Science fiction visionary Bashny.Net

Modern people are spoiled. Spoiled houses, stuffed with electronics, cars, computers, internet and other amazing achievements of scientific and technical progress. Admit it - you find it difficult to imagine life without all these wonderful inventions. Many can not even remember how they got along without mobile phones what some 15 years ago, let alone life say, in the XIX-th and XX-th century and all seems to us terribly boring and primitive. However, do not underestimate our ancestors - they did not have much of what now seems to us quite commonplace, but they are perfectly able to dream. Writers - the most important visionaries and inventors of all time - in their grёzah managed to anticipate the emergence of technologies and devices that their contemporaries seemed just fabulous, but eventually fantastic ideas came to life. To your attention - 10 inventions, first appeared in the pages of science fiction novels.





Antidepressants

When Aldous Huxley wrote his novel dystopia "Brave New World", the main attention he paid to the evolution of public relations, feelings and experiences of characters, but there was no place for scientific and technical insights. Writer predicted the emergence of a branch of science, such as genetic engineering, in addition, in his novel mentions drugs which appeared only a few decades after the death of Huxley - we are talking about antidepressants.
Characters of the novel are harmless drug "soma" to cope with mental health problems and easier to tolerate stress. "Soma" makes people so happy, that they forget about all the problems cease to anything seek and let things take their course. Huxley depicts a "soma" not as a cure, but as a means of turning people into an obedient herd predictable.
Recent studies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that modern antidepressants are used for the same purpose - people buy these drugs are not a cure, but to calm down and forget about problems. The study shows that in countries such as Canada, Australia and Iceland, only 10% taking antidepressants do so on the advice of a doctor. Huxley was truly a visionary - antidepressants were primarily for the treatment of clinical depression, but the majority sees them as just a way to lighten the mood.



Credit cards

Published in 1888, the novel "Looking Backward" American thinker and writer Edward Bellamy describes his vision of the future that awaits human society. The protagonist, a wealthy investor, refers to the hypnotist to get rid of insomnia and the lulls him to 113 years. Waking up from a dream, the hero discovers that he was in a very strange world for themselves abroad XX-th and XXI-th centuries.
Watching occurs at the end of XIX-th century, the growth of cities and the development of technology, Bellamy suggested how society would be if humanity will evolve in the same direction. In the future, created by the writer, large corporations merged into one super-corporation and received almost absolute power over the world - the writer's predictions were not far from what we see today. Of course, like many creative individuals, Edward somewhat exaggerated, but at least one of his predictions came true 100% - the characters of his novel instead of cash everywhere calculated special cards tied to a single credit system.



Women's trousers

At the beginning of XIX-th century 17-year-old Jane Webb read the novel "Frankenstein" from the pen of the English writer Merry Shelley. Novel, nowadays considered a classic horror literature, so impressed the young Jane that she wrote her work in the genre of "horror", which became known as "The Mummy." In contrast to the "Frankenstein" in the novel Webb (writer better known under the name of Loudon) the action takes place in the future: the plot revolves around a revived in 2126, the year of the Egyptian mummies.
In addition to the main storyline, the author vividly describes the various scientific and technological achievements, which, in her opinion, should have humanity XXII-th century, it pays a lot of attention and socio-political system - according to Webb, the planet is waiting for the triumph of feminist views.
About feminist writer was right - less than a century, from the output of the novel began as a so-called "first wave" of an active supporter of feminist views, moreover, Webb predicted the emergence of such a garment, such as women's pants - for 1828 years it was extremely cocky forecast, however, and he was correct. In his novel writer also described chemiluminescent light sources, although the first patents for such devices were obtained only in the middle of the XX-th century.



Global Information Network

Jules Verne long been recognized as the top of fantastic literature, his writing genius anticipated so many achievements of human science that creates the impression that the author was able to create a time machine, and sometimes stayed denёk differently in the future, to get ideas for new stories and novels. In 1889, the year in an American magazine named Verne published the story "In 2889," in which the author looks at the future of journalism and information policy of the authorities. Curiously, the story actually wrote son Michel Verne, the father only edited it.
In the days of Jules Verne people received information about the events occurring in the world mainly from newspapers, while, in the future, which Michel promised to humanity, the planet is controlled by a one world government, and all the newspapers merged into one giant news agency called "The Chronicle of the Earth."
Among other things, the story says that people will not get news from newspapers and from special devices that can instantly transmit audio information and store it for later playback. The writer and his son believed in 2889, the year the inhabitants of our planet will enjoy the speech of politicians, statesmen and scientists right at home that will allow everyone to be aware of events without making almost no effort - as you can see, it's a few to predict the future earlier than expected by the author. By the way, in the story of a single news agency has ... King of the United States of America!



Taser

As a country, but the appearance of Taser (stun weapons capable of hitting targets at a distance) was predicted in one of children's novels beginning of XX-th century.
The first book about a young inventor named Tom Swift was published in 1910 and has since published more than a hundred works dedicated to the talented teenager. Books published under various pseudonyms - worked on them a whole army of visionaries, hired a major publishing house, on whose initiative and created a series.
Many inventors named book about Tom Swift among the main sources of his inspiration. For example, the creator of taser Jack Carpet argues that the idea of ​​a stun device he learned from the novel "Tom Swift and His Electric wines * ION" Taser stun the name is an acronym pereinachenny TSER («Tom Swift and his electric rifle»).



Internet

In 1898, Mark Twain wrote a short story called "Out" London Times "for 1904", in which the writer mentions teleelektroskopah - devices that are part of the global data network that allows almost instantly establish visual contact with someone in a different corner of the globe-what we now call a video call.
The protagonist of the story - prisoners sentenced to death for a murder committed by him during a heated debate about the benefits that can bring teleelektroskop. Prisoner uses the device to observe the life of different countries and peoples, which, he believes, he will never see. However, at the last moment before the execution bomber reported that the victim is still alive ... We will not disclose the intrigue - you read the rest of the story.



Service and Skype video chats

Hugo Gernsback known as a writer and creator of «Amazing Stories» - the world's first magazine devoted to science fiction, besides being a versatile personality, American actively engaged in business and innovation activities. At the beginning of XX-th century Gernsback wrote the novel "Ralph 124 ° C 41+», which tells about the difficult relationship scientist and inventor Ralph and Alice 212B 423 women living in the XXVII-th century. Love line is used only as an engine of the plot focuses writer pays the wonders of scientific and technological progress, which in his opinion, should occur at that time.
Among other things, Gernsback described an interesting technology that is now available to all owners of modern smartphones. Characters of the novel are actively using telephoto - appliances is a screen through which you can get real-time and transmit video. Something reminiscent of, is not it? Of course - perconalnye computers and service Skype! By the way, according to the story, telephoto can automatically translate different languages ​​- the development of this technology is now conducted jointly by experts Microsoft and Skype.

Robots with a mind

Experts at Yale University have created a robot that the assurances of scientists, is self-aware - their child is able to educate themselves and even recognize themselves in the mirror. This is not the only development of its kind - for example, the staff at Cornell University have come up with several robotic limbs that not only learns to move independently, but also can adjust their skills if he take any limb. Scientists are going to use these robots as companions for children with disabilities. All this - the fruits of many years of research and hard work of the Stakhanovite science, but it is worth noting (you probably guessed it themselves) that the robots with self-consciousness first appeared in the pages of books, rather than in labs.
The first such creature born visionary Czech writer Karel Capek, he is also the author of the word «robot» (in the lane. With the Czech. «Robota» means "heavy servitude"). Around the confrontation of humans and robots built the entire plot of the play «RUR», which tells the story of a young idealist fighting for the rights of robots and their release from human oppression. At the end of the first act of the robots start to grow wiser and come to the conclusion that their former masters, the people must be destroyed (this usually come all the rebel slaves).

Backpack thrusters

Portable jetpacks - one of the main fetishes fiction of the 1960s and 1970s, but the idea of ​​a portable personal jet aircraft appeared as early as 1928, in one of the issues of the journal «Amazing Stories» (see para. 7). Using this miracle device, Captain Anthony Rogers, the hero sci-fi story, led a relentless war against crime. By the way, later became Anthony Buck Rogers - one of the most popular comic book characters in the history of the genre. Just a couple of years after the issue of a inventor patented the backpack jet engine, but managed to whether he plans to put into practice - is unknown.
It took several decades and now, in the 1960s, enthusiasts from around the world, one after another announce the creation of jetpacks, but even devices that are being developed nowadays are rather exotic toys, rather than vehicles for superheroes - specifications backpacks still leave much to be desired. The main drawback of contemporary backpacks (and their predecessors) - monstrous fuel consumption and as a consequence - the short duration of the flight.
One of the latest achievements in this field belongs to a private New Zealand's Martin Aircraft Company, whose Martin Jetpack can reach speeds of 56 km / h, provides flight duration of 30 minutes and can lift the pilot to a height of 914 m. The first copies of the rig will be sent police and fire, it is expected In the near future the company will release a commercial model for private use.

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