james_nicoll ([info]james_nicoll) wrote,
@ 2008-05-05 10:19:00
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Insufficient vigilance on my part
This looks interesting:

May 7, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Dr. Gerard 't Hooft, Nobel Laureate, Utrecht University
Science Fiction and Reality

In the recent past, rapid scientific and technological developments have had tremendous impact on human society. Notably, the personal computer, internet and mobile telephones changed the world and shrank our planet. These developments are vastly different from the forecasts by science fiction authors who promised us space travel and intelligent humanoid robots. Could real scientists have done a better job in forecasting the future? What can we say about the future now?

Many science fiction fantasies will never materialize. Some will, but only over time spans of millions of years rather than a couple of centuries. Nature's laws are very strict and forbidding but also show gaps that might promise fantastic possibilities for a scientific future, even within our lifetime.

but when I look to the lower left I see "sold out". Guess I'll catch it when they broadcast their video of the talk.

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[info]mckitterick
2008-05-05 02:48 pm UTC (link)
The first line of the promo got it right, while the rest spun off onto a tangent. This fella seems to be missing the whole point of SF. It's not about predicting technology but how changes (including technological ones) affect humans.

The only accurate prediction is that change will continue, and people will continue to adapt - or fail to adapt - to it.

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[info]doc_lemming
2008-05-05 03:29 pm UTC (link)
I am going to see the talk, and I suspect he will make that mistake, based on the promo--but promo pieces have been wrong before (I know, you're shocked). So I'm not going to judge before I hear the talk.

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[info]mckitterick
2008-05-05 03:41 pm UTC (link)
True!

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[info]dsgood
2008-05-05 08:02 pm UTC (link)
"Could real scientists have done a better job in forecasting the future?"

Real scientists did make nonfiction predictions. Some did manage to do slightly better.

But I don't think any of them predicted the Internet nearly as well as Murray Leinster did in 1946 with "A Logic Named Joe."

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[info]beamjockey
2008-05-05 09:38 pm UTC (link)
He has a new book coming out aimed, it seems, at the hard-SF reader.

If you think the future is a mystery, think again. With a solid foothold in realism, an extraordinary insight into scientific and technological developments, and a dry sense of humor, Nobel laureate Professor Gerard ’t Hooft confidently dissects fact from fiction and shows us what our future might really hold. Professor ’t Hooft takes the reader firmly by the hand and, within the boundaries of solid physics and proven laws of nature, takes us on a ride into the world of the future, which holds remarkable suprises for us all. “Do you dream of intergalaxy space travel, time warps, and mini-mes?” ’t Hooft asks. “Then please, get yourself some more science fiction books, for fiction it is. But for those who are interested in the real world, let me tell you what we CAN expect for the future.” We meet robots with a sense of irony, ride elevators into space, and build floating cities; let us just say that Playing with Planets, which is translated from the original Dutch edition by Professor ’t Hooft’s daughter Saskia, supports the old adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.


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