fact or fiction
Is it science fact or science fiction? Futurism presents both sides to determine the truth.
What Happens to Your Body When Exposed to Space?
We've all seen that movie: where some unfortunate guy gets sucked out of an airlock and is thrown from his spaceship into unknown space. What is the first thing he does? Struggle to breathe. This is followed by panic, while blood oozes out of his eyeballs and ears. Until finally, his slow death ends, and all we're left with is a frozen corpse. Yuck.
By George Gott9 years ago in Futurism
Can Memories be Transferred by Eating Them?
There’s an episode of J.J. Abram's cult favorite Fringe where Olivia chugs a beaker full of chopped up worms. Walter, the stereotypical absent minded professor-slash-mad scientist wonders, "Can memories be transferred by eating them?" Walter remembers an experiment that transferred memories between worms by chopping them up and feeding them to each other. In the context of the show, Walter’s worm shake seems like one of many implausible examples of “fringe” science, like pyrokinesis or interdimensional travel. But 50 years ago these experiments actually happened, blurring the lines between fact and fiction and igniting one of the fiercest controversies in the history of neuroscience.
By Christina Agapakis10 years ago in Futurism
How Pixar’s 'Wall-E' Predicts the Future
Self-driving cars. Humans glued to the screens of their devices. Trash everywhere. One company to rule them all. Sound familiar? Either you just watched the 2008 Pixar hit Wall-E, or you simply looked at the ever-changing world around us. Debuting at a time when the economy hit its lowest point since the Great Depression, the dystopian society surrounding everyone’s favorite hardworking robot scared many with its foreboding predictions. But before humans actually admit that Wall-E predicted the future and director Andrew Stanton’s garbage-covered, humanless Earth of the year 2805 becomes a reality, we must take action for the sake of our planet.
By Jake Aronskind10 years ago in Futurism
Is Pluto a Planet?
Every space-minded child growing up found their niche among the stars once they were able to name all the planets in order from the Sun. For anyone born after 2006, they might find it a little harder as we continue to ask: Is Pluto a planet? Pluto, the true underdog story of the Milkyway, was declassified as a primary planet after it failed to meet the International Astronomical Union's specifications. The world watched on as the baby brother of the planet family was disowned and thrown into a meaningless group of misfit dwarf planets. So while we brush away our tears as we watch everyone’s favorite underdog become stripped of its planetary ties, let’s find the true reasons why we still question whether or not Pluto is a planet.
By Jake Aronskind10 years ago in Futurism
Is Luck Real?
Luck. It blunders in and out of our lives, unbidden, unexpected, sometimes welcome and sometimes not. It is the supreme insult to human reason: You can't ignore it, yet you can’t plan for it. No matter how carefully you design your career, you cannot know how the design will be changed by the workings of random events. You can only know that the events will occur. You can only wait for them, and hope that they're in your favor.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Why Presidents Swear on the Bible
Symbolism is not always what it seems. Presidents swear on a Bible. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Do they actually believe in the deity whose purported book, religion, and ideals are sworn over and, by definition, are therefore the judge of their success? Are all our presidents, according to accepted scientific belief, swearing over a book that may have no more truth in it than Lord of the Rings. Did Eve talk to snakes? Did Frodo talk to a dragon? In an age of deteriorating numbers of true believers, and a resurgence of science as the authority, why do the leaders of our country swear over what half the country believes is a book written by men in their pursuit of organized and institutional religion. Where is the separation of church and state, when the first act as president is religiously symbolic? Maybe they should swear over Frank Herbert’s Dune or George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. Or perhaps the best idea would be to swear over the constitution. God should have very little to do with it, irrespective of traditions. The perception that it is a requirement is wrong. There have been notable presidents who have not sworn over a religious book. Irrespective of their religious beliefs, they did not confuse their duties to America with God.
By Joshua Samuel Zook10 years ago in Futurism
Is the Government Hiding UFOs?
"You ever notice that UFO's never land at places like MIT or UCLA? They always land in some swamp in Arkansas where Billy Hot Dog and his cousin, Weenie, are out hunting. They're real good for reliable reports. It was big and round. Imagine if it landed in Times Square... taxi drivers would honk and scream out 'move that thing!' Bums would come and warm their hands by it and say 'This is nice!' " —Jay Leno
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Atlantis Theories
Originally Atlantis was the the name of an alleged lost continent that sank into the Atlantic Ocean around 9000 B.C. This version, which is the origin of all Atlantis lore and theories, cannot possibly be true, but that doesn't really matter, because if Atlantis isn't an underwater continent, maybe it's an island or even a lost city on dry land. Atlantis has been identified by various seekers in Spain, Sweden, North Africa, Russia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, and California, among other places.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Could Dune Be the Next Star Wars?
Ignoring George Lucas's prequels, it took nearly four decades for Star Wars to find its footing again. Its success is due to the amazing production team from Disney, helmed by the great J.J. Abrams. But Star Wars is vulnerable. No longer is the playing field like a narrow stretch of the desert plains of Tatooine. Studios around the world are forever on the search to find the next great sci-fi entertainment dynasty. Failures like John Carter and Jupiter Ascending were attempts at relying upon either less-than-complex storytelling or overly stimulating visuals. There is no need to look further than the greatest sci-fi novel ever made. The pattern changer for science fiction story telling was Frank Herbert’s epic Dune.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Can Science Prove Souls Exist?
There is a soul. Ironically, it was the skeptical world of science that has helped prove the theological doctrine of the spiritual world. The moment of astral disembodiment in which the energy of the soul leaves the body has been captured by legendary Russian scientist, Konstantin Korotkov. A bio-electrographic camera was utilized to photograph an individual at the exact time of death. Using the gas discharge visualization method, an advanced technique of Kirlian photography shows the life force of the person leaving the body gradually.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
