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
"In 1970 I found little difficulty staying 30 years ahead of the man in the street, and now I find it difficult to stay 18 months ahead of the man on the street."
- Vernor Vinge
 |
| Head Cheese | ||
| Intelligent paste made of neurons; spread upon a substrate for computing. |
Pilot Joel Kita wasn't very happy about being replaced.
| The Pacific Ocean slopped two kilometers under his feet. He had a cargo of blank-eyed psychotics sitting behind him. And the lifter was being piloted by a large pizza with extra cheese...
Ray had been in this very cockpit, watching the pizza being installed and no doubt wondering when the term "job security" had become an oxymoron... The techs were playing with a square vanilla box, half a meter on a side and about twice as thick as Kita's wrist. Humans had always been able to integrate 3-D spatial information better than the machines that kept trying to replace them... Until now, apparently... "It's one of those smart gels," Ray said at last... "Head cheese. Cultured brains on a slab. The same things they've been plugging into the Net to firewall infections." |
| Technovelgy from Starfish,
by Peter Watts. Published by Tor Books in 1999 Additional resources -
|
Be sure to see the Science Fiction in the News story Rat Neurons In A Dish Play Flight Simulator for an amazing real-life confirmation.
The term "smart gel" is already in use; it refers to a class of liquids that have unusual properties in response to being compressed. Since smart gels expand or contract in response to external stimuli, they could be useful in applications such as an artificial pancreas that releases insulin inside the body in response to high sugar level. Smart gels might someday be used to make exotic foods, cosmetics, medicines, and sensors. See the article Smart Gels and Shake Gels.
I should also mention this enjoyable 1931 story by Dr. David H. Keller; you can read The Steam Shovel to see how the brain of an elephant can direct the operation of a great steam shovel.
('The Steam Shovel' by Dr. David H. Keller)
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Starfish
More Ideas
and Technology by Peter Watts
Tech news articles related to Starfish
Tech news articles related to works by Peter Watts
Head Cheese-related
news articles:
- Rat Neurons In A Dish Now Playing Flight Simulator
- Rat Brain Robot Uses Cultured Rat Neurons
- Rat Brain Robot Gets Upgrades
- Robots With Human Brains
- Making Drone Aircraft Smarter
- Artificial Microbrain Memory Cells
- Neuromorphic Brain-Chip Takes Flight
- Mini-Brains In A Dish
- Brainoware Reservoir Computation Of Biological Neural Networks
- Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
| 'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News |
| Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them? |
| Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable |
| Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements |
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> |
|
|
|
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
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
