27 Scientific Realities of 2012

[Devor]

Check it out.

27 Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012

This was last year's science. What's coming in 2013?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I'm still waiting for my Jetson's style flying cars and robotic maids (not this silly Roomba).

 

[Reaver]

If Google Goggles take the next logical step forward, we're all going to need autonomous cars so that we don't kill each other. That's all we need is some 18 year old kid watching porn while driving. Madness.

 

[Sheilawisz]

All of that is very cool, but we are still using the same refrigeration technology that has been used for decades, the entire civilization depends on the same old electricity and fossil fuel keeps ruling the world.

I am especially worried about extending the lifespan of people... What would happen if genetic science suddenly allows us to live 200 years, or even live indefinitely just like Tolkien's elves??

What would happen to the global population and the planet's resources, then?

What I really want is a flying broomstick like a Firebolt from the Harry Potter world, but they have not invented it... yet =)

 

[Reaver]

Thanks to medical and other technology, the average life expectancy for non-periphery countries has increased nearly 30 years and the world's population has increased about 5.3 billion since 1913. Our global resources have already been pushed past their limits. By 2040 there likely won't be any fossil fuels left.

 

[Ghost]

The next step is obviously brain-hacking chimera monkeys that have invisibility cloaks. → :monkey:

My tin foil hat seems inadequate. So if I move into a house made of lead but extend my life by 100 years... Hm... :spin:

 

[FatCat]

I wonder when humanity in general will realize that this world will eventually die from our continual habit of consuming resources until there is nothing left. I find it odd that in an age where we can display images from around the world into our direct vision, make robots that crawl through obstacles, and send machines to far-away planets, we as a conventional society have buried our heads in sand against obvious truths. Maybe our imagination should not exceed our grasp.

 

[Steerpike]

I wonder when humanity in general will realize that this world will eventually die from our continual habit of consuming resources until there is nothing left. I find it odd that in an age where we can display images from around the world into our direct vision, make robots that crawl through obstacles, and send machines to far-away planets, we as a conventional society have buried our heads in sand against obvious truths. Maybe our imagination should not exceed our grasp.

It's the tragedy of the commons. There is no incentive not to consume as much as you can.

 

[JCFarnham]

Google goggles... guess they got there before I published my scifi novel [lets not forget the countless other HUDs in fiction]

Does any one else think the idea of a planet orbiting four suns is just the coolest? I mean, science fiction writers have been writing about a lot of stuff on this list for a decade or so and much of the stuff there was probably inspired by works of fiction. I think I speak for everyone when I say. I'm proud to be a writer. Especially if we can inspire such innovation by our technically minded brethren.

That they're finding things as far fetched as diamond planets, planets that don't really orbit anything, and systems involving four stars... well, that just gives credibility to what I thought was fairly soft SF, doesn't it.

Thanks for the link! Very inspirational.

 

[SeverinR]

Tim Wilson - Jetpack - YouTube

Still waiting on my jetpack.

 

[Feo Takahari]

7. James Cameron Reached the Deepest Known Point in the Ocean

Cameron was the first solo human to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench. At 6.8 miles deep, it is perhaps more a more alien place to scientists than some foreign planets are.

But did he find the bar?