Via Boing Boing comes this lengthy essay from Michael Schmitz that looks at Human Computer Interaction in both movies and television. Some of the technology explored in this essay comes from shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Futurama, Star Trek: Enterprise, and an old German series called Raumschiff Orion.
Schmitz's essay looks at the technology used in these series and compares them to similar technology in the real world. The essay is a bit heavy, but I think sci fi nerds will appreciate it. All true science fiction is grounded somewhat in real science, and this essay delves into that world quite extensively and shows how often modern technology began as a fictional concept before we were finally able to catch up and make it a reality. For example, the "Wil Wheaton" in the picture on the right is now a real person. I know, it's spooky.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-09-2007 @ 6:07AM
Bash said...
On "Raumschiff Orion" they used all sorts of kitchen items as parts of their "space ship". I wasn't born yet when it ran on TV but now and then we have a special on TV where they mention all sorts of items they used. The weirdest thing for me always was the use of a flat iron. I mean honestly. A flat iron as some sort of input device. Hilarious :-)
But it was all in black and white (we got color tv significantly later than the US did) so you could actually believe the stuff you saw. The series still has a big fanbase among those who were watching back then and who are now close to their fifties or even sixties, because it was the first big sci-fi show on german television.
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