7 ms·

Amazing description of ebook readers done in 60's - http://i.imgur.com/e1x76Nz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/e1x76Nz.jpg Possibly the first prosaic take on singularit

Amazing description of ebook readers done in 60's - http://i.imgur.com/e1x76Nz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/e1x76Nz.jpg Possibly the first prosaic take on singularity from early 80's (computer AIs improving themselves ad infinitum): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem_XIV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem_XIV All of that in his Summa Technologiae from 60's (SETI, AIs, Virtual Realities): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae

jacobush 8y ago
Thanks for that imgur link. It literally send shivers down my spine, my arms, three times. Just ... wow. The juxtaposition.
- wpietri 8y ago
  And for me there's a lesson there. When setting out to build something, it can be worth starting our thinking with a user-driven fantasy, ignoring technical possibility. Over time, what we make converges on what our customers secretly wanted all along. Sure, you have to be practical to get something out the door, but I think it's worth starting from the vision. Interestingly, the things that let the Kindle crush its competitors were even more magical than Lem's vision. Instead of physical tokens containing books, the Kindle gave you near-instant access to hundreds of thousands of books.
  - V-2 8y ago
    > When setting out to build something, it can be worth starting our thinking with a user-driven fantasy, ignoring technical possibility That's why Wells (time machine etc. aside) scored some more accurate predictions than Verne, who was much more inclined to stay in the realm of "scientifically conceivable" by the standards of the era.
    - HONEST_ANNIE 8y ago
      This was true until Verne's 'Paris in the Twentieth Century' was published. It changed everything. It was Verne's lost novel, written in 1863, published 1994. It was not published because his publisher thought it was too unbelievable and would not sell. It's a dystopian and dark novel describing a technological civilization in 1960's. It predicts cultural and technological details correct constantly. It's one of the most accurate sci-fi novels ever written. Television, gasoline powered cars, automated systems, suburban sprawls, financial industry, fax machines, synthesizer, subways, women in a working force, skyscrapers, weapons of mass destruction, mass education, ...
      - divs1210 8y ago
        Wow, thanks for sharing this!
- dredmorbius 8y ago
  Schroedinger's "aperiodic crystals" is an older concept, dating to 1944. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Life%3F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Life%3F
avip 8y ago
Don't forget Trurl's electronic bard, which had now existed for years.
- rootbear 8y ago
  I use that story as an example of how hard it is to automate translation of poetry. I don't have an original Polish copy, but my friend and I have compared his Hungarian translation to my English one. The poems are very different, but the intent of them is there. Lem's brilliant English translator, Michael Kandel, wanted to adapt the The Cyberiad as an animated film, using CGI (this was pre-Toy Story!) Lem never agreed, but he never entirely rejected the idea either.
  - ttctciyf 8y ago
    Heh, I just commented[1] without having seen your comment, on the same topic. There's a link in my comment to a more literal rendition[2] of the original Polish. How does the Hungarian one pan out? :) 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16899004 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16899004 2: https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-725b5a8086d9 https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-72...
    - rootbear 8y ago
      As I recall, it's about a suitcase. Every word begins with K, which is a common letter in Hungarian. The second link you give has images of many translations, including the Hungarian one. I'll see if I can get my friend to send me a literal translation.
  - Finnucane 8y ago
    I saw some clips that had been created as demos, probably in the early 1990s. My recollection is that even by the animation standards of the day, it wasn't great, but there were like two guys working in their spare time without funding, and they had to invent a lot of their own tools.
- jagger11 8y ago
fpoling 8y ago
The e-reader fragment is from "Return from the Stars" [1], not from the Summa, isn't it? [1] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_from_the_Stars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_from_the_Stars

jacobush 8y ago

Thanks for that imgur link. It literally send shivers down my spine, my arms, three times. Just ... wow. The juxtaposition.

wpietri 8y ago
And for me there's a lesson there. When setting out to build something, it can be worth starting our thinking with a user-driven fantasy, ignoring technical possibility. Over time, what we make converges on what our customers secretly wanted all along. Sure, you have to be practical to get something out the door, but I think it's worth starting from the vision. Interestingly, the things that let the Kindle crush its competitors were even more magical than Lem's vision. Instead of physical tokens containing books, the Kindle gave you near-instant access to hundreds of thousands of books.
- V-2 8y ago
  > When setting out to build something, it can be worth starting our thinking with a user-driven fantasy, ignoring technical possibility That's why Wells (time machine etc. aside) scored some more accurate predictions than Verne, who was much more inclined to stay in the realm of "scientifically conceivable" by the standards of the era.
  - HONEST_ANNIE 8y ago
    This was true until Verne's 'Paris in the Twentieth Century' was published. It changed everything. It was Verne's lost novel, written in 1863, published 1994. It was not published because his publisher thought it was too unbelievable and would not sell. It's a dystopian and dark novel describing a technological civilization in 1960's. It predicts cultural and technological details correct constantly. It's one of the most accurate sci-fi novels ever written. Television, gasoline powered cars, automated systems, suburban sprawls, financial industry, fax machines, synthesizer, subways, women in a working force, skyscrapers, weapons of mass destruction, mass education, ...
    - divs1210 8y ago
      Wow, thanks for sharing this!
dredmorbius 8y ago
Schroedinger's "aperiodic crystals" is an older concept, dating to 1944. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Life%3F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Life%3F

avip 8y ago

Don't forget Trurl's electronic bard, which had now existed for years.

rootbear 8y ago
I use that story as an example of how hard it is to automate translation of poetry. I don't have an original Polish copy, but my friend and I have compared his Hungarian translation to my English one. The poems are very different, but the intent of them is there. Lem's brilliant English translator, Michael Kandel, wanted to adapt the The Cyberiad as an animated film, using CGI (this was pre-Toy Story!) Lem never agreed, but he never entirely rejected the idea either.
- ttctciyf 8y ago
  Heh, I just commented[1] without having seen your comment, on the same topic. There's a link in my comment to a more literal rendition[2] of the original Polish. How does the Hungarian one pan out? :) 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16899004 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16899004 2: https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-725b5a8086d9 https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-72...
  - rootbear 8y ago
    As I recall, it's about a suitcase. Every word begins with K, which is a common letter in Hungarian. The second link you give has images of many translations, including the Hungarian one. I'll see if I can get my friend to send me a literal translation.
- Finnucane 8y ago
  I saw some clips that had been created as demos, probably in the early 1990s. My recollection is that even by the animation standards of the day, it wasn't great, but there were like two guys working in their spare time without funding, and they had to invent a lot of their own tools.
jagger11 8y ago

fpoling 8y ago

The e-reader fragment is from "Return from the Stars" [1], not from the Summa, isn't it? [1] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_from_the_Stars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_from_the_Stars