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"[Science fiction is] an integration of the mood and attitude of science (the objective universe) with the fears and hopes that spring from the unconscious."
- Gregory Benford
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| Methuen Treatment | ||
| Injections that increase intelligence. |
Professor Methuen is described in the story as a "storklike man with a gray goatee" - and he has a rather puckish sense of humor when it comes to inventions. Especially after he tries his own special treatment to increase intelligence.
| "I think my original theory was right; that the electrical resistance of the gaps between human neurons is already as low as it can be, so the Methuen injections won't have any appreciable effect on a human being. Sorry, Johnny, but I'm afraid your boss won't become any great genius as a result of trying a dose of his own medicine.
The Methuen treatment had raised Johnny's intelligence from that of a normal black bear to that of a human being... |
| Technovelgy from The Exhalted,
by L. Sprague de Camp. Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
It turns out that the Methuen Treatment does have an effect on human beings, but not quite in the manner expected. Click on the link to the story title in the above paragraph to see some of his prankster inventions.
Research shows that the processing speed of your brain does decline with age; some neuroscientists believe that a slowdown in processing speed may be the primary factor in age-related changes in cognition. Processing speed declines consistently across the adult lifespan.
Compare to the electro-culturer from The Ancient Brain (1929) by A.G. Stan gland and the bubbleheads from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965) by Philip K. Dick
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'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
