Films From The Future

“Deftly shows how a seemingly frivolous film genre can guide us in shaping tomorrow’s world.” —Seth Shostak, senior astronomer, SETI Institute Artificial intelligence, gene manipulation, cloning, and interplanetary travel are all ideas that seemed like fairy tales but a few years ago. And now their possibilities are very much here. But are we ready to handle these advances? This book, by a physicist and expert on responsible technology development, reveals how science fiction movies can help us think about and prepare for the social consequences of technologies we don’t yet have, but that are coming faster than we imagine. Films from the Future looks at twelve movies that take us on a journey through the worlds of biological and genetic manipulation, human enhancement, cyber technologies, and nanotechnology. Readers will gain a broader understanding of the complex relationship between science and society. The movies mix old and new, and the familiar and unfamiliar, to provide a unique, entertaining, and ultimately transformative take on the power of emerging technologies, and the responsibilities they come with.

Hard Science Fiction Films that Predict the Future--#1 Amazon New Release Dr. Andrew Maynard, physicist and leading expert on socially responsible development of emerging and converging technologies, brings science fiction movies to life. Films from the Future analyzes what society once thought was impossible, threading together advances in science and technology that are radically changing our world and have the potential to impact our lives in unknown and unpredictable ways. Over the last half-century, humanity has seen technology grow at an alarming pace. The jump from room-filling processors to pocket-size super computers is just the beginning. Artificial intelligence, gene manipulation, cloning, and inter-planet travel are all ideas that seemed like fairy tales but a few years ago. And now their possibility is very much here. But are we ready to handle these advances? As Maynard explains, "What these movies do rather well is provide us with a glimpse around the corner of our collective near future, to help us see what might be coming down the pike and start thinking how we might respond to it. Viewed in the right way--and with a good dose of critical thinking--science fiction movies can help us think about and prepare for the social consequences of technologies we don't yet have, but that are coming faster than we imagine." Films from the Future looks at twelve movies that take readers on a journey through the worlds of biological and genetic manipulation, human enhancement, cyber technologies, and nanotechnology. Readers will gain a broader understanding of the complex relationship between science and society. The movies mix old and new, and the familiar and unfamiliar, to provide a unique, entertaining, and ultimately transformative take on the power of emerging technologies, and the responsibilities they come with. Films from the Future is an essential guide to navigating a future dominated by complex and powerful new technologies.

A designer’s deep dive into seven science fiction films, filled with “gloriously esoteric nerdery [and] observations as witty as they are keen” (Wired). In Typeset in the Future, blogger and designer Dave Addey invites sci-fi movie fans on a journey through seven genre-defining classics, discovering how they create compelling visions of the future through typography and design. The book delves deep into 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, Blade Runner, Total Recall, WALL·E, and Moon, studying the design tricks and inspirations that make each film transcend mere celluloid and become a believable reality. These studies are illustrated by film stills, concept art, type specimens, and ephemera, plus original interviews with Mike Okuda (Star Trek), Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall), and Ralph Eggleston and Craig Foster (Pixar). Typeset in the Future is an obsessively geeky study of how classic sci-fi movies draw us in to their imagined worlds.

"24 Frames into the Future: Scalzi on Science Fiction Film is the 2012 Boskone Book by Guest of Honor John Scalzi. John Scalzi's first job was not actually writing a science fiction novel; rather, he was a film critic for the Fresno Bee. Only years later did he write Old Man's War, his critically acclaimed first novel. In this book, collecting many of his essays on Science Fiction films, you can read Scalzi's thoughts on movies, how they're produced, and how storytelling differs between movie and print. You'll get to read his prognostications about the Oscars and Hugos, and what he felt about how the awards actually turned out not to mention why "show business" is not "show art". Scalzi also has a lot to say about that rarified universe outside SF, and he also puts into perspective the way it has both taken from SF's culture and fashioned it"--Publisher.

A scientist offers compelling visions and potential pitfalls of the future—in “a journey through time, space, and the human experience” (Dr. Tanya Harrison, coauthor of For All Humankind). Humanity has gained the ability not only to imagine the future, but to design and engineer it. At times entertaining, and at others profound, Future Rising provides an original perspective on our relationship with the future. As a species, we’ve become talented architects of our future—yet we often struggle to come to terms with what this means. As innovation and rapidly shifting norms and expectations drive our world at breakneck speed, we sometimes need to find a still, quiet place to pause and think. Future Rising creates such a place, where we can take advantage of our species’ knowledge of world history and the importance of science to piece together a positive future. To create a good future, we must rediscover the past. Our relationship with the future is inextricably intertwined with where we’ve come from, who we are, and what we aspire to. Future Rising starts at the beginning of all things with the Big Bang and traces a pathway along the emergence of intelligent life, through what makes humans uniquely capable of imagining and creating different futures. In a series of sixty short reflections, Andrew Maynard, a former physicist and nationally recognized expert in technology and society, will take you on a journey into: What “the future” actually is How it molds and guides our lives How we can use the history of the world to change our future “A thoughtful and thought-provoking response to the moment we’re in, chronicling how we got here, where we’re going, and what role we have in that journey.” —Ramona Pringle, Director of Creative Innovation Studio and Associate Professor, Ryerson University

Advances In Smart Coatings And Thin Films For Future Industrial and Biomedical Engineering Applications discusses in detail, the recent trends in designing, fabricating and manufacturing of smart coatings and thin films for future high-tech. industrial applications related to transportation, aerospace and biomedical engineering. Chapters cover fundamental aspects and diverse approaches used to fabricate smart self-healing anti-corrosion coatings, shape-memory coatings, polymeric and nano-bio-ceramic cotings, bio-inspired and stimuli-responsive coatings for smart surfaces with antibacterial activkity and controlled wettability, and electrically conductive coatings and their emerging applications. With the emphasis on advanced methodologies and recent emerging applications of smart multifunctional coatings and thin films, this book is essential reading for materials scientists and rsearchers working in chemical sciences, advanced materials, sensors, pharmaceutical and biomedical engineering. Discusses the most recent advances and innovations in smart multifunctional coatings and thin films in the transportation, aerospace and biomedical engineering industries Highlights the synthesis methods, processing, testing and characterization of smart coatings and thin films Reviews the current prospects and future trends within the industry

What's your favorite science fiction film? At the start of the new millennium, fans who attended science fiction conventions persuaded Flynn and Blackwood-aka "The Film Doctors"-to conduct a survey of the Top Ten Science Films of the 20th Century. They then embarked on a ten-year odyssey to gather thousands of fan votes. The result: a list of science fiction films that probably contains at least one of your favorites. Each film was considered from its inception, to the pre-production period, through production and finally the audience's reaction, reviews, critical responses and interviews with directors, producers and stars of the movies. An educational enlightening of the motion picture industry, it shows that it truly all starts with a thought, a vision, which when fed, honed and supported becomes "where no man has gone before."

A chronicle of the massive transformation in Hollywood since the turn of the century and the huge changes yet to come, drawing on interviews with key players, as well as documents from the 2014 Sony hack