This two pieces of literature were very interesting. They both connected to our class definition of science fiction because they include time travel, a futuristic, but not totally irrational, idea.
The film clip, The City on the Edge of Forever, was very fun and I enjoyed watching it. It includes time travel through a sort of worm hole called "The Guardian". Through this portal, Captain Kirk and Spock go back in time to the time of the Great Depression, in hopes of stopping Dr. McCoy from doing whatever he did to mess up the entire future. Because Dr. McCoy did something as small as save a woman from a car accident, it changed the entire future, showing the butterfly effect of time travel. Even though this video was fun to watch, it was not very scientifically accurate. As discussed in the interview with Carl Sagan, the ability to travel backwards in time is pretty much out of the question. It would be too hard to break the time continuum and find a break in the 4th dimension.So even though the episode of Star Trek was interesting, it is not scientifically plausible. On the other hand, time travel into the future may become more possible in the years to come. In the NOVA article, Sagan discussed the twin theory and how travelling at a speed close to the speed of light may allow for someone to age slower than someone on Earth, so when they return, nothing is the same. This idea is very fascinating and seems like it may become possible, but first we must obtain the technology necessary to travel near the speed of light. I enjoyed reading Carl Sagan's interview because it was very interesting and explored some cool ideas.
Both the Star Trek episode and the interview with Carl Sagan were very fun to read. They discuss fascinating topics and were entertaining.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sound of Thunder, All you Zombies, Into the Universe
All three stories are great examples of science fiction because they all include time travel and paradoxes and are very futuritic. Each story includes advanced technology that allows time travel.
The story Sound of Thunder is a great example of a paradox and the butterfly effect because it shows how the hunter did one small thing and messed up the entire future. He stepped on a little butterfly, which is ironic because it is the butterfly effect, and he ended up messing up the entire future. This story is science fiction because it also includes the technology required for travel into the future. Even though I really enjoyed this story, I was still left with a few questions, like: What did the sound of thunder represent?
The story All you Zombies is also a great example of a paradox and the uses of time travel. Even though it was really hard to follow and a confusing story, it still had great examples of science fiction. In the story, they had the technology to time travel multiple times and exist in multiple ways. It was a good story, but I had a really hard time understanding it.
The video Into the Universe was very interesting. It was really cool to hear from Stephen Hawking. I understand his thoughts about why we cannot travel to the past and why we can travel to the future. I think the ideas that he explored, like the mad scientist paradox, were really interesting and would be cool if they could happen later in life. However, watching this video made me think: What would people do if we were given the chance to time travel? Would people do that a lot? Why would people want to go into the future when everyone is here?
The story Sound of Thunder is a great example of a paradox and the butterfly effect because it shows how the hunter did one small thing and messed up the entire future. He stepped on a little butterfly, which is ironic because it is the butterfly effect, and he ended up messing up the entire future. This story is science fiction because it also includes the technology required for travel into the future. Even though I really enjoyed this story, I was still left with a few questions, like: What did the sound of thunder represent?
The story All you Zombies is also a great example of a paradox and the uses of time travel. Even though it was really hard to follow and a confusing story, it still had great examples of science fiction. In the story, they had the technology to time travel multiple times and exist in multiple ways. It was a good story, but I had a really hard time understanding it.
The video Into the Universe was very interesting. It was really cool to hear from Stephen Hawking. I understand his thoughts about why we cannot travel to the past and why we can travel to the future. I think the ideas that he explored, like the mad scientist paradox, were really interesting and would be cool if they could happen later in life. However, watching this video made me think: What would people do if we were given the chance to time travel? Would people do that a lot? Why would people want to go into the future when everyone is here?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
I Borg
The episode of Star Trek that we watched, I Borg, was very interesting. It connected well to our class defininition of science fiction because it involved robots, space travel and is set in a very futuristic time period.
I had a hard time connecting this episode of Star Trek to the Frankenstein Complex. I will say that is was obvious the crew of the starship was afraid of Hugh at first and he is part robot. But I didn't see the Frankenstein Complex because Hugh was not created by someone human. Generally, the Frankenstein Complex is being afraid of something that has been created by humans. However, in this episode, Hugh is not created by a human. We don't even know what he was created by! But he is a borg and naturally the people on board of the starship were afraid of him and tried to find a way to use him to destroy the rest of his kind.
Despite this lack of the Frankenstein Complex, I really liked this episode of Star Trek. It was a little different than all the others and was really interesting and fun to watch. I wish Hugh had stayed on the ship with them!
I had a hard time connecting this episode of Star Trek to the Frankenstein Complex. I will say that is was obvious the crew of the starship was afraid of Hugh at first and he is part robot. But I didn't see the Frankenstein Complex because Hugh was not created by someone human. Generally, the Frankenstein Complex is being afraid of something that has been created by humans. However, in this episode, Hugh is not created by a human. We don't even know what he was created by! But he is a borg and naturally the people on board of the starship were afraid of him and tried to find a way to use him to destroy the rest of his kind.
Despite this lack of the Frankenstein Complex, I really liked this episode of Star Trek. It was a little different than all the others and was really interesting and fun to watch. I wish Hugh had stayed on the ship with them!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Reason
The short story Reason was a very interesting story. It can connect to our class definition of science fiction because it involves robots, space travel, and technologies that have not been created by humans yet. It is a futuristic story that is just outside the realm of reality.
Reason is a very good example of the Frankenstein Complex. The creations in question are the robots created by humans on the space station. The two humans on the ship build a new robot who they call QT-1. When they create this robot, they soon realize that it is too intelligent and it starts to rebel against the humans' orders. The commanders begin to develop a fear of their own creation because as it refuses to take orders, it starts treating the humans as lesser beings and doubting their knowledge and the origin of their existence. Another reason why the Frankenstein Complex is prevalent in this story is because QT turns all the robots against humans and makes them worship him and "the master". This provoked more fear in the commanders of the ship because they had ultimately lost control of the entire ship, and despite their best efforts, could not convince QT that they were superior to robots.
I did not like this story too much because the humans gave in to the robots. If it were me in that situation, as soon as I found him controlling the other robots, I would have destroyed him. It is a really scary concept that robots may have the ability to think they are better than humans. However, the story was very interesting and well written.
Reason is a very good example of the Frankenstein Complex. The creations in question are the robots created by humans on the space station. The two humans on the ship build a new robot who they call QT-1. When they create this robot, they soon realize that it is too intelligent and it starts to rebel against the humans' orders. The commanders begin to develop a fear of their own creation because as it refuses to take orders, it starts treating the humans as lesser beings and doubting their knowledge and the origin of their existence. Another reason why the Frankenstein Complex is prevalent in this story is because QT turns all the robots against humans and makes them worship him and "the master". This provoked more fear in the commanders of the ship because they had ultimately lost control of the entire ship, and despite their best efforts, could not convince QT that they were superior to robots.
I did not like this story too much because the humans gave in to the robots. If it were me in that situation, as soon as I found him controlling the other robots, I would have destroyed him. It is a really scary concept that robots may have the ability to think they are better than humans. However, the story was very interesting and well written.
Measure of a Man
The Star Trek episode: Measure of a Man was a very interesting episode. This entire series can connect to our class definition of science fiction because it includes a robot, Data, space travel, and many technological advancements that are not yet available in our world.
The episode we watched did not really connect to the concept of the Frankenstein Complex because there was no fear of anything created by man. They are all fascinated by and really like Data the robot, who was wanted for testing. The only prominent fear in this episode of Star Trek came from the humans who were scared that Data was going to be tested on, or Data who was afraid he was going to be tested on. The only way I can see this episode of Star Trek connecting to the Frankenstein Complex is through the fear the main commander had for what may be created by the other commander. He was afraid he would build thousands of Datas just so they could be our slaves.
Overall, I really enjoyed this episode of Star Trek. It was really fun to watch, as always, and was very interesting. However, I did not see the clear connection between the episode and the Frankenstein Complex
The episode we watched did not really connect to the concept of the Frankenstein Complex because there was no fear of anything created by man. They are all fascinated by and really like Data the robot, who was wanted for testing. The only prominent fear in this episode of Star Trek came from the humans who were scared that Data was going to be tested on, or Data who was afraid he was going to be tested on. The only way I can see this episode of Star Trek connecting to the Frankenstein Complex is through the fear the main commander had for what may be created by the other commander. He was afraid he would build thousands of Datas just so they could be our slaves.
Overall, I really enjoyed this episode of Star Trek. It was really fun to watch, as always, and was very interesting. However, I did not see the clear connection between the episode and the Frankenstein Complex
Sunday, April 8, 2012
EPICAC, Eyebem, Mimicry
The three short stories we read were very interesting. They connected to our class definition of science fiction because all three were futuristic and contained robots that are not available yet, but may be eventually in the future.
All three stories were very good examples of the Frankenstein complex. In EPICAC, a super computer has been created and can compute anything for the humans that run it. However, EPICAC begins to develop and compute emotion, which is were the fear of it starts to set in. It develops a love for one of the people who work with it, and in the end self-destructs. Eyebem is a good example of the Frankenstein complex because near the end of the story, while stranded in the snow with a man, Eyebem tells him that the robots, like Eyebem, are actually the superior race to the humans and will eventually take over the world because they are more powerful and more reliable. This would provoke fear because the robot believes it is better and more capable than human beings. The final story, Mimicry is an excellent example of the Frankenstein complex because the actual characters in the story are afraid of the robots. The main girl is afraid of her robot-double, and her fear is replenished when the robot tries to turn herself into the girl and the girl into a robot.
Overall, I kind of liked these stories. They were very well written and interesting stories, but they did scare me a little to think that one day, things like that may actually happen, and robots may actually become super-intelligent. And I say that as I have conversations with Siri.
All three stories were very good examples of the Frankenstein complex. In EPICAC, a super computer has been created and can compute anything for the humans that run it. However, EPICAC begins to develop and compute emotion, which is were the fear of it starts to set in. It develops a love for one of the people who work with it, and in the end self-destructs. Eyebem is a good example of the Frankenstein complex because near the end of the story, while stranded in the snow with a man, Eyebem tells him that the robots, like Eyebem, are actually the superior race to the humans and will eventually take over the world because they are more powerful and more reliable. This would provoke fear because the robot believes it is better and more capable than human beings. The final story, Mimicry is an excellent example of the Frankenstein complex because the actual characters in the story are afraid of the robots. The main girl is afraid of her robot-double, and her fear is replenished when the robot tries to turn herself into the girl and the girl into a robot.
Overall, I kind of liked these stories. They were very well written and interesting stories, but they did scare me a little to think that one day, things like that may actually happen, and robots may actually become super-intelligent. And I say that as I have conversations with Siri.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The X Files
The X files episode that we watched connects to our definition of science fiction because it involves a scientific mistake that could potentially happen, but is not likely. The main question in this story is "What is the hideous creature that is attacking everyone?" You can tell it is a science fiction story because the answer is scientific, not magical.
The episode of X files that we watched showed the ideas found in the Frankenstein Complex because the child that the old farmer kept was something that was made by humans, then feared by humans. The farmers other son creates this monster and then it begins to terrorize the women in the town, causing all the people in the town to become afraid of this creature. It was a very ugly and unusual looking thing, which is another reason why everyone was afraid of it. However, he did not intend to hurt anyone, he simply wanted to be accepted. But when he shows himself, people react with fear and hatred because they are scared of him.
Personally, I liked this episode of the X Files, it was very suspenseful and interesting. It also definately showed the Frankenstein Complex.
The episode of X files that we watched showed the ideas found in the Frankenstein Complex because the child that the old farmer kept was something that was made by humans, then feared by humans. The farmers other son creates this monster and then it begins to terrorize the women in the town, causing all the people in the town to become afraid of this creature. It was a very ugly and unusual looking thing, which is another reason why everyone was afraid of it. However, he did not intend to hurt anyone, he simply wanted to be accepted. But when he shows himself, people react with fear and hatred because they are scared of him.
Personally, I liked this episode of the X Files, it was very suspenseful and interesting. It also definately showed the Frankenstein Complex.
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