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Niven's Laws
Niven's laws were named after science fiction author Larry Niven, who has periodically published them as "how the Universe works" as far as he can tell. These were most recently rewritten on January 29, 2002 (and published in ''Analog'' magazine in the November 2002 issue). Among the rules are: * Never fire a laser at a mirror. * Giving up freedom for security is beginning to look naïve. (Based on a quote from Benjamin Franklin.) * It is easier to destroy than to create. * Ethics change with technology. * The only universal message in science fiction: There exist minds that think as well as you do, but differently. Others Niven's Law (Time travel) A different law is given this name in Niven's essay "The Theory and Practice of Time Travel": :If the universe of discourse permits the possibility of time travel and of changing the past, then no time machine will be invented in that universe. Hans Moravec glosses this version of Niven's Law as follows: :There is a spookier possib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrice Upon A Time
''Thrice Upon A Time'' is a science fiction novel by British writer James P. Hogan, first published in 1980. Unlike most other time travel stories, ''Thrice Upon A Time'' considers the ramifications of sending messages into the past and/or receiving messages from the future, rather than the sending of physical objects through time. Plot summary In December 2009, Murdoch Ross and his friend Lee Francis Walker visit Murdoch's grandfather, Sir Charles Ross, in his castle in Storbannon, Scotland. Sir Charles is a Nobel Prize winner for his work in particle physics — more specifically the isolation of free quarks. In this novel, when a nucleon decays into three quarks, the first two quarks appear immediately and the third quark appears on the order of a few millionths of an "yoctosecond" later. A widely accepted theory is that the original decay produces two quarks and also a third unknown particle, dubbed the "quason". This is subsequently transformed into a third quark. Sir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adages
An adage (; Latin: adagium) is a memorable and usually philosophical aphorism that communicates an important truth derived from experience, custom, or both, and that many people consider true and credible because of its longeval tradition, i.e. being handed down generation to generation, or memetic replication. Variations and nature An adage may warn against a failure to plan, be interesting observations, ethical rules, or skeptical comments on life in general, such as "do not count your chickens before they hatch", "do not burn your bridges", and . Some adages are products of folk wisdom that attempt to summarize a basic truth; these are generally known as "proverbs" or "bywords". An adage that describes a general moral rule is a "maxim". A pithy expression that has not necessarily gained credibility by tradition, but is distinguished by especial depth or excellent style is denominated an "aphorism", while one distinguished by wit or irony is often denominated an "epigram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psionics
In American science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as telepathy and psychokinesis. The term is a portmanteau formed from ''psi'' (in the sense of "psychic phenomena") and the -' from ''electronics''. The word "psionics" began as, and always remained, a term of art within the science fiction community and—despite the promotional efforts of editor John W. Campbell, Jr—it never achieved general currency, even among academic parapsychologists. In the years after the term was coined in 1951, it became increasingly evident that no scientific evidence supports the existence of "psionic" abilities. Etymology In 1942, two authors—biologist Bertold Wiesner and psychologist Robert Thouless—had introduced the term "psi" (from ψ ''psi,'' 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet) to parapsychology in an article published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conquistador (book)
''Conquistador'' is a 2003 alternate history novel by S. M. Stirling. Its point of divergence occurs when the Macedonian Empire, empire of Alexander the Great endures long after Alexander's death, creating a markedly different history that prevents the European colonization of the Americas, European conquest of the Americas. Most of the story is set in the Parallel universe (fiction), parallel universe affected by this history. Plot John Rolfe VI is an infantry captain who comes back from World War II with a war wound and few prospects, but in 1946 a radio he is rewiring malfunctions and creates a gateway to a parallel universe. This universe is one in which Alexander the Great lived a full lifespan, creating an empire that stretched from Iberian Peninsula, Iberia to the Indian subcontinent. In this world, the Macedonian Empire proved so strong and durable that it redirected the barbarian migrations of the Goths, Vandals, and others eastward towards China and the rest of the Far E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-Space (short Story Collection)
''N-Space'' is a collection of short stories by American science fiction author Larry Niven released in 1990. Some of the stories are set in Niven's Known Space universe. Also included are various essays, articles and anecdotes by Niven and others, excerpts from some of his novels, and an introduction by Tom Clancy. Its sequel is ''Playgrounds of the Mind''. Contents * "Introduction: The Maker of Worlds" by Tom Clancy * On Niven (by David Brin, Gregory Benford, Wendy All, John Hertz, Steven Barnes, and Frederik Pohl) * Dramatis Personae * Foreword: Playgrounds for the Mind * from '' World of Ptavvs'' * " Bordered in Black" * "Convergent Series" * "All the Myriad Ways" * from " A Gift From Earth" * "For a Foggy Night" * "The Meddler" * "Passerby" * "Down in Flames" * from ''Ringworld'' * "The Fourth Profession" * "Shall We Indulge in Rishathra?" (with cartoons by William Rotsler) * "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" * "Inconstant Moon" * "What Can You Say about Chocola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. The TARDIS exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. With various companions, the Doctor combats foes, works to save civilisations, and helps people in need. Beginning with William Hartnell, thirteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor; in 2017, Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to officially play the role on television. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the series with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which a Time Lord "transforms" into a new body when the current one is too badly harmed to heal normally. Each acto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason'' magazine.Who's Getting Your Vote? '''' Benford wrote the science fiction novels, beginning with '''' (1977). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first novel, ''The Carpet People'', was published in 1971. The first ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Colour of Magic'', was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Shepherd's Crown'', was published in August 2015, five months after his death. With more than 85 million books sold worldwide in 37 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for ''The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents'', the first ''Discworld'' book marketed for children. He received the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clarke's Three Laws
British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke formulated three adages that are known as Clarke's three laws, of which the third law is the best known and most widely cited. They are part of his ideas in his extensive writings about the future. The laws The laws are: # When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. # The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. # Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Origins One account claimed that Clarke's "laws" were developed after the editor of his works in French started numbering the author's assertions. All three laws appear in Clarke's essay "Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination", first published in ''Profiles of the Future'' (1962). However, they were not all published at the same time. Clar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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