Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Futurism.
The Third World War by Sir John Winthrop Hacket
Over 6,200 paperbacks line shelves in my apartment. My wife is an artist, and uses our apartment as her gallery. There was a fight for wall space and I recently lost a skirmish. My solution was logical. Consolidate and toss books that I have read which honestly I think is about 500 - 600. Part of my cathartic process is to write a quick review of the books I remember. Sometimes a quick skim ignites a memory of something particular I liked about the book. The Third World War by Sir John Winthrop Hacket was a sort of alternate reality novel, I remember reading in 1986 as a freshman in college. I must say there are some very detailed sections of, military briefings that can be skimmed through with no real impact. It seems still relevant these days with such uncertainty in American ideology and political stability.
By Arnold Seleskey9 years ago in Futurism
Franz von Paula Gruithuisen's Venus Science Fiction
The fascinating story of Franz von Paula Gruithuisen, a German astronomer who became prominent early in the nineteenth century, has inspired sci-fi writers to ponder exploring distant worlds like Mars and Venus. His attempts at explaining the wonders of space were filled with promise of mystery and awe. He was a fairly good observer who concentrated on the moon and the planets, but his imagination was, somewhat vivid. For instance, he discovered what he believed to be an artificial structure on the moon and described it as a collection of dark, gigantic artistic ramparts.
By Izzy Erlich9 years ago in Futurism
Garrett Brown's SkyCam History
You've seen the view from high above a football stadium before. But have you ever flown through the goalposts like a football? With SkyCam, a computerized camera originated in the 1980s, that soars through the air on steel cables. Its applications went far beyond sporting arenas, including skiing and other non arena based sports as well as the making of movies, television commercials, and even music videos.
By Eddie Wong9 years ago in Futurism
Mental Time Travel: Is the Plot of Arrival Coherent?
Time travel is a bit of a trope in sci fi. The device has been used in literature since ancient times, with Hindu mythology portraying people going far into the future. This kind of travel isn’t logically impossible – in fact, with Einstein’s discovery of relativity, we must accept this discrepancy between personal and external time as a necessary feature of reality. The faster an object travels, the slower its time moves: ISS astronauts returning from missions have aged slightly less than had they remained on earth (due to different accelerations).
By Ed Venables9 years ago in Futurism
Thrilling 'Star Wars' Audio Books
Travel to a galaxy far, far away and never leave the comfort of your sedan. Any commute can be improved with a little help from the soothing sounds of a Wookiee. Audio books are a great way to immerse yourself in the alternate universe that has captured generation after generation. These Star Wars audio books offer the intense action of a movie with the in-depth narrative of a novel that can be enjoyed almost anywhere. Imagine you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on your way home from a long day at the office, only to have the speakers of your car blaring the the struggle of Yoda trying to instill peace on Djun, an inventive tale of good versus evil or a narration that follows Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker as the rebels' last hope. Your favorite Star Wars moments are now reimagined and reinvented in an advancement that is the way of the future. Dread traffic no more with the most thrilling Star Wars audio books.
By James Lizowski9 years ago in Futurism
Your Guide To A Techie Christmas: Mice and Keyboards
Tis the season! It can be hard to shop for a techie or you are new to this. Yes, this is a guide for a Techie Christmas. This is a list of items to buy for those techies in your life. They are a special breed. This year, do not go last minute shopping for that perfect gift. Let me do the hard work for you! Let’s get started!
By Brett Deister9 years ago in Futurism
The Mightiest Motion Picture of Them All
After several years of production, design and location shooting, Walt Disney released his first Hollywood produced live-action motion picture in 1954. If the advertising was to be believed, it was in fact the mightiest motion picture of them all. Considering that the film was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this is a credible claim.
By Cory Gross9 years ago in Futurism
Word-Worlds
Ted Chiang is among the greatest short story writers in the history of science fiction, and I've been recommending his work to students for years. That said, I was somewhat disappointed by Arrival, Denis Villeneuve's recent film adaptation of Chiang's masterful short story "Story of Your Life." The film, in my view, is too noncommittal genre-wise. It doesn't know what it wants to be—action-adventure or philosophical meditation, Independence Day or Ex Machina. I suppose there's a way to elegantly split that difference, but I don't think it happens here. To be fair, it's a tough story to adapt: high-concept, but cerebral and exposition-y. "Story of Your Life" features none of the fate-of-the-Earth-hangs-in-the-balance testosterone of Arrival; what's most interesting about it is the peculiar linguistics of the alien language, particularly the written script, which Chiang's narrator explores in depth. The film dumbs all this down. We get squiddy aliens ejaculating ideograms, and some montage-like scenes of Amy Adams' character trying to decipher them at her desk, but we're not really privy to her insights, and, though a major plot twist depends on it, we never get the full picture of how the aliens' language is a natural outgrowth and/or determinant (or both?) of their relationship to time, which is, or ought to be, the story's great payoff.
By M. Thomas Gammarino9 years ago in Futurism
Terence McKenna Unraveled Consciousness
An adamant critic of culture, Terence McKenna was a 20th century shaman that pioneered an in-depth analysis of one's consciousness and the lives we live. He birthed radical hypotheses about the development of the mind, posited "the stoned ape" hypothesis, and declared he had deciphered the nature of time using the I Ching. Mckenna held that individuality and social constructs were detrimental illusions to living a fulfilling life. He was called the "Timothy Leary of the 1990s," inspiring millions of people to question their reality.
By Stephanie Gladwell9 years ago in Futurism
Best 'Star Wars' Han Solo And Chewbacca Books
Every Star Wars fan knows the famous duo of Han Solo and Chewbacca well. While Han Solo was a human smuggler known for being a member of the Rebel Alliance and later the New Republic, he originates from the planet Corellia where he was orphaned at an early age. Taken by the pirate Garris Shrike to serve with his crew, Han was treated cruelly, which is the main reason he became a smuggler. After entering the Imperial Academy at Carida where he served with distinction, his life changed when he refused to beat a Wookiee named Chewbacca with a neuronic whip and the two eventually fled from the imperials together. That was the moment Han Solo and Chewbacca bonded, and Chewbacca became his partner in crime as his life debt to Solo. The adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca are present in many Star Wars books. Here are our picks for the best Han Solo and Chewbacca books.
By James Lizowski9 years ago in Futurism
Science Journalist Lee Billings On Life Beyond the Solar System
The history of science can be read as a series of brusque reality checks. Once, we imagined ourselves the center of a small and harmonious universe, gifted with a sun content to revolve placidly around the Earth. In time, however, our real estate was relegated from the center of everything to a hum-drum corner of an unimportant galaxy in a much bigger and more tumultuous universe. Upon closer inspection, our sun was revealed to be just another star, born from a nebula, fated for eventual collapse. At the same time, we came to understand the spark of life, transforming in the process from the mini-gods of a pedantic little empire into nothing more than a consequence of biological randomness.
By Claire Evans9 years ago in Futurism
