Happy New Year 2018!

~~MicShazam~~ · 01-01-2018, 07:13 AM

Everything from the year 2000 is very dated by now. Maybe sci-fi novels should just start writing years as "????" to avoid feeling too anachronistic in the future.

Then of course you have things like the MS-DOS computers in Alien and huge, clunky monitors in Blade Runner.

What no sci-fi writer/director saw coming was internet meme culture and selfie sticks.

Lisnaholic · 01-01-2018, 07:34 AM

^ Yes, a lot of those old predictions missed the mark by quite a lot, and who could possibly have imagined that technological marvel, the selfie stick!

Mind you, H.G.Wells scored a real hit in 1899, when he wrote about two men who " walked straight to the dead end of the apartment... and then came a strange thing: a long strip of this apparently solid wall rolled up with a snap, hung over the two retreating men and fell again." The first ever automatic door! This was such a futuristic must-have that they were later installed throughout the starship Enterprise, and now people walk through them unthinkingly at their local supermarket.

~~MicShazam~~ · 01-01-2018, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

^ Yes, a lot of those old predictions missed the mark by quite a lot, and who could possibly have imagined that technological marvel, the selfie stick!

Mind you, H.G.Wells scored a real hit in 1899, when he wrote about two men who " walked straight to the dead end of the apartment... and then came a strange thing: a long strip of this apparently solid wall rolled up with a snap, hung over the two retreating men and fell again." The first ever automatic door! This was such a futuristic must-have that they were later installed throughout the starship Enterprise, and now people walk through them unthinkingly at their local supermarket.

I wouldn't wonder if escalators have been foreseen in sci-fi as well, but I wouldn't know where. Maybe even the concept of supermarkets itself. It seems weird for someone born in 1981 (me) to think of super markets as a relatively recent invention, but that's how it goes with any invention. I'm sure young people these days can't at all imagine a world without mobile phones or Twitter.

Trollheart · 01-01-2018, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome to another science-fiction date!

I remember when people said to each other, "Can you imagine? It actually is 1984!" For decades, thanks to George Orwell, this date had been some unimaginable future time, when the whole world would be completely different and for that reason it felt very strange when the year actually arrived. Perhaps even more striking was the year 2001, made famous in advance by Stanley Kubric.

For me, every date since then has had a slightly unbelievable, futuristic feel to it. In fact, they only get real when I have actually written the date a few times, usually first on a cheque or letter. I wonder where, apart from wishing people well, we will first enter the date, ## January, 2018 ?

Also, a question for all you Millennials, what are the new futuristic dates that have been made famous in advance by artists ? What dates will make you send a hologram to your pals saying, "Can you believe it ?!"

What do you see 2018 as relating to specifically in Sci-Fi, Lisna? I can't think of anything off hand...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubber soul

At my old forum, we had a Snake Plissken fanatic who loved Escape From New York. Imagine his shock when Manhattan wasnt turned into a penetentiary by 1997.

It wasn't??

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

Everything from the year 2000 is very dated by now. Maybe sci-fi novels should just start writing years as "????" to avoid feeling too anachronistic in the future.

Then of course you have things like the MS-DOS computers in Alien and huge, clunky monitors in Blade Runner.

What no sci-fi writer/director saw coming was internet meme culture and selfie sticks.

But the original Star Trek predicted, among other things, flip mobile phones and CDs. Unfortunately, teleporters are something we're still waiting for...

~~MicShazam~~ · 01-01-2018, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

What do you see 2018 as relating to specifically in Sci-Fi, Lisna? I can't think of anything off hand...

It wasn't??

But the original Star Trek predicted, among other things, flip mobile phones and CDs. Unfortunately, teleporters are something we're still waiting for...

I would never use a teleporter. I've watched The Fly.

innerspaceboy · 01-01-2018, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

Also, a question for all you Millennials, what are the new futuristic dates that have been made famous in advance by artists ? What dates will make you send a hologram to your pals saying, "Can you believe it ?!"

I'm not a millennial, (I narrowly escaped the label and am instead one of "The Lucky Ones" of the Oregon Trail generation), but I'd be willing to bet that Millennials will be keeping a close eye on the year 2044 due to the massive success of the novel Ready Player One and the pending Spielberg film due out in March of this year.

I hung up my Gravis Gamepad in the MS-DOS platformer era but would love to see the hyper-realistic 3D videogame paradise that is the OASIS actually come to pass.

Lisnaholic · 01-01-2018, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

What do you see 2018 as relating to specifically in Sci-Fi, Lisna? I can't think of anything off hand...

^Sorry, that was just my general intro to the idea that for me modern dates all have an unreal futuristic sound to them; for one thing, they don't begin with 19 anymore...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I would never use a teleporter. I've watched The Fly.

^ HaHa! Good one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

I'm not a millennial, (I narrowly escaped the label and am instead one of "The Lucky Ones" of the Oregon Trail generation), but I'd be willing to bet that Millennials will be keeping a close eye on the year 2044 due to the massive success of the novel Ready Player One and the pending Spielberg film due out in March of this year.

^ " The Oregon Trail" ?! Did you grow up in the 1830s or something? Anyway, thank you for answering my question: 2044 will be a year to watch out for, as will be the year 2525. My prediction for that year? Zager and Evans will enjoy a sudden comeback:-

**Frownland** · 01-01-2018, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome to another science-fiction date!

I remember when people said to each other, "Can you imagine? It actually is 1984!" For decades, thanks to George Orwell, this date had been some unimaginable future time, when the whole world would be completely different and for that reason it felt very strange when the year actually arrived. Perhaps even more striking was the year 2001, made famous in advance by Stanley Kubric.

For me, every date since then has had a slightly unbelievable, futuristic feel to it. In fact, they only get real when I have actually written the date a few times, usually first on a cheque or letter. I wonder where, apart from wishing people well, we will first enter the date, ## January, 2018 ?

Also, a question for all you Millennials, what are the new futuristic dates that have been made famous in advance by artists ? What dates will make you send a hologram to your pals saying, "Can you believe it ?!"

We're gonna have a hell of a time with 2069.

Lisnaholic · 01-01-2018, 08:19 PM

^ Is this a reference to a sexual position, or is there some other cultural reference that I'm missing?
In terms of digits, 1881 must've been a good year; you could turn it upside down, or hold it in front of a mirror, but it was still 1881. Can't say that of many years I imagine.

**Frownland** · 01-01-2018, 11:34 PM

(20 x 18) x (20 ÷ 18) + (2 + 018) = ???

01-01-2018, 07:34 AM	#22 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	^ Yes, a lot of those old predictions missed the mark by quite a lot, and who could possibly have imagined that technological marvel, the selfie stick! Mind you, H.G.Wells scored a real hit in 1899, when he wrote about two men who " walked straight to the dead end of the apartment... and then came a strange thing: a long strip of this apparently solid wall rolled up with a snap, hung over the two retreating men and fell again." The first ever automatic door! This was such a futuristic must-have that they were later installed throughout the starship Enterprise, and now people walk through them unthinkingly at their local supermarket. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

01-01-2018, 08:19 PM	#29 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	^ Is this a reference to a sexual position, or is there some other cultural reference that I'm missing? In terms of digits, 1881 must've been a good year; you could turn it upside down, or hold it in front of a mirror, but it was still 1881. Can't say that of many years I imagine. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

01-01-2018, 11:34 PM	#30 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	(20 x 18) x (20 ÷ 18) + (2 + 018) = ??? __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

01-01-2018, 07:13 AM	#21 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	Everything from the year 2000 is very dated by now. Maybe sci-fi novels should just start writing years as "????" to avoid feeling too anachronistic in the future. Then of course you have things like the MS-DOS computers in Alien and huge, clunky monitors in Blade Runner. What no sci-fi writer/director saw coming was internet meme culture and selfie sticks.