Science Fiction and Computing
Essays on Interlinked Domains
Published on 31. May 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
327 pages
978-0-7864-4565-3 (ISBN)
Description
The prevalence of science fiction readership among those who create and program computers is so well-known that it has become a cliche, but the phenomenon has remained largely unexplored by scholars. What role has science fiction played in the actual development of computers and computing? And likewise, how has computing (including the related fields of robotics and artificial intelligence) affected the course of science fiction? The 18 essays in this critical work explore the interrelationship of these domains over the span of more than half a century.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
12 photos, notes, bibliographies, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
534 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7864-4565-3 (9780786445653)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
David L. Ferro is an associate professor of computer science at Weber State University. He has published on both science fiction and real-world computer science. Award-winning author Eric G. Swedin is an associate professor of information systems & technologies at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
Content
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction by David L. Ferro
1. Technology's Other Storytellers: Science Fiction as History of Technology
THOMAS HAIGH
2. Computers in Science Fiction: Anxiety and Anticipation
CHRIS PAK
3. Murray Leinster and "A Logic Named Joe"
ERIC G. SWEDIN AND DAVID L. FERRO
4. Atorox, a Finnish Fictional Robot with a Changing Personality in the Late 1940s
JAAKKO SUOMINEN
5. Computer Science on the Planet Krypton
GARY WESTFAHL
6. Manned Space Flight and Artificial Intelligence: "Natural" Trajectories of Technology
PAUL E. CERUZZI
7. "That Does Not Compute": The Brittleness Bottleneck and the Problem of Semantics in Science Fiction
LISA NOCKS
8. "Hello, Computer": The Interplay of Star Trek and Modern Computing
JOSHUA CUNEO
9. Turn Off the Gringo Machine! The "Electronic Brain" and Cybernetic Imagination in Brazilian Cinema
ALFREDO SUPPIA
10. A (Brave New) World Is More Than a Few Gizmos Crammed Together: Science Fiction and Cyberculture
THIERRY BARDINI
11. True Risks? The Pleasures and Perils of Cyberspace
JANET ABBATE
12. Science Fiction as Myth: Cultural Logic in Gibson's Neuromancer
R.C. ALVARADO
13. Creating a Techno-Mythology for a New Age: The Production History of The Lawnmower Man
DAVID A. KIRBY
14. Embodiment, Emotion, and Moral Experiences: The Human and the Machine in Film
HUNTER HEYCK
15. "Predicting the Present": Overclocking Doctorow's Overclocked
GRAHAM J. MURPHY
16. "Low on Milk. I Love You!"
HOWARD TAYLOR
17. Nanotechnology Tomorrows: Nanocritters and Other Tiny Things in Science Fiction
RICHARD L. MCKINNEY
18. Imagining the Omniscient Computer DAVID TOOMEY
About the Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction by David L. Ferro
1. Technology's Other Storytellers: Science Fiction as History of Technology
THOMAS HAIGH
2. Computers in Science Fiction: Anxiety and Anticipation
CHRIS PAK
3. Murray Leinster and "A Logic Named Joe"
ERIC G. SWEDIN AND DAVID L. FERRO
4. Atorox, a Finnish Fictional Robot with a Changing Personality in the Late 1940s
JAAKKO SUOMINEN
5. Computer Science on the Planet Krypton
GARY WESTFAHL
6. Manned Space Flight and Artificial Intelligence: "Natural" Trajectories of Technology
PAUL E. CERUZZI
7. "That Does Not Compute": The Brittleness Bottleneck and the Problem of Semantics in Science Fiction
LISA NOCKS
8. "Hello, Computer": The Interplay of Star Trek and Modern Computing
JOSHUA CUNEO
9. Turn Off the Gringo Machine! The "Electronic Brain" and Cybernetic Imagination in Brazilian Cinema
ALFREDO SUPPIA
10. A (Brave New) World Is More Than a Few Gizmos Crammed Together: Science Fiction and Cyberculture
THIERRY BARDINI
11. True Risks? The Pleasures and Perils of Cyberspace
JANET ABBATE
12. Science Fiction as Myth: Cultural Logic in Gibson's Neuromancer
R.C. ALVARADO
13. Creating a Techno-Mythology for a New Age: The Production History of The Lawnmower Man
DAVID A. KIRBY
14. Embodiment, Emotion, and Moral Experiences: The Human and the Machine in Film
HUNTER HEYCK
15. "Predicting the Present": Overclocking Doctorow's Overclocked
GRAHAM J. MURPHY
16. "Low on Milk. I Love You!"
HOWARD TAYLOR
17. Nanotechnology Tomorrows: Nanocritters and Other Tiny Things in Science Fiction
RICHARD L. MCKINNEY
18. Imagining the Omniscient Computer DAVID TOOMEY
About the Contributors
Index