Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"The way you write science fiction is: you sit down at your writing machine and you open your mind to the first thought that comes through."
- Frederik Pohl

Filter Program  
  Using programs to filter Internet results; a person need see only what they want to see.  

This is a very early reference to a problem that has become increasingly common, and has already divided our country into groups of people who are completely unable to agree on the simplest things.

People bought personalized filter programs to skim a few droplets from that sea [of information] and keep the rest out. For some, subjective reality became the selected entertainments and special-interest zines passed though by those tailored shells.

...a woman hears and reads only opinions that match her own, because other points of view are culled by her loyal guardian software.

Technovelgy from Earth, by David Brin.
Published by Bantam in 1990
Additional resources -

As it turns out, one of the characters has a plan to avoid that problem:

To avoid such staleness, Jen had hired a famous rogue hacker... to design her own filter... one in five files would pop up randomly, in defiance of her own parameters.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Earth
  More Ideas and Technology by David Brin
  Tech news articles related to Earth
  Tech news articles related to works by David Brin

Filter Program-related news articles:
  - UK Internet Filters Default To 'Family-Friendly'

Articles related to Culture
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'

3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'

Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'

Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'

Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'

Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'

SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'

Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'

Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'

Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.