# What did Science Fiction writers miss completly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918 "2008-03-03T05:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/121 "2008-03-06T20:00:04Z")
[QUOTE=MarcusF] I think the bit \*\*Anne Neville \*\* is pointing to is: which is the critic’s comment on the Heinlein passage. She’s pointing out there is something special about three blocs [/QUOTE] You’re guessing at what \*\*Anne Neville \*\* meant to say. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/122 "2008-03-06T20:12:46Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] You’re guessing at what \*\*Anne Neville \*\* meant to say. [/QUOTE] I’ll confirm it, though. There may well be something special about three blocs. I’m not sure what, game-theoretically-speaking, is supposed to happen in an n-way duel where n \> 3, though. It’s been many years since my game theory class, God alone knows where my books from it are now, and a quick google didn’t turn up much. I’m not sure just how many nuclear weapons one needs to qualify as a “bloc”, either… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/123 "2008-03-06T20:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=The Them] From sheer blind luck, **Clarke** predicted the surface appearance of Iapetus (a black ring extending into the bright half of the moon, with a black dot at the center) in _2001: A Space Odyssey._ I read somewhere that when the pics came in from Voyager 1, the folks at NASA mailed Mr. Clarke some nice prints at his home in Colombo. ETA: 2001 the book was a voyage to Saturn, not Jupiter like in the movie. [/QUOTE] Not quite blind luck. He chose Iapetus because its albedo was known to be significantly different on the different faces. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/124 "2008-03-06T20:24:21Z")
AFAIK, no SF writer ever predicted this damned infestation of blue elves screaming “MREE!!! MREE!! MREE!!” in our ears all day long every single day. What? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/125 "2008-03-06T20:54:01Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] I’ll confirm it, though. There may well be something special about three blocs. I’m not sure what, game-theoretically-speaking, is supposed to happen in an n-way duel where n \> 3, though. It’s been many years since my game theory class, God alone knows where my books from it are now, and a quick google didn’t turn up much. I’m not sure just how many nuclear weapons one needs to qualify as a “bloc”, either… [/QUOTE] Okay, I think we’ve lost the point. The critic thought Heinlein was correct, then pointed out that it was funny that Heinlein later backpedaled on what turned out to be his correct prediction. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/126 "2008-03-06T21:08:08Z")
> [@](#): > > AFAIK, no SF writer ever predicted this damned infestation of blue elves screaming “MREE!!! MREE!! MREE!!” in our ears all day long every single day. > > What? Not exactlt “Mree”-shouting elves, but if you want SF about untouchable, perpetually talking nuisances that you can’t get rid of, read Fredric Brown’s classic **Martian, Go Home!** , or Margaret St. Clair’s **Prott**. The major difference is that Brown’s Martians are Green, and sarcastic, while St. Clair’s Prott always want to talk about “…ing the…” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/127 "2008-03-07T02:47:40Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] My two primary examples of flaws in old (generally pre-1970, but some later) are; \<…\> 2\> Fuel use. Like someone said earlier, a skyscraper full of explosives just to get to the Moon. Yet every scifi rocket and spaceship even up to recent days seems to be either completely devoid of fuel, or have very little of it. [/QUOTE] That sort of thing would be possible if there was any way to generate one-millionth of a nuclear explosion on demand. You’d have a rocket with a stupendous specific impulse; and if you had a high enough thrust/weight ratio as well, you get the fabled torch ship, with 1-G acceleration all the way to Titan and back. Of course aside from the fact there’s no known way to do it, there’s also the slight problem of how to keep your ship from melting just from the reradiated heat of your exhaust stream. Or the fact that your ship’s exhaust amounts to an aimable nuclear blast. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/128 "2008-03-07T02:52:06Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > Originally Posted by CalMeacham > > I predict that picturephoning will eventually come into its own when it’s decent quality and cheap. > > “Oh, Hi Cal. Just calling to let… oh. I see your on the can. Um… I’ll call back.” Yeah, yeah. This idea is so old that Mad magazine published a satire about it back in the _1950_’s. Picture phoning’s not going to be killed by inconvenient glimpses – people will put masking tape over the lens, if nothing else. And if I keep a picture phone in my bathroom (and use it), I’ll lose the few friends i have pretty quick. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/129 "2008-03-07T04:51:09Z")
No Science Fiction story that I know of has ever mentioned an iPod… ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/130 "2008-03-07T05:40:00Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] The major difference is that Brown’s Martians are Green, and sarcastic, while St. Clair’s Prott always want to talk about “…ing the…” [/QUOTE] Smurfing the smurf? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/131 "2008-03-07T12:39:47Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] No Science Fiction story that I know of has ever mentioned an iPod… [/QUOTE] Maybe it’s because [previous](http://www.grammophon.ch/english/taschen_grammophone_e/taschen_grammophone_e.htm) [incarnations](http://lh6.google.ca/abramsv/R8PGU6oD71I/AAAAAAAAJRY/N7GI5WOQWBQ/s1600-h/stare_fotografie_39.jpg) had some drawbacks. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/132 "2008-03-07T13:08:56Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Maybe it’s because [previous](http://www.grammophon.ch/english/taschen_grammophone_e/taschen_grammophone_e.htm) [incarnations](http://lh6.google.ca/abramsv/R8PGU6oD71I/AAAAAAAAJRY/N7GI5WOQWBQ/s1600-h/stare_fotografie_39.jpg) had some drawbacks. [/QUOTE] Hey! Those _could_ work… ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/133 "2008-03-07T15:12:09Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Picture phoning’s not going to be killed by inconvenient glimpses [/QUOTE] I think picture phoning has been killed by the fact that no-one is interested in. I’ve had a 3g phone capable of video calls for well over a year. About one hour after I first powered it up I tried calling a friend of mine who had a similar phone, but it didn’t connect for some reason. Since then I have made 0 attempts to use the video call function, despite carrying my ‘videophone’ with me everywhere I go. Similarly, 0 people have tried to make a videocall to me. Despite 3G phones being commonplace, I have seen precisely 1 instance of a videocall being made in the 5-6 years since the functionality was launched. Nowadays many 3G phones no longer even have the front-facing camera needed for videocalls. Video phones are a solution to a requirement which seems not to exist. Text messages, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/134 "2008-03-07T15:29:03Z")
> [@](#): > > About one hour after I first powered it up I tried calling a friend of mine who had a similar phone, but it didn’t connect for some reason. Sounds to me as if equipment unreliability is a better explanation than lack of interest. And most people I know don’t have any sort of picture phone hookup to not be interested in, so there’s not enough of a data pool to know how it’s received. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/135 "2008-03-07T15:46:49Z")
Did any of them predict the easing of getting credit for consumers (credit cards, easier-to-get mortgages, at least for a while, home equity loans, and the like), and the social consequences of it? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/136 "2008-03-07T23:24:34Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Maybe it’s because [previous](http://www.grammophon.ch/english/taschen_grammophone_e/taschen_grammophone_e.htm) [incarnations](http://lh6.google.ca/abramsv/R8PGU6oD71I/AAAAAAAAJRY/N7GI5WOQWBQ/s1600-h/stare_fotografie_39.jpg) had some drawbacks. [/QUOTE] [Sound Burger,](http://www.crunchgear.com/2007/09/22/sound-burger-portable-record-player/) anyone? A pre-historic version of the Discman. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/137 "2008-03-08T04:13:33Z")
Heinlein (and I am a fan) predicted lots of stuff. I can dig into my collection if you need specific cites. My favorites: 1. The Soviet Union will fail because their economic theory is f\*\*ked. 2. The Communists will take over the world because we’re not resisting them firmly enough. On the other hand, he was a f\*\*king genius, so much of what he had to say is still meaningful. His facination with “sex with his mother” (is that Panshin? in any case, see TMiaHM, all the Lazarus stories, etc.) is still a bit funky, IMHO. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/138 "2008-03-08T04:21:18Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Did any of them predict the easing of getting credit for consumers (credit cards, easier-to-get mortgages, at least for a while, home equity loans, and the like), and the social consequences of it? [/QUOTE] _For Us the Living_ has something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/139 "2008-03-08T05:04:44Z")
[QUOTE=tds1273] How about mp3 players? eta: of course after I post I realize tape players could be the precedent, but being able to carry entire music catalogs in your pocket? Any cites so specific? [/QUOTE] A graphic novel in the early 80’s ( **Ranxerox** , the macho robot) had characters listening to music via small self-contained earbuds, tho it is conceivable that they were just radios/stereos… ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918/140 "2010-10-12T01:17:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Robert Heinlein predicted cell phones once, for 20 minutes, in 1948. > > Twice, at least – **Space Cadet** and **The Puppet Masters** , both noted above. L Frank Baum in “TIK-TOK OF OZ”, published 1914: > [@](#): > > He said this with a sigh of regret, and Ozma made no reply but laid the tiny instrument on her table, thus cutting off all further communication with the Shaggy Man. But the lovely Ruler of Oz still watched her magic picture, with a thoughtful expression upon her face, and the little Wizard of Oz watched Ozma and smiled softly to himself. > > In the cavern of the Nome King Shaggy replaced the wireless telephone in his pocket and turning to Betsy said in as cheerful a voice as he could muster: > > “Well, little comrade, what shall we do next?” > > “I don’t know, I’m sure,” she answered with a puzzled face. "I’m kind of sorry our adventures are over, for I enjoyed them, and now that Queen Ann and her people are gone, and Polychrome is gone, and—dear me!—where’s Tik-Tok, Shaggy? Also > [@](#): > > Ozma, observing this action in her Magic Picture, at once caught up a similar instrument from a table beside her and held it to her own ear. The two instruments recorded the same delicate vibrations of sound and formed a wireless telephone, an invention of the Wizard. Those separated by any distance were thus enabled to converse together with perfect ease and without any wire connection. Perhaps Heinlein read Baum when he was a kid? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-science-fiction-writers-miss-completly/439918.md?page=8)