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| BBC Science |
"Journey to the Center of the Earth," unlike "From the Earth to the Moon" or "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (all by Jules Verne) did not predict a possible vehicle/technology that came to reality.
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, if memory serves, seemed to predict laptop computers and the World Wide Web, but Cracked.com assigns that latter prognostication origin to Mark Twain.
Scientists/Engineers and future scientists/engineers read fiction. The software and apps we enjoy were from the quiet times between classes on Calculus, Thermodynamics and Fourier Transforms; projects and papers in industry and academia with firm deadlines, the fiction an escape hatch and a connection simultaneously. Science Fiction also serves a purpose of keeping us grounded, connected to humanity, and the concerns it has with the impact of our work. Whether Kindle or bound, I hope that we keep that connection with fiction. Too much of our escape time is spent online in created realities of little meaning. A counter voice to my concern is in "Project Massive: the Social and Pyscological Impact of Online Gaming."
In fiction, I am reading "Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars, and the Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh"; in nonfiction, "Why We Can't Wait" by Dr. Martin Luther King (Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Trekkie).
The automatic doors in department stores were inspired by Star Trek, according to online bloopers were just two guys following the orders of the director. For our sakes, I'm glad the optical electronics was perfected!
This post is an example - among the myriad - of life imitating art.
BBC Science: X-ray facility to study conditions at Earth's core
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