Technology makes the future a better place! This seems completely natural in the present, and if it is placed on the entire human evolution and civilization history coordinate system, it is the concept that has only been in recent centuries.
In the epic sci-fi blockbuster 2001: Space Roaming, created by the famous Hollywood director Kubrick and Arthur Clark, one of the three giants of the science fiction “Golden Age”, the film tells the human world from the animal world. The process of “transforming” adults. In the wilderness, the ancestors of human beings lived a life without eating their stomachs, and they often had to be wary of the leopards that had gone out of their ghosts. Until one day, they encountered a magical black slate. Under the enlightenment of “he”, the leader of the group of monks picked up a long bone on the ground. Since then, this bone has become a bone stick, becoming the first tool in human history. From then on, Mochizuki and his people no longer have to worry about food shortages, beast attacks or bullying by other similar groups – because they can use tools to solve these problems. From this moment on, they completely bid farewell to the animal world of the past and move toward a future that belongs to mankind. Of course, in science fiction movies, human beings’ wisdom is influenced by the “black slate” of the higher civilization, and in the real history of biological evolution, humans have acquired these abilities after a long and difficult evolution.
However, although human beings have acquired the ability to manufacture and use tools, they have gradually established farming civilization settlements around the world, and thus developed city-states, countries, and even empire. But for the vast majority of human beings living in the farming era, the future is just a cycle of the past, just like the natural circulation of human spring ploughing, summer planting, autumn harvest, and winter harvest. Just as the Chinese-American writer Ted Ging described in his science fiction debut in the Babylon Tower, in order to enter the “paradise”, human beings built a “Tongtian Tower” that can reach the zenith, but when people exhausted With all strength and chiseling the “zenith”, when the hardships finally stood on the ground of “heaven”, what appeared in front of them turned out to be the towering tower of the sky – this is a world located in the Mobius ring The starting point and the ending point are connected to each other.
In fact, this cyclical “future view” is determined by the lifestyle of the people at that time. Even if someone can go back with modern technology and civilization, trying to change this, it is probably difficult to succeed. In the famous American writer Mark Twain’s masterpiece “The Arthur of Connecticut in the Arthurs”, a modern engineer living in Connecticut crossed the United Kingdom in the era of Arthur, and became the magician of King Arthur. In the 6th century England, the industrial revolution was initiated. However, his actions ended up hurting the interests of the conservative aristocrats. They united to kill the American apes. Fortunately, the United States, who got the news in advance, managed to escape, but the factory he built was taken as a demon’s trick.
What really makes humans begin to believe that technology can make the future a better place is after humanity enters the era of industrialization. Let’s take a look at a few different time nodes to see how the future of technology in the eyes of sci-fi creators has brought about changes in people’s lives.
In 1885, the French writer Jules Verne asked John Bennett, the world’s leading newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, to create a novel for American readers and predict the United States 1000 years later. The novel was later published under the title “One Day of a US News Giant in 2889” (referred to as “One Day in 2889″). The article mentions many incredible technological inventions that make life after the millennium look cool. Among them, the most impressive one is “atmospheric advertising”. Simply put, this is a kind of text that can float in the air. “Everyone has noticed the huge advertisements mapped in the clouds,” the author wrote. “ These ads are so huge that people in the entire city and even the entire country can see it.” Compared to the giant billboards that are built on skyscrapers, the advertisements floating in the air are obviously more shocking.
In 1925, the Soviet science fiction writer Beleiyaev described the magical “head change” in his science fiction novel “Professor Dowell”. The head of a middle-aged woman was transplanted to an 18-year-old girl, and the person who should have died was given a second life. Today, although head-changing surgery is only at the experimental stage, organ transplantation has become a very common medical technology. Humans are expected to use biotechnology in the 21st century to create autologous cloned organs that will not cause rejection in critically ill patients. Human life is expected to be extended to 150 years.
In 2001, in the science fiction novel “Micro Age” of Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin, human beings reduced their size in order to coexist harmoniously with nature. In this way, only a small amount of supplies is needed to feed a large population.
These whimsy of sci-fi creators are all about their future technology, whether optimistic or pessimistic, reflecting their conviction that future technology will change the way people live. In contrast, our three small authors revolve around the future around the most common mobile phones in their lives. In Tian Yu’s “Harmony of the Mobile Age”, people can connect with the rest of the world by implanting chips. Even if you are far away, you can connect with the rest of the world. Wang Lijun’s “You have heard my call.” Through a flip-up story structure, the mobile phone and genetic technology are combined to achieve the separation of flesh and blood for many years; Wang Jiacheng’s “Study Mobile Phone, Knowing the Blessing” envisions a kind of convenience that can bring convenience to people. Can also abandon the adverse effects of mobile phones. Although their writing is still slightly young, the imagination is amazing.
Some people refer to the 21st century as the “science fiction” century, because the future technology of the sci-fi works in the past has become a reality, and others are becoming a reality. The future has come, no longer a metaphor, but a living fact. In this regard, we should remain objective and calm, and while enjoying the convenience and efficiency brought by technology, we must also be vigilant about the possible negative impact. In this respect, sci-fi works, whether past, present or future, will become our most valuable “thinking laboratory”.
