Science Fiction
Dictionary Latest By
"The point sticks in your head: physics rules. Virtue does not triumph unless the physics allows it."
|
Ray Bradbury shared the 50's fascination with gadgets and technology for the home. In 1950, fewer than 10% of homes had televisions. By 1960, over 90% did. In reading the following excerpt, see how quickly Bradbury skips over the intervening generations of technology to get to what people in 1950's really wanted.
This item is taken from "The Veldt", the first story in the collection.
The single largest difference that I can see between this scenario and the typical vision of the "automated house" of the 21st century is that, for us, control is what we really want. Products like HAL (Home Automated Living) are a set of control devices that allow the user to wirelessly and remotely control the various devices in the home. The vision of technology that Bradbury saw (and feared, which we can deduce from the veiled sarcasm in this passage) is that of a technology that replaces the human touch; the technology provides care for the people.
For more on this topic, see the comments for The Veldt, from the same novel. Comment/Join this discussion ( 4 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
resources: Happylife Home-related
news articles:
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'
Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'
Are The Thought Police Listening To Everyone All The Time?
'... they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.'
RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'
Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'
JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'
BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
|
Home | Glossary
| Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact
Us | FAQ | Advertise | Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™ Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved. |
||