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Category Archives: Could this Happen?
Well, You Know, I Work Out
Ever wonder how superheroes get such absurd muscles? I mean, when’s the last time you ever saw one in a gym? Sure, Superman developed his biceps by hauling car around and Clark Kent is likely built under the bland and … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged 2045, acidity, artificial muscle, Batman, carbon, carbon nanotubes, futurist, gym, Hulk, hydrogen ion, ligand, macrocycle, molecular machine, molecule, muscle, nanotechnology, nanotube, pH, Roxtane, Spiderman, superhero, Superman, Wonder Woman, working out
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Lots and lots and lots of pinwheels
A common misconception of Frankenstein (second to the mistaken belief that Frankenstein is the monster’s name) is that lightning somehow brings Victor’s creature to life. The 1931 movie starring Boris Karloff made the lightning-animation “It’s alive!” scene famous, though in … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?
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These Are Not the Droids You Want
Who hasn’t tried to play a Jedi mind trick? After all, if whiny, sniveling Luke can control minds, there’s no reason the rest of us can’t learn. Could This Happen has explored the possibility of neural prosthetics, brain implants, and … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged 1984, behavior, brain, brains, brave new world, clockwork orange, conditioning, genetic engineering, harvard, huxley, invasion of the body snatchers, jedi mind trick, laser, lasers, light, manchurian candidate, mind control, nervous system, neural circuits, neurons, neuroscience, newspeak, orwell, pavlov, robocop, sensory procsesing, worms
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I Do Jet Packs
A bit of history: the very first post on Could This Happen was about jet packs. It seemed like the right place to start, given the prevalence of jet packs in science fiction and the implicit (and explicit) promise that … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged gofast, jet pack, jetlev, jetsons, marriage, national space center, nick macombe, olympic, propulsion, raymond li, relay, torch, water powered, weddings
1 Comment
Not Over the Moon
In 1902, Georges Melies wrote and produced the first science fiction film, Le Voyage dans la Lune (The Voyage to the Moon). This 14-minute silent film inspired by the stories of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells involves a group of … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged 3-d printing, Asimov, Behrokh Khoshnevis, burritobot, clarke, construction, contour crafting, crane, heinlein, Innovative Advanced Concepts, layering, lunar settlement, melies, moon colony, moon settlement, mooninite, NASA, university of southern california, usca, verne, voyage to the moon, wells
2 Comments
Because Titanium Lacks Flexibility (and it’s so 2010)
The first time I ever watched Transformers, my first thought was that the Decepticons were far cooler than the Autobots and my second thought was how amazing it would be to be able to change shape. Since the days of … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged autobot, camouflage, cephalopods, color, cuttlefish, DARPA, decepticon, harvard, maximum mobility and manipulation, microfluid, octopus, optimus prime, robot, sam malone, shape, shape shifter, silicon, size, squid, temperature, terminator, transformers, true blood
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Steak Only a Mother Could Love
A few months ago Could This Happen explored the potential of Star Trekian replicators and 3-D printers. In addition to printing solid objects, like busts of Arthur C. Clarke, projects are underway to print skin and cartilage, as well as
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged 3-D printer, conservation, emissions, environmentalism, greenhouse gas, in-vitro, laboratory, livestock industry, meat, meat production, modern meadow, Paypal, peter thiel, petri dish, replicate, singularity institute
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You Remember Total Recall…Or DO YOU?
Could I spice up my life by having artificial memories of taming lions, driving race cars, or racing flying dragons implanted into my brain? Find out by reading the latest could this happen? post on Slate.
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged Alzheimer's, amnesia, artificial memories, brain waves, dementia, encoding memories, erasing memories, forget, gerber, hippocampus, memory, memory enhancement, memory implants, microship, mind control, rats, remember, southern california, total recall, wake forest
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Slow and Unsteady Kills the Race
Could the earth’s rotation really slow down like it does in the new novel The Age of Miracles? Find out by reading my “could this happen” post on Slate .
Posted in Could this Happen?
Tagged " karen walker, "age of miracles, deceleration, earth's rotation, future tense, gravity, karen thompson walker, leap second, mass, post glacial rebound, radiation, slate, tidal bulges
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A Head of Its Time
Battlestar Galactica, the Terminator, Star Trek: TNG, and works by Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Isaac Asimov, among many others, feature humanoid robots that are indistinguishable from humans. Such robots are discussed in more detail here. This post explores … Continue reading