TagScience fiction
How Can We Be Sure We Are Not Just An ET’s Simulation?
A number of books and films are based on the Planetarium Hypothesis. Should we believe it?Science and science fiction writer Matt Williams has been writing a series at Universe Today on why the extraterrestrial intelligences that many believe must exist in our universe never show up. Last week, we looked at the Prime Directive hypothesis (The Directive is, don’t interfere in the evolution of alien societies, even if you have good intentions.”) This week, let’s look at the Planetarium hypothesis, the sixth in his series: “humanity is in a simulation, and the aliens are the ones running it! In order to ensure that human beings do not become aware of this fact, they ensure that the simulation presents us with a “Great Silence” whenever we look out and listen to the depths of space.” (August Read More ›
Should Robots, Instead of Humans, Go Into Space?
They might be better at life in space than humans. But could they be counselors too?Are we here to re-create ourselves as robotic humanoids? In a recent podcast, Robert J. Marks discusses what robots can do for us with retired internist and author Geoffrey Simmons. In his most recent book, Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?: The Convergence of Designs (2019), Simmons argues that in creating artificially intelligent robots, we are trying to recreate the human being. But can we really recreate everything about ourselves? For example, they discussed, can robots be counselors? Should robots go into space instead of humans? As a writer, Simmons has found audiences for both fiction and non-fiction. For example, he wrote Z-papers (1976), a medically based crime thriller in which “In a Chicago hospital, the U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Read More ›
Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?
What are the capacities of human-like robots? Will they ever replace humans? Dr. Geoffrey Simmons and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss artificial intelligence, outer space, consciousness, and Dr. Simmons’ book Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?: The Convergence of Designs. Show Notes Additional Resources
Are the Aliens We Never See Obeying Star Trek’s Prime Directive?
The Directive is, don’t interfere in the evolution of alien societies, even if you have good intentionsUsing the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope, astronomers recently scoured a part of the sky known to contain at least 10 million star systems for evidence of alien technology (“techno signatures”). And the result? “With this dataset, we found no technosignatures — no sign of intelligent life.” Professor Tingay said even though this was the broadest search yet, he was not shocked by the result. “As Douglas Adams noted in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, ‘space is big, really big’.” International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, “Australian telescope finds no signs of alien technology in 10 million star systems” at ScienceDaily The paper is open access. Various sources offer explanations for the absent aliens; the most popular is that Read More ›
When Science Fiction Comes to Life…
Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it sometimes grows out of itA senior editor at Wired told us a while back that science fiction writer H. G. Wells’s 1914 tale, The World Set Free, formed part of the inspiration for the atomic bomb, exploded over Hiroshima in 1945. … in the novel Wells imagines a new kind of bomb, based on a nuclear chain reaction. In this science fiction story Wells imagines that atomic energy would be discovered in 1933 (20 years in his future), and that the bomb would first explode in 1956. Wikipedia notes, “As fate or coincidence would have it, in reality the physicist Leó Szilárd read the book in 1932, conceived of the idea of nuclear chain reaction in 1933, and filed for patents on it in Read More ›
Third Kind Is a Unique Kind of Sci-Fi Film
Director Yorgos Zois helps us to interpret others’ real-life experiences through the sci-fi genreThis week I’ve got another Sci-Fi Saturday short for you. Although not much is currently going on in the big world of sci-fi (though there is always something going on), there never seems to be a dull drum when it comes to short films. Although not a brand new release, Third Kind (2018, 32 min) by Yorgos Zois is interesting, unique, and thought-provoking in several ways. First, let’s talk about interesting. While I would gladly say that most short films I watch are interesting, the slow burn of Third Kind makes it more interesting than most. As three archeologists visit a long since abandoned earth (we’re not really told what time the archeologists are from), they search for a mysterious Read More ›
Two More Hidden Gems Among the Sci-Fi Shorts
I spotted both of these gems on Short of the Week and was instantly intriguedBack in the old days, I used to endlessly browse YouTube for short films; hoping I would find a hidden gem. Don’t get me wrong, I have respect for any aspiring filmmaker but short films can be very difficult to pull off. It could certainly be said that each film deserves respect in one way or another. Every now and then, however, I would find something brilliant hidden in the corners of YouTube. Nowadays, though, Short of the Week has pretty much taken the burden of searching off my hands. First up, we have This Time Away (2019): Nigel is an elderly man living as a recluse, haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had, until Read More ›
Hulu’s Devs Series: Where They Get Determinism Wrong
Devs disposes of a key limitation of computers that can supposedly predict the future with psychobabbleCall me a nitpicker: As a computer engineer, I must say, computers cannot predict the future.
Close Encounters, Fifth Kind, Just Missed Contact
Worth a watch but Stephen Greer and I part company when he makes clear that he believes everything is consciousIn his documentary on UFOs, Stephen Greer certainly gets one thing right: Consciousness doesn’t fit into conventional science inquiry.
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Devs Both Grips and Challenges Hulu Viewers
I had fully expected Devs to be yet another series about sentient AI but it is something fresherAlex Garland departs from conventional sci-fi themes to create a thought-provoking film, packed with action and based on a challenging underlying philosophy.
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My Five Top Picks in Short Sci-Fi from DUST at YouTube
I'm glad I decided to revisit DUST, a wonderful community of short, free sci-fi filmsThey’ll sure take your mind off lockdown. Both “Hum” and “Alientology” feature a simple storyline that works in a short film. “EI: Emotional Intelligence,” an animated short, compares well with live action shorts. “Exit Strategy” is one of the few really successful sci-fi films on the topic of time. And I would love to see “The Secret Number” made into a feature film.
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Sci-fi Culture: There’s Life Here on Planet Covid!
But you have to look hard. Here’s some help
Amazon Prime’s Tales from the Loop: A Bold Attempt To Capture Stålenhag’s Work
… now if only it reached the right demographicDeep underneath a small town in Ohio there exists the Loop, a facility created to explore the mysteries of the universe. No one really knows for sure what is going on at the Loop though we are given glimpses. Strange events occur on Earth’s surface as a result. Each episode explores one of those events.
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Epix’s New War of the Worlds Gets Personal
And it works! Wells’s alien invasion (state of emergency, lockdowns) feels familiar in the world of COVID-19Although the new series is set in Europe, the dialogue is mostly in English. We follow the paths of several apocalypse survivors who seek refuge from the alien robots that are killing any remaining humans. I love the tension that the show conveys and the characters it seeks to develop.
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Shelter in Place? Your Sci-Fi Video Game Binge List
You’ll never know where the long hours went, courtesy Sci-Fi Saturday at Mind Matters NewsHas your ISP lifted bandwidth limits in your area due to thousands more Americans working from home? Great news for gamers too! Here’s my list of top-notch sci-fi apocalypse games.
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How Sci-Fi Treats Pandemics
Seven sci-fi apocalypses to help you wait out COVID-19One thing for sure, all those doomsday preppers, at whom we silently rolled our eyes years ago, are now crackin’ a secret smile. Never mind, us sci-fi buffs are going to need more than fizzy water and disinfectant. We need food for the mind! Here's a sci-fi binge list, to keep our minds occupied.
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Dirty Machines: Short Time Travel Flick Exceeds Expectations
A Mind Matters Short Film ReviewA tense soundtrack, intriguing ending, and thoughtful stylistic choices make Dirty Machines: The End of History a thoughtful exploration of a logically tricky subject. Now, if the director can just resist the temptation to get woke…
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Tales of the Loop: Pushing the Boundaries of the Possible
Simon Stålenhag’s captivating post-apocalyptic landscapes remind us that the world could, at any time, be different from what we think it isScience fiction, as an art, has always meant to inspire. It’s meant to push the boundaries of the possible. And Stålenhag’s world isn’t just different, it’s unique.
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Does Science Fiction Encourage Narcissism?
As a sci-fi critic, I think most fans are just looking for a genre where they can understand and be understoodIt’s true that many people who are attracted to science fiction feel like outcasts or disconnected from mainstream popular culture. And many of them feel welcome, loved, accepted, and validated in the sci-fi community. Does that really make them narcissists?
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