Science Fiction - Science Fact

Science Fiction - Science Fact

 

Young folks are always hearing their grandparents tell stories about the way it was in the good old days when they were young. (And no, we don't say "back in the day". That's a current platitude.) 

We tell stories like these:

"We didn't have cell phones, not even hands free land lines! When I was a kid our phone was on a party line. There were 9 separate rings, 2 long and 1 short, 1 short and 1 long, and so on. Every time the phone rang you had to listen to see if it was your ring. And when you talked all 8 of the other folks on the line could listen in." 

"The first computer I saw filled a room as big as my house! One of my first jobs was researcher and keypunch operator. I got the data from books in the library, then I used a machine to punch holes in cards in order to enter the data into a computer."

"Speaking of libraries, that's where I got all my information from when I had to write a term paper in school." (Do they still write term papers?) "I had to go to a card catalogue, dig under authors or titles to find the books I needed, go find them using a location system known as the Dewey Decimal System. Then I had to type my paper on a manual typewriter, perfectly, using carbon paper to make a second copy, putting footnotes in just the right place on the bottom of the page, and the looks as well as the content comprised part of my grade."

You've seen the lists, the ones that say you're old if you remember this or recognize that.... Well, I'm old!

But, old or not, I try to keep up with modern technology as best as I can. I'm sure my granddaughters can spin circles around my level of knowledge, (they help me a lot) but I'm not one of those folks who throws up their hands and says it's all a bunch of hooey. Science has brought us so incredibly far from my youth that I often feel like I'm living in a science fiction novel. Talking on cell phones, wirelessly, using a massive system that beams signals from cables, towers and satellites; flying on jets that hold over 300 passengers; getting electrical power from the sun; driving a car with a dashboard that looks like the control center on the Starship Enterprise - what next? I used to say I'm waiting for driverless cars so I can code in my destination and take a nap or read a book and simply arrive safe and sound... Well, they're here!

One of my very favorite things in today's world is FaceTime (or Skype). My son and his family are a 5 1/2 hour drive from our North of 54 farm. My sister is 1500 miles away. My husband's sister is 800 miles away. We don't get to see one another in person any too often. Phoning is fine but there's something really special about being able to see people when you're talking to them. On top of that it costs nothing other than having to subscribe to an internet service. You can even FaceTime people in other countries! I can watch my granddaughters play piano, see their new hairstyles and latest dance moves. I can see how my daughter-on-law has decorated her house for Christmas or show my family a project I'm working on. I can also take pictures of people while I'm talking to them, then I can edit out the wee pic of myself on the corner, the one that shows me what they are seeing on their screen, and add the pic to my family album.

We live in a world where science fiction becomes fact. Seems like if we can dream it we can eventually do it. So let's make sure our dreams are positive. Hmm, let's see now - here's a science fiction dream...