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I loved Pop Sci growing up, but in hindsight I felt like the content was already on the decline by the early 2000s. That, or it was never that great and I was j

I loved Pop Sci growing up, but in hindsight I felt like the content was already on the decline by the early 2000s. That, or it was never that great and I was just getting more aware as I got older. I remember that most of the things I read about never even came close to reality, and that was pretty disappointing. It seemed like they were more interested in writing speculative sci-fi than reporting on the current state of scientific research. It just wasn't interesting. The only thing that really caught my attention was coverage of the X Prize and Spaceship One. That stuff was cool because it existed in real life, it wasn't just a bunch of artist renderings about what the year 2030 might look like. Can't speak for Popular Mechanics. I probably should have been reading that all along.

Terr_ 3y ago
I remember excitedly reading their early articles on e-ink, but that only materialized in a very niche way decades later.
gumby 3y ago
> I loved Pop Sci growing up, but in hindsight I felt like the content was already on the decline by the early 2000s. That, or it was never that great and I was just getting more aware as I got older. I remember realizing it was mostly bull and weak articles when I was about 13…around 1977. Didn’t stop me from reading it but I felt it was more SF speculation from some current science news rather than actual science. That was OK.
- mauvehaus 3y ago
  Turns out sci-fi speculation is more marketable than sci-reality. I still remember thinking how cool it would be if the Lockheed Venturestar came to fruition. Like, Wow! Would that have been cool or what? Maybe it's ok that it's a lot of speculative stuff after all? Maybe there's something to be said for reading about the wild-ass ventures that are high-risk and high reward. Incremental progress gets you a long ways, but the occasional moonshot can really move the needle. Watching the two Falcon Heavy boosters land simultaneously was the kind of thing you feel like you'd have read about 10 years previously in Popular Science
- jhbadger 3y ago
  I seem to remember most all the articles about how airships are on the verge of becoming practical again -- in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s... Don't get me wrong, I think airships are neat, it's just after seeing this promise unfulfilled so many times, I just doubt that it will happen.
  - Xcelerate 3y ago
    > just after seeing this promise unfulfilled so many times, I just doubt that it will happen. Well buckle up: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/worlds-largest-aircraft-18483524.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/worlds-largest-a...
    - jhbadger 3y ago
      Neat. Hopefully they won't go bust right away like all the rest. This sort of article was exactly what was printed decade after decade -- company X has an airship prototype and will test it shortly but either they never get one aloft, or it gets damaged in a storm and they run out of funding to build another.
- jboy55 3y ago
  I bought some from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Each magazine was 300 pages of Radio or TV repairman training courses, and a dozen pages with some fluff about the 'future' or advertisement article about a new tool.
kevstev 3y ago
My wife worked there for a bit in the mid 2000s and I did and still do read just about anything I can get my hands on, but I found it really hard to get through an issue of pop sci. It was mostly optimistic fluff with the lightest of technical detail. And tbh if I wasn't reading it, I can't imagine who was- I imagine it was mostly subscribed to by dentists offices.

Terr_ 3y ago

I remember excitedly reading their early articles on e-ink, but that only materialized in a very niche way decades later.

gumby 3y ago

> I loved Pop Sci growing up, but in hindsight I felt like the content was already on the decline by the early 2000s. That, or it was never that great and I was just getting more aware as I got older. I remember realizing it was mostly bull and weak articles when I was about 13…around 1977. Didn’t stop me from reading it but I felt it was more SF speculation from some current science news rather than actual science. That was OK.

mauvehaus 3y ago
Turns out sci-fi speculation is more marketable than sci-reality. I still remember thinking how cool it would be if the Lockheed Venturestar came to fruition. Like, Wow! Would that have been cool or what? Maybe it's ok that it's a lot of speculative stuff after all? Maybe there's something to be said for reading about the wild-ass ventures that are high-risk and high reward. Incremental progress gets you a long ways, but the occasional moonshot can really move the needle. Watching the two Falcon Heavy boosters land simultaneously was the kind of thing you feel like you'd have read about 10 years previously in Popular Science
jhbadger 3y ago
I seem to remember most all the articles about how airships are on the verge of becoming practical again -- in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s... Don't get me wrong, I think airships are neat, it's just after seeing this promise unfulfilled so many times, I just doubt that it will happen.
- Xcelerate 3y ago
  > just after seeing this promise unfulfilled so many times, I just doubt that it will happen. Well buckle up: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/worlds-largest-aircraft-18483524.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/worlds-largest-a...
  - jhbadger 3y ago
    Neat. Hopefully they won't go bust right away like all the rest. This sort of article was exactly what was printed decade after decade -- company X has an airship prototype and will test it shortly but either they never get one aloft, or it gets damaged in a storm and they run out of funding to build another.
jboy55 3y ago
I bought some from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Each magazine was 300 pages of Radio or TV repairman training courses, and a dozen pages with some fluff about the 'future' or advertisement article about a new tool.

kevstev 3y ago

My wife worked there for a bit in the mid 2000s and I did and still do read just about anything I can get my hands on, but I found it really hard to get through an issue of pop sci. It was mostly optimistic fluff with the lightest of technical detail. And tbh if I wasn't reading it, I can't imagine who was- I imagine it was mostly subscribed to by dentists offices.