Curated category
Science fiction themes
- AI takeoverIn 1980, the global artificial intelligence industry was worth a few million dollars. By 1988, that figure had surged to billions of dollars in just eight…
- PostmodernismThe word postmodern first appeared in print during 1870. Artist John Watkins Chapman used the phrase to describe a Postmodern style of painting that departed…
- Technological singularityStanislaw Ulam recalled a conversation with John von Neumann in 1958 about the ever accelerating progress of technology.
- 3D computer graphicsWilliam Fetter coined the term computer graphics in 1961 while working at Boeing. This moment marked a shift from manual drafting to digital representation…
- TranshumanismThe Epic of Gilgamesh contains one of humanity's oldest recorded quests for immortality. This ancient narrative established a pattern that transhumanists…
- Space colonizationIn 1969, a human placed the first national flag on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. This image of a flag planted in dust became an iconic…
- Global catastrophic riskAn asteroid caused the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. This event serves as a historical anchor for understanding global catastrophic risks, which are…
- MultiverseIn the sixth century BCE, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Anaximander first suggested that infinite worlds might exist.
- MechaThe word mecha first appeared in Japanese as a shortened form of mechanical. In Japan, the term covers all machines including cars and computers.
- Human outpostThe year 1957 marked the start of the International Geophysical Year. During this global scientific effort, nations built permanent stations across…
- HyperspaceThe word hyperspace first appeared in a science fiction magazine during the spring of 1931. John Campbell published his story Islands of Space inside Amazing…