The Large Hadron Collider Takes A Break

[The Lugz]

That awkward moment when you're reading about real technology and it sounds like scifi...

good scifi has some basis in truth, or it just sounds like magic
writers do allot of research for books to make them seem real or ground them in a particular society's custom
on the flip side:
cyber-technology, nanotechnology, pocket pc's, video phones were based on ideas and the wants and needs of people
and engineers are always looking to fulfill those needs, as-well as scifi content creators so chances are if you make a really good scifi technology something similar will be built in the future
( that or an engineer reads it and blatantly rips it off! )

both cool and scary, i'd say considering what happens in so many scifi books

 

[Ukomba]

That awkward moment when you're reading about real technology and it sounds like scifi...

good scifi has some basis in truth, or it just sounds like magic
writers do allot of research for books to make them seem real or ground them in a particular society's custom
on the flip side:
cyber-technology, nanotechnology, pocket pc's, video phones were based on ideas and the wants and needs of people
and engineers are always looking to fulfill those needs, as-well as scifi content creators so chances are if you make a really good scifi technology something similar will be built in the future
( that or an engineer reads it and blatantly rips it off! )

both cool and scary, i'd say considering what happens in so many scifi books

90% of scifi comes off as magic anyways some times even with the hand wave techno babble they add.

 

[Souplex]

So we'll go two years without anyone colliding large hardons?

 

[The Lugz]

That awkward moment when you're reading about real technology and it sounds like scifi...

good scifi has some basis in truth, or it just sounds like magic
writers do allot of research for books to make them seem real or ground them in a particular society's custom
on the flip side:
cyber-technology, nanotechnology, pocket pc's, video phones were based on ideas and the wants and needs of people
and engineers are always looking to fulfill those needs, as-well as scifi content creators so chances are if you make a really good scifi technology something similar will be built in the future
( that or an engineer reads it and blatantly rips it off! )

both cool and scary, i'd say considering what happens in so many scifi books

90% of scifi comes off as magic anyways some times even with the hand wave techno babble they add.

i agree hence my prefix 'good scifi' precise definitions and percentages vary depending on your point of view
mine is that the definition of scifi means something isn't, can't or can't(/yet) be so holes are plugged with
logic along the lines of 'well if we have enough power' and in cases total nonsense like fictional elements
as for outright magic..
i can enjoy magic alongside scifi, but my preference is the two genres be separated by a good wedge of exposition
at the absolute minimum case in point, 'q' from star-trek he's essentially an all powerful sorcerer but it works because he's part of a god-like race of immortals which helps with suspension of disbelief

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Will that be when it destroys the world? I was promised it would destroy the world.

Don't worry. Version 2.1 will destroy not only the Earth but the entire universe.

 

[Ukomba]

That awkward moment when you're reading about real technology and it sounds like scifi...

good scifi has some basis in truth, or it just sounds like magic
writers do allot of research for books to make them seem real or ground them in a particular society's custom
on the flip side:
cyber-technology, nanotechnology, pocket pc's, video phones were based on ideas and the wants and needs of people
and engineers are always looking to fulfill those needs, as-well as scifi content creators so chances are if you make a really good scifi technology something similar will be built in the future
( that or an engineer reads it and blatantly rips it off! )

both cool and scary, i'd say considering what happens in so many scifi books

90% of scifi comes off as magic anyways some times even with the hand wave techno babble they add.

i agree hence my prefix 'good scifi' precise definitions and percentages vary depending on your point of view
mine is that the definition of scifi means something isn't, can't or can't(/yet) be so holes are plugged with
logic along the lines of 'well if we have enough power' and in cases total nonsense like fictional elements
as for outright magic..
i can enjoy magic alongside scifi, but my preference is the two genres be separated by a good wedge of exposition
at the absolute minimum case in point, 'q' from star-trek he's essentially an all powerful sorcerer but it works because he's part of a god-like race of immortals which helps with suspension of disbelief

See, I don't mind magic alongside scifi, as long as they don't try to hand wave the magic into science. In Star Wars, I had no problem with the force until they tried to explain it. It's a lot like how I view anything that flys in Scifi/Fantasy. I have no problem with a broom flying or the Millennium Falcon flying, but if your object/creature has wings or propellers then it better F***ing work aerodynamically.

 

[The Lugz]

See, I don't mind magic alongside scifi, as long as they don't try to hand wave the magic into science. In Star Wars, I had no problem with the force until they tried to explain it. It's a lot like how I view anything that flys in Scifi/Fantasy. I have no problem with a broom flying or the Millennium Falcon flying, but if your object/creature has wings or propellers then it better F***ing work aerodynamically.

yeah, the force was better as an all encompassing universal magic than some kind of cellular charge level but that was kinda demanded by the fans, because some people need to know things that ruin everything.. for themselves and others

a note on aerodynamics, though don't judge media too hard on aerodynamics it's a seriously hard topic and plenty of things that don't look right actually work quite well.. and hiring a simulator ( or even a large wind tunnel ) for a day could well equate to the cost of a low budget film if you want an example go look at the old shuttle and ask yourself
how does this shape cut through the air efficiently to reduce drag

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940006365_1994006365.pdf

^ just look at that document for a moment and consider how complicated aerodynamics calculations would be for some of your favorite sci-fi vehicles
and you'll soon see what i mean it would take decades of research to get right
it just isn't financially plausible.. yet! personally i'm happy sweeping the actual development costs of a starship under the rug in exchange for more films of them

you're dead right though, if i were to write a guide book for a sci-fi author i'd definitely include tips on how to make 'magical' objects realistic by having easily identifiable characteristics that you could put your finger on and name but not the exact science behind them because it's too much info and liable to be wrong under close examination

another of the things that annoy me is the lack of creativity, i can tell you the flux density of the electromagnetic field of the star will have variances in it, but who actually cares?
it's like stating the obvious in 'buzzword' instead of English

also we need to stop reversing the polarity, except for the 1% times it might work it's just a tired meme at this point

^ perhaps we should start a forum group to this end
'what nerds want'
that Is how things get done online, after-all

 

[xdiesp]

it's going on a 14 years hiatus.