Historical Support of Thesis

Science fiction, print or film, raises questions about the humanexperience in a futuristic society. Quite often these questions aredue to the technology that surrounds the characters. Authors areable to explore their wildest imaginations when creating sciencefiction. If they want a certain piece of technology to do somedaily chore in their life now, they create it in their fictional world.If enough people respond to these ideas, fiction becomes reality.Scientists see there is an application for certain technologies andpursue them. Science fiction can be accurate predictor in thissense. We have taken two works of science fiction and pulledfrom them some examples to illustrate how sci-fi can be used toaccurately predict the technology we use today.

Star Wars

The year was 1977. The personal computer revolution was justbeginning. Technology was hitting the mainstream with full force.George Lucas took his vision of futurized technology society inthe now cinema classic, Star Wars. It was here where Lucasenvisioned a future that was not too distant. Now, nearly 30years later, many of the technologies we use today wereinfluenced and due in part by Star Wars. The effects of thesetechnologies have given society new direction; a direction thatLucas envisioned intentionally or not. In order to determine theaccuracy of these predictions, we have compiled some examplesfrom the film and applied them to real world working conceptsused today.Darth Vader towers over his opponents with pure physicalprowess. He owes this advantage to the technology he uses.Vader’s back-story consists of him losing his limbs during battle.So prosthetic technology stepped in and created for him a suitwhere he could exist but this time as more machine than man.His suit offered quick and fluent movement. Powering the suitwas not a problem. It gave him versatility and added protection.The same technology was used later down the road when Lukelost his arm due to Darth Vader. All irony aside, the sametechnology was used to replace his arm. It seemed very much so

in this society that losing a limb was not a problem. It couldquickly and efficiently be replaced by robotic helpers. Again, thearm offered him full movement without it becoming distracting tohis life. So where does that take us now?Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway scooter, has created a wayto give amputees back their loss. Dubbed the "Luke Arm" it is afully functioal robotic arm that is both pressure sensitive andcompletely controllable. When demonstrating the arm, a veterantells Kamen that he hasn’t been able to pick up something inover 40 years. (Spectrum Online) With this arm, it gives peoplecontrol back in their lives. The arm works for them and not theother way around.Can this technology be taken too far though? In

Star Wars,

itgave Darth Vader unforeseeable power. Can people use this typeof technology to negatively enhance their bodies? When speakingto IST professor, Gerry Santoro, about the subject he has this toadd:"I do believe (if we do not destroy ourselves first) that ourtechnology will reach a point where we can alter our own design.We do it now with glasses, I have hearing aids, we arevaccinated, etc. Why not artificial organs and limbs as needed?Why not nanite robots that will repair us from within?"Will this create a society where our own physical existencebecomes completely reliable on technology? In 1977 this mayhave seen like a vision of the far out future but today it isbecoming more and more real.Our perception of reality is something that is also changing.

Star Wars

uses a concept of holographic images to communicate.When Luke receives that message from Princess Leia, we see herdistress. Is this the future of global communications? Will weactually be able to see who and what we are talking about rightin front of us and manipulate it as if we were there?Currently we are on that track. It may not be in the slickholographic light show format but in a way that is very accessibletoday. As 3D worlds and avatar based clients become more andmore popular, we begin to see a shift in the way we