SF In the Real World

[Fenris]

Which of the following classical science fiction ideas do you think will someday happen in the real world? Of those that won't, are they just unlikely, or fundamentally impossible?


Alien contact
Antigravity
Artificial Intelligence
Cheap/Unlimited Energy
Faster-Than-Light Travel
Genetic Engineering (i.e. more than the little stuff we do already: anything from Jurassic Park to the Republic's Clone Army.)
Interstellar Colonization
Interstellar Travel
Interstellar War
Nanotechnology
Parallel Earths
Psionics/Other superpowers (either cybernetic, genetically-engineered, innate or whatever.)
Psychohistory
Teleportation
Time Travel

...And, what have I forgotten?

[K'Nort]

What is psychohistory?

[bushboy]

nanotech is already real

[Fenris]

What is psychohistory?

Psychohistory, the subject of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, is the idea that sociology can be made into a predictive science. If you knew all the right laws of sociology, and did the right equations, then you could predict the future.

Asimov made the analogy to gases: any individual particle is chaotic, but the behavior of a large volume of gases can be mathematically predicted. So every individual person is free, but society as a whole moves in certain trends that a psychohistorian can track and predict with exact accuracy.

[Fenris]

nanotech is already real

Well, yeah, in a basic way. Do you think it will go as far as the Engineer's nanotech from The Authority?

(To cite the only example that really comes to mind at the moment.)

[Dizzy D]

Alien contact: Highly unlikely IMHO. Too far away to communicate, but you never know.

Antigravity: We still don't know what gravity is. I doubt anti-gravity even exists. Let's keep it at highly unlikely.

Artificial Intelligence: This I can see happening and relatively soon too.

Cheap/Unlimited Energy: Cheap Energy: possible and will be found soon enough. Unlimited Energy: impossible.

Faster-Than-Light Travel: Impossible in my honest opinion.

Genetic Engineering (i.e. more than the little stuff we do already: anything from Jurassic Park to the Republic's Clone Army.): Possible, we are already doing it in some ways. Jurassic Park has some problems but the Clone Army is possible (not practical though)

Interstellar Colonization: see FTL
Interstellar Travel: see FTL
Interstellar War: see FTL

Nanotechnology: Very well possible. We are already working on it. It won't be the magic cure-all it is in comics and movies though. They would be programmed with a single task.

Parallel Earths: Their existence is possible, but travelling to them? See my answer to gravity. As long as we have no real grip on reality (insert your own joke here), I can't see us capable

Psionics/Other superpowers (either cybernetic, genetically-engineered, innate or whatever.): cybernetic and genetically engineered superpowers are possible (probably nothing too impressive though; Captain Americas, no Captain Marvels.). Psionics I don't think are possible, not without some major restructuring of the brain and new insights in energy movement.

Psychohistory: This one is pretty feasible. The 100% certainty is probably not believable, but analysis of human behaviour and predacting reactions has been going on for a long time.

Teleportation: Again, I don't think it is possible. At best we would be creating copies, not transporting matter itself.

Time Travel: Not without some really new insights in causality.

...And, what have I forgotten?[/QUOTE]

[ocelotrevs]

Alien contact
It's a big universe so i think that there's something else knocking about, a definate possibility
Antigravity
Somewhere down the line maybe, but depends, Would it be pure anti gravity like stuff in space, or just rocket packs. We can stimulate anti gravity in these special planes
Artificial Intelligence
Oh definately, we have the basics in place already, we see it in computer games etc (although not stuff like Data from Star Trek)
Cheap/Unlimited Energy
That is definately possible, the only thing stopping it is lack of investment. Think about how much energy the sun produces daily

Faster-Than-Light Travel

Theoretically immpossible, but they said faster- than- sound travel was impossible also

Genetic Engineering (i.e. more than the little stuff we do already: anything from Jurassic Park to the Republic's Clone Army.)

Probably, there is stuff taking place in animals, it's a matter of time before it comes to humans. You can see this in the debate about cloning and stuff like that

Interstellar Colonization
Interstellar Travel
Interstellar War

All these are based on the belief that we're not alone and stuff, war would probably take place. The sad thing is, is that humans would probably be fighting humans (a la G-Police)

Parallel Earths


I think that these do exist, different frequencies and all that stuff
Psionics/Other superpowers (either cybernetic, genetically-engineered, innate or whatever.)
This is all based on degree, what would you define as a super power? But the theory is that we'd all eventually have psychic powers

Teleportation

Tricky, but maybe in the distant future, they've done a few successful experiments with light

Time Travel

See faster than light travel

This is based on what little I know about the laws of physics, and stuff I've read in newspapers, and on the internet

[Nitmo]

TELEPORTATION

Tricky, but maybe in the distant future, they've done a few successful experiments with light



I believe some scientists in Australia transported one carbon molecule across a room a couple years ago

[The Dosadi Experiment]

Cheap/Unlimited Energy

Is never going to happen. Just like the vain dream of cars running on water. First of all, the USA won't ever let it happen, they have too much of an interest in keeping the oil, they're under too much pressure from lobby-groups.

Second of all, if we did discover a cheap nigh-unlimited power source the economy would collapse.

[Spike-X]

I believe some scientists in Australia transported one carbon molecule across a room a couple years ago
We really are a lazy bunch, aren't we?

[JeffreyWKramer]

Artificial Intelligence - Very likely
Genetic Engineering - In ways we can't even imagine now.
Nanotechnology - Here and now, and it will be major in the next couple decades
Psionics - Imposible
Other superpowers - We'll be seeing powered battle suits and some degree of genetic manipulation in the next couple generations

[JeffreyWKramer]

Well, yeah, in a basic way. Do you think it will go as far as the Engineer's nanotech from The Authority?

Doubtful. But the sorts of things Greg Bear writes about in SLANT - combat nanotech, nanoweapons, use of nanotech in medicine and to alter our forms, etc. - are almost certain.