Filed under: The Future of Science Fiction
In contrast to the modest statement made by Solaris last week, we look at 2001 A Space Odyssey and cannot help but observe stark contrasts between the outlooks of Tarkovsky and Kubrick on the aesthetics of outer space. Key assumptions which make up the storyworld aesthetics in Kubrick’s film include:
voice identification
interplanetary travel
“portait-oriented” video phone
international space station
cryogenic hibernation
luxury space travel
scientific outpost on another planet
monolith
HAL 9000 – artificial intelligence / ubiquitous computing
transparent optical computer memory cards
lightweight space suits
artificial gravity
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artificial intelligence system that future Mars explorers could incorporate into their spacesuits to help them recognize signs of life on Mars
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=20064
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Comment by Lea Nehring 11.23.09 @ 6:58 pm“Ramirez Abadia, a leader of Colombia’s biggest drug cartel who had his features deliberately altered by plastic surgery, was identified by Brazilian and American anti-drug agents using advanced voice recognition technology.”
http://plasticsurgery101.blogspot.com/2007/08/drug-kingpin-whod-had-plastic-surgery.html
poor guy
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Comment by nino 11.23.09 @ 9:18 pmthis one is more star- treckish: the voice recognition microwave.
http://www.ohgizmo.com/2006/09/26/daewoo-voice-recognition-microwave-the-lazy-get-lazier/
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Comment by nino 11.23.09 @ 9:21 pmcryogenic hibernation:
Das Advanced Concepts Team der Esa befasst sich mit “Mammalian Hibernation Mechanisms”. Sie vergleichen den Winterschlaf bei Tieren und versuchen es auf den Menschen zu übertragen. Die Hibernation soll helfen, benachbarte Planetensysteme zu erreichen.
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/Germany.html
http://www.erkenntnishorizont.de/raumfahrt/mensch/hibernation.c.php?screen=800
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Comment by Nadine 11.24.09 @ 10:12 amA Future Flat!
http://www.morgenpost.de/printarchiv/berlin/article204423/So_sieht_die_Wohnung_der_Zukunft_aus.html
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Comment by Daniel Brems 11.24.09 @ 10:28 amMonolith
- who was first?
Reading more about Monoliths, I found a german science fiction series from the 60’s, “Perry Rhodan”, which was first released in 1961. The series describes the history of mankind, starting with Perry Rhodan’s landing on the moon in 1971, ending in the year 4934.
There’s a “Monolith Zyklus”, including 6 books, in which Monoliths are found on several planets. They seem to have extraordinary powers and influences.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” is from 1968. “Perry Rhodan” was first released in 1961.
Maybe I missed something out and the Monolith series was released later, I could not find any specific dates. But the subject is so close to Kubrick’s film, it caught my attention.
Everything about “Perry Rhodan”
http://www.perry-rhodan.net/aktuell/updates/index.html
“Perrypedia”
http://www.perrypedia.proc.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan-Heftserie
the Monoliths in “Perry Rhodan”
http://www.perrypedia.proc.org/wiki/Monolith_%28Zyklus%29
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Comment by Nina 11.25.09 @ 1:30 pmartificial gravity
Project to build a large rotating wheel type space station with artificial gracity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYIo-0qo9FA
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Comment by Josip 11.28.09 @ 2:05 pmspace travel
There are already promotional videos for space travel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58cdGWK9FMA
Perhaps we can spend a night in a space hotel in the year 2012. Then we could fly around the world in 90 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7uZ4oY4z6U
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Comment by Christine 11.29.09 @ 10:31 pmHere are a couple links I thought might be interesting to read about “artificial gravity” and the effects of weightlessness in space on the human body.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722165459.htm
Also a link about the inventor, Wernher von Braun, of the space station that provides artifical gravity and wich design concepts were used in the movie “2001 A Space Odyssey”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun
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Comment by Sabine 11.29.09 @ 10:51 pmA monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are most often made of very hard and solid metamorphic or igneous rock.
The word derives from the Latin word monolithus from the Greek word μονόλιθος (monolithos), derived from μόνος (”one” or “single”) and λίθος (”stone”).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_YfOdRmEQE
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Comment by Ulrike 12.01.09 @ 9:48 amArtificial Gravity:
Today many people think, that artificial gravity is possible. They really use the same technique like in the film. But this thoughts and the technique is in the early stages of development. In my oppinion in one day it will be possible to generate gravity and to control it, like they do in the movie.
http://www.zeit.de/2007/21/T-Antigravitation?page=all
http://leifi.physik.uni-muenchen.de/web_ph11/umwelt-technik/07kuenstl_grav/kuenstl_grav.htm
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Comment by Ulrike 12.01.09 @ 10:04 amHAL 9000
was based on a one-letter shift from the name IBM. This has been denied by both Clarke and 2001 director Stanley Kubrick. I thought that by now every intelligent person knew that H-A-L is derived from “Heuristic ALgorithmic”
“Heuristic” is an greek adjective for experience-based techniques that help in problem solving, learning and discovery.
When we speak of AI, Ubiquitous Computing we speak as well of Neuroinformatics. Wich is in charge of the organization of neuroscience data and application of computational models on it. Ruhr Uni Bochum has an Institute for Neuroinformatic.
http://www.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/
There goal is: ” Ziel ist es, die Organisationsprinzipien des Nervensystems bis zur informationstechnischen Anwendbarkeit aufzuarbeiten”, which could mean that some day machines will be able to feel/act as human beings. HAL 9000, as a machine, has an almost neurotic character, which is definitely a human characteristic.
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Comment by Momo 01.29.10 @ 10:58 pmLeave a comment