Science Fiction : What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

I can think of Asimov's laws of robotics.

Some clarification: By influential I mean an idea that transcended its original domain and is now not only ubiquitous to science fiction but commonplace in many other areas of literature and even of science, which is certainly the case of Asimov's Laws.

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Mr. Freeze's freeze gun

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

"superpowers" exists

Well, this is a tomb. I'll make them feel at home

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Space travel from Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon"

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Good one!



"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Cannibalism as grok - Stranger in a Strange Land.

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Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

I'm ashamed to say I haven't read it. What is "cannibalism as grok" and how influential was the idea?

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Grok is some ritual in the book about people eating the dead body of a loved one who dies as a memorial at their funeral.

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Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

God as an alien.

Ding Dong! 🤡🌎

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Yes, I think this was a very influential idea indeed.

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

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Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Take a look at Jules Verne's books. He foresaw underwater exploration in submarines (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) among other things.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Indeed.

However, how influential was the idea? Did other authors adhere to it? Was the eventual creation of submarines directly related to it?

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

I dunno.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

The Dick Tracy comic strip which debuted in 1931, wasn't scifi, but it introduced the idea of a personal communication device in 1946… it was referred to as the 2-way wrist radio.

From Wiki: On January 13, 1946, the 2-Way Wrist Radio became one of the strip's most immediately recognizable icons, worn as a wristwatch by Tracy and members of the police force. This radio wristwatch inspired Martin Cooper's invention of the smartphone, and may have inspired later smartwatches.[10] The 2-Way Wrist Radio was upgraded to a 2-Way Wrist TV in 1964.





How about the Star Trek Communicator? I'm sure Gene Roddenberry wasn't the first scifi writer or TV/film writer to have such a device in his stories, but there it was on Star Trek and I'm sure viewers saw its value.



Apparently, stupid people don't know they're stupid.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?



"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Warp Drive in sci fi is actually being studied by NASA,as far fetched as the actual possibility of ever having it is.

Melting down over top boy

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

It goes to show the merits of hard science fiction. The idea of the warp drive didn't come out of nowhere. It was consciously based on the general theory of relativity.

Unfortunately, NASA isn't working on it any more than other scientists all around researching theories alternative to general relativity, which are so far very rudimentary.

One thing they worked on recently was the so-called EM-drive, but only to show it was really a physical impossibility.

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

The transporter device in Star Trek. We do have them in real life now, don't we? 😃

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Yes. Teleportation of quantum states is a thing now! It's certainly an idea which originated in science fiction and which ended up being extremely influential.

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

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Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Such a revolutionary concept is still waiting for time to catch up with it!



"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

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Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

The transporter device in Star Trek. We do have them in real life now, don't we? 😃

Yeah we do and the fucking shit sucks. I cannot wait until whatever they're using for teleportation malfunctions while they're using it and traps or freezes them in limbo somewhere cold, dark and scary.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Yeah we do and the fucking shit sucks. I cannot wait until whatever they're using for teleportation malfunctions while they're using it and traps or freezes them in limbo somewhere cold, dark and scary.

That can't happen given the way the thing currently works, which is by quantum entanglement. It is more like a replication than a teleport. The only thing being teleported is information.

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Tell me more about this quantum entanglement and a replication.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

It will be my pleasure but It takes time. A lot of time. So maybe this weekend?

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

I gotta wait that long? Well okay I guess…

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Alternate universe based upon space travel.
Alternate reality based upon quantum physics space-time travel concepts.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

The Man Cave.
Big comfy chairs, remote controls, big screen TV!





You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

I beg you to read The Caves of Steel, by Asimov!

I think it is in volume 2 that he basically describes how the "internet" would make people meet face to face less and less often. I'm not sure about the overall impact of the idea, though.

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Caves of Steel, eh?

Oh I can see where the internet is responsible for making people deal face to face with each other less is possible. We no longer have to go outside our homes any more. Many may work from home. We can shop and bank from home.

Getting back to the Man Cave though. You have heard of a room just for the guys to hang out in right? I could swear that the whole setup was conceived from Star Trek.

You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Sorry for not commenting on your post before, Miss Margo!

I hadn't heard about Man Cave before, so I googled it. Apparently it is both a concept and a service (when written properly capitalized?). It does sound Trekkish, in a way. Now, do they have have hollographic lady dancers?

"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Well….. Things do get a little weird.



You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

There's Strip Poker night!




You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?

Holographic lady dancers and loud bass sometimes produces disastrous results during interstellar travel.



Apparently, stupid people don't know they're stupid.

Re: What are the most influential ideas ever to appear first in science fiction?



"Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yessir, the check is in the mail."
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