, it's made for no one in particular. Art on the other hand isn't made for everyone or even anyone in particular but if you are lucky enough to be on the same wavelength as its creator, his work can connect with you in such a way that it goes well beyond simple entertainment. Sometimes a good piece can alter the way you think, making it life changing.
It's with this in mind that I can't guarantee you'll like Under the Skin but I most definitely recommend you see it. In the worst case you'll hate it, but if you are like me, you'll get to see a mindblowing masterpiece. One thing's for sure, even if you hate it, this film will get under your skin and haunt your thoughts for weeks to come.
The film itself is a truly unique and utterly alienating experience. Hidden cameras film unsuspecting people as they interact with a predatory Johansson as she stalks the streets of Glasgow. We see people go about their daily lives but from a disconnected point of view which infuses the mundane with an eerie dose of strangeness. The camera lingers on actions each and every one of us has performed many times over but seeing Johansson go through them seemingly for the first time makes you question yourself which can at times be quite unsettling.
A haunting and brooding tension simmers just below the surface throughout the entire film, only punctuated by a couple of chilling key moments where the slow pace gives way to pure shock and terror when the speed unexpectedly ramps up. It's not just the pacing that contributes to the feeling of dread. Certain scenes will quite simply nail you to the floor. Either by their macabre beauty or because you feel like a rabbit trapped in headlights. Glazer brings to the table a visionary style, effects that transcend "special", and layers of metaphor so deep you'll have a hard time keeping your head above the water...
There's also a hypnotic quality to the horror that makes it impossible for you to look away for which the score is largely responsible. It's hard to put into words just how perfect the score matches the movie. It is at times as perfectly cold and calculated as Johansson's mastery of murder, next it's completely unpredictable, jumping around as if it were a deer caught in bear trap. The only constants are its threatening and otherworldly qualities. Under the Skin - Death
The location, Scotland, perfectly suits the themes of the film. There is beauty in the bewildering chaos of its natural landscapes but also despair in its grim and desolate character. I am not going to give anything away about the film's story or what I think it means. It's much more fun to go in without having a preconceived notion of what it's all about. I wouldn't even bother with the trailer and instead go in completely fresh but if I haven't convinced you yet; Under the Skin Trailer Official - Scarlett Johansson
Do yourself a favor, go find out what it does for you.
A mysterious seductress preys upon the population of Scotland.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Stars: Scarlett Johansson
Films like this don't come around often and deserve to be experienced on a massive screen with a sound system capable of generating 200 mph vortex winds. From the first minute alone you just know that you are in store for a treat. They say there are two sorts of schools for films to follow. Almost all the films made today are focused on telling a well defined story through dialogue and narration but there is another school which tries to get away from that and instead uses the language of the visual to hint at underlying meaning. This film is most definitely a follower of this second school. It automatically brings with it echoes of films like 2001 or the Tree of Life simply because there isn't much else to compare it to. Without a doubt this is one of the most original movies of the past decade. In fact, I don't think we've ever seen something quite like this before.
It took Glazer a decade to get this out and it shows. It's a deeply personal film that doesn't care if you'll like it. Where most commercial films try to please their audience by checking the usual boxes and some artsy directors will try to meet their audience halfway, It's obvious that Glazer didn't compromise on anything but instead chose to fanatically execute his singular vision.
This is not market researched mass production which scores an "it's okay" with 90% of its audience. If a film is made for everyone, it's made for no one in particular. Art on the other hand isn't made for everyone or even anyone in particular but if you are lucky enough to be on the same wavelength as its creator, his work can connect with you in such a way that it goes well beyond simple entertainment. Sometimes a good piece can alter the way you think, making it life changing.
It's with this in mind that I can't guarantee you'll like Under the Skin but I most definitely recommend you see it. In the worst case you'll hate it, but if you are like me, you'll get to see a mindblowing masterpiece. One thing's for sure, even if you hate it, this film will get under your skin and haunt your thoughts for weeks to come.
The film itself is a truly unique and utterly alienating experience. Hidden cameras film unsuspecting people as they interact with a predatory Johansson as she stalks the streets of Glasgow. We see people go about their daily lives but from a disconnected point of view which infuses the mundane with an eerie dose of strangeness. The camera lingers on actions each and every one of us has performed many times over but seeing Johansson go through them seemingly for the first time makes you question yourself which can at times be quite unsettling.
A haunting and brooding tension simmers just below the surface throughout the entire film, only punctuated by a couple of chilling key moments where the slow pace gives way to pure shock and terror when the speed unexpectedly ramps up. It's not just the pacing that contributes to the feeling of dread. Certain scenes will quite simply nail you to the floor. Either by their macabre beauty or because you feel like a rabbit trapped in headlights. Glazer brings to the table a visionary style, effects that transcend "special", and layers of metaphor so deep you'll have a hard time keeping your head above the water...
There's also a hypnotic quality to the horror that makes it impossible for you to look away for which the score is largely responsible. It's hard to put into words just how perfect the score matches the movie. It is at times as perfectly cold and calculated as Johansson's mastery of murder, next it's completely unpredictable, jumping around as if it were a deer caught in bear trap. The only constants are its threatening and otherworldly qualities. Under the Skin - Death
The location, Scotland, perfectly suits the themes of the film. There is beauty in the bewildering chaos of its natural landscapes but also despair in its grim and desolate character. I am not going to give anything away about the film's story or what I think it means. It's much more fun to go in without having a preconceived notion of what it's all about. I wouldn't even bother with the trailer and instead go in completely fresh but if I haven't convinced you yet; Under the Skin Trailer Official - Scarlett Johansson
Do yourself a favor, go find out what it does for you.
September 20, 2015
Abiogenesis a.k.a Alex Ries
I've decided to start a series on my favorite artists so from now on you can expect from me about a post a week featuring the works of one particularly creative genius. Painters, sculptors, musicians, writers, directors, engineers, architects, coders, ... artists of all stripes and colors will get a turn in the spotlight.
I am kicking things off with someone who many consider to be a god as he wields the power to pull never before seen fully living and breathing worlds into being. Perhaps the foremost SF artist of our times, he doesn't create pictures, he creates scenes so real they radiate history.
Alex Ries is a Melbourne based illustrator and concept artist with several years’ experience across the industry. His artworks have been featured by publishers including Cosmos Magazine, Pearson Education Canada, and the Discovery Channel.
Receiving his education at the University of Melbourne, Alex graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts. Studies in diverse visual media including painting, 3D visualisation and film provided a broad creative skills base from which to operate.
This education and experience, coupled with a strong interest in biology, zoology and real-world technology, has fostered an artistic style able to not only accurately illustrate life from the real world, but fictional life as well.
Rumor has it that he's been hard at work on a book that will detail the complete history of life on another world. From the planet's formation to the evolutionary origins of many of its species to ultimately the development of a culture that like us has managed to soar into space. Can't wait! :)
http://www.alexries.com/
http://abiogenisis.deviantart.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis
I am kicking things off with someone who many consider to be a god as he wields the power to pull never before seen fully living and breathing worlds into being. Perhaps the foremost SF artist of our times, he doesn't create pictures, he creates scenes so real they radiate history.
Alex Ries is a Melbourne based illustrator and concept artist with several years’ experience across the industry. His artworks have been featured by publishers including Cosmos Magazine, Pearson Education Canada, and the Discovery Channel.
Receiving his education at the University of Melbourne, Alex graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Arts. Studies in diverse visual media including painting, 3D visualisation and film provided a broad creative skills base from which to operate.
This education and experience, coupled with a strong interest in biology, zoology and real-world technology, has fostered an artistic style able to not only accurately illustrate life from the real world, but fictional life as well.
Rumor has it that he's been hard at work on a book that will detail the complete history of life on another world. From the planet's formation to the evolutionary origins of many of its species to ultimately the development of a culture that like us has managed to soar into space. Can't wait! :)
http://www.alexries.com/
http://abiogenisis.deviantart.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis
April 11, 2015
Juice Rap News - History is Happening
Giordano Nanni and Hugo Farrant have been broadcasting their satirical news show from a suburban backyard home-studio in Melbourne, Australia for quite a while now. Given how awesome their productions are it amazes me that they still aren't household names! I've shared some of their shows before but their latest creation just might be one of their best yet. ;)
"Today we travel into the pure world of sci-fi to investigate the much vaunted, mysterious potential future event known as 'The Singularity'. What will a machine consciousness mean for humanity? What are the ethical, political, military and philosophical implications of strong A.I.? And what would an AI sound like when spitting rhymes over a dope beat? All this and more shall be revealed in Rap News 28."
Net Neutrality [RAP NEWS 25]
The Energy Crisis - feat. Copernicus [RAP NEWS 22]
Big Brother is WWWatching You - feat. George Orwell [RAP NEWS 15]
"THE NEWS" - feat Sage Francis [RAP NEWS 21]
"Today we travel into the pure world of sci-fi to investigate the much vaunted, mysterious potential future event known as 'The Singularity'. What will a machine consciousness mean for humanity? What are the ethical, political, military and philosophical implications of strong A.I.? And what would an AI sound like when spitting rhymes over a dope beat? All this and more shall be revealed in Rap News 28."
Net Neutrality [RAP NEWS 25]
The Energy Crisis - feat. Copernicus [RAP NEWS 22]
Big Brother is WWWatching You - feat. George Orwell [RAP NEWS 15]
"THE NEWS" - feat Sage Francis [RAP NEWS 21]
April 10, 2015
Simon Stålenhag - A past pregnant with the future
Stålenhag operates from the countryside just outside of Stockholm, Sweden. He's been involved with a lot of different projects, ranging from films, commercials and book covers to art directing and concepting for video games.
His images of a 1980s Sweden populated by fantastic machines and strange creatures spread across the internet like wildfire when he published them a couple of years ago and it's easy to see why. He has a unique talent that allows him to depict an unbelievable world in a believable way.
The world he created might be teeming with monstrous life and dangerous machines but for the people that live alongside them they seem to be nothing but a tedious part of everyday life. They are the backdrop against which normal human affairs play out. Where in our world we would scramble to capture these wonders on camera, the people in Stålenhag's are more likely to curse them for blocking the road or disturbing the piece during a picnic. His work just radiates a vibe that can only be described as casual.
Many of his images manage to get across bits and pieces of what a childhood spent among dinosaurs and advanced technological marvels would have been like. In fact, especially if you are a child of the 80s, you might even feel somewhat nostalgic for this past you've never been part of.
http://www.simonstalenhag.se/
His images of a 1980s Sweden populated by fantastic machines and strange creatures spread across the internet like wildfire when he published them a couple of years ago and it's easy to see why. He has a unique talent that allows him to depict an unbelievable world in a believable way.
The world he created might be teeming with monstrous life and dangerous machines but for the people that live alongside them they seem to be nothing but a tedious part of everyday life. They are the backdrop against which normal human affairs play out. Where in our world we would scramble to capture these wonders on camera, the people in Stålenhag's are more likely to curse them for blocking the road or disturbing the piece during a picnic. His work just radiates a vibe that can only be described as casual.
Many of his images manage to get across bits and pieces of what a childhood spent among dinosaurs and advanced technological marvels would have been like. In fact, especially if you are a child of the 80s, you might even feel somewhat nostalgic for this past you've never been part of.
http://www.simonstalenhag.se/
Chesley Bonestell - Out of this world art takes you over the moon
Chesley Bonestell, born in 1888, was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings were a major influence on science fiction art and illustration, and he helped inspire the American space program. Along with the French astronomer-artist Lucien Rudaux, Bonestell was dubbed the "Father of Modern Space Art".
Together with Warren Straton Bonestell designed the art deco façade of the Chrysler Building as well as its distinctive eagles. During this same period, he designed the Plymouth Rock Memorial, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, the New York Central Building, Manhattan office and apartment buildings and several state capitols. His illustrations of the Golden Gate Bridge convinced the wealthy to build it.
In the late 1930s he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a special effects artist, creating matte paintings for films, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).
Bonestell then realized that he could combine what he had learned about camera angles, miniature modeling, and painting techniques with his lifelong interest in astronomy. The result was a series of paintings of Saturn as seen from several of its moons that was published in Life in 1944. Nothing like these had ever been seen before: they looked as though photographers had been sent into space.
Bonestell's last work in Hollywood was contributing special effects art and technical advice to the seminal science fiction films produced by George Pal, including Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, The War of the Worlds and Conquest of Space, as well as Cat-Women of the Moon.
When Wernher von Braun organized a space flight symposium for Collier's, he invited Bonestell to illustrate his concepts for the future of spaceflight. For the first time, spaceflight was shown to be a matter of the near future. Von Braun and Bonestell showed that it could be accomplished with the technology then existing in the mid-1950s, and that the question was that of money and will. Coming as they did at the beginning of the Cold War and just before the sobering shock of the launch of Sputnik, the 1952–54 Collier's series, "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!", was instrumental in kick-starting America's space program.
In 1986, Bonestell died in Carmel, California, with an unfinished painting on his easel. His name lives on not only through his children but also as asteroid number 3129 and as a crater on Mars.
Together with Warren Straton Bonestell designed the art deco façade of the Chrysler Building as well as its distinctive eagles. During this same period, he designed the Plymouth Rock Memorial, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, the New York Central Building, Manhattan office and apartment buildings and several state capitols. His illustrations of the Golden Gate Bridge convinced the wealthy to build it.
In the late 1930s he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a special effects artist, creating matte paintings for films, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).
Bonestell then realized that he could combine what he had learned about camera angles, miniature modeling, and painting techniques with his lifelong interest in astronomy. The result was a series of paintings of Saturn as seen from several of its moons that was published in Life in 1944. Nothing like these had ever been seen before: they looked as though photographers had been sent into space.
Bonestell's last work in Hollywood was contributing special effects art and technical advice to the seminal science fiction films produced by George Pal, including Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, The War of the Worlds and Conquest of Space, as well as Cat-Women of the Moon.
When Wernher von Braun organized a space flight symposium for Collier's, he invited Bonestell to illustrate his concepts for the future of spaceflight. For the first time, spaceflight was shown to be a matter of the near future. Von Braun and Bonestell showed that it could be accomplished with the technology then existing in the mid-1950s, and that the question was that of money and will. Coming as they did at the beginning of the Cold War and just before the sobering shock of the launch of Sputnik, the 1952–54 Collier's series, "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!", was instrumental in kick-starting America's space program.
In 1986, Bonestell died in Carmel, California, with an unfinished painting on his easel. His name lives on not only through his children but also as asteroid number 3129 and as a crater on Mars.
December 20, 2014
Finding touch with reality
Apologies for the bait and switch tactic. I am just using the below video of the built for VR FPX game Adr1ft to reel you in. What I am actually trying to sell are the technologies being developed by Nimble and 13th Lab, the 2 companies Oculus just bought. Trust me when I say that the fruits of their labors are worth checking out!
► Nimble VR was founded in 2012 and since then they’ve been developing machine learning and computer vision capabilities to enable high-quality, low-latency skeletal hand tracking.
Nimble VR Kickstarter
► The 13th Lab has been focused on developing an efficient and accurate real-time 3D reconstruction framework. The ability to acquire accurate 3D models of the real-world can enable all sorts of new applications and experiences, like visiting a one-to-one 3D model of the pyramids in Egypt or the Roman Colosseum in VR.
Rescape - Reality Gaming Platform
13th Lab - Visual SLAM
Visual SLAM Car Navigation
It's been a while since I've raved about the coming virtual reality revolution but these clips really speak for themselves. The potential here is simply staggering. I have my doubts that the first consumer version of the rift will come equipped with features like these but we can all look forward to the kind of experiences they will enable in a very near future that is hurtling towards us at breakneck speeds.
What VR could, should, and almost certainly will be within two years
What VR could, should, and almost certainly will be within two years - http://goo.gl/v67LnS
Facebook's Oculus Acquisition, the Future of VR & the Coming Creative Explosion that Will Birth Our Magnificent Metaverse
More information on Adr1ft
http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/28/7303899/how-first-person-shooter-fatigue-led-to-the-serene-beauty-of-adrift.
► Nimble VR was founded in 2012 and since then they’ve been developing machine learning and computer vision capabilities to enable high-quality, low-latency skeletal hand tracking.
Nimble VR Kickstarter
► The 13th Lab has been focused on developing an efficient and accurate real-time 3D reconstruction framework. The ability to acquire accurate 3D models of the real-world can enable all sorts of new applications and experiences, like visiting a one-to-one 3D model of the pyramids in Egypt or the Roman Colosseum in VR.
Rescape - Reality Gaming Platform
13th Lab - Visual SLAM
Visual SLAM Car Navigation
It's been a while since I've raved about the coming virtual reality revolution but these clips really speak for themselves. The potential here is simply staggering. I have my doubts that the first consumer version of the rift will come equipped with features like these but we can all look forward to the kind of experiences they will enable in a very near future that is hurtling towards us at breakneck speeds.
What VR could, should, and almost certainly will be within two years
What VR could, should, and almost certainly will be within two years - http://goo.gl/v67LnS
Facebook's Oculus Acquisition, the Future of VR & the Coming Creative Explosion that Will Birth Our Magnificent Metaverse
More information on Adr1ft
http://www.polygon.com/2014/11/28/7303899/how-first-person-shooter-fatigue-led-to-the-serene-beauty-of-adrift.
March 17, 2014
Dead Space: Downfall
Downfall, the prequel to Dead Space, explores what went wrong on the USG Ishimura prior to Isaac Clarke's arrival.
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