A prehistory of wireless telegraphy
It was much more difficult to stay in touch 300 years ago. A literary magazine from that era has a suggestion for a surprisingly modern way to do it.
It was much more difficult to stay in touch 300 years ago. A literary magazine from that era has a suggestion for a surprisingly modern way to do it.
Communication in writing nowadays is almost exclusively done in type. Why, then, should anyone care about being able to write legibly?
Science fiction writers imagine whole new universes and explore their possibilities, as we’ve mentioned before. Perhaps they need to think about the changes in language that go along with them.
Today’s world doesn’t look like most science fiction stories pictured it. But accurate prediction isn’t the main point of the genre.
Life always seems to get louder and more insistent. There are reasons for this, though it’s not a good trend.
Humans have accomplished some pretty amazing things, from putting men on the Moon (with old technology!) to sequencing their own heredity. But stubborn problems that look much easier persist.
Our photographer notices how a new technology forces our bodies into new positions.
Our astronomer spent a few years in England, where he learned something of the arcane art of ringing church bells. In the belfries of that country are wonderful examples of essentially Medieval technology that also demonstrate advanced mathematical and physical ideas.