fact or fiction
Is it science fact or science fiction? Futurism presents both sides to determine the truth.
Still Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
Irrespective of Hollywood's perspective on the implications of alien contact, the dialogues that would inevitably follow an actual encounter are enormous, almost too staggering to conceive. Imagine the questions we could ask a visiting extraterrestrial: Do you have a cure for cancer? Is there life after death? Are the physical laws in your part of the universe the same as in ours? Is there a way to overcome the burden of gravity, prolong youth, exceed the speed of light...? Think of the things we could learn, among them, as Carl Sagan put it, how "possibly to avoid the dangers of the period of technological adolescence we are now passing through."
By James Lizowski9 years ago in Futurism
Incident in Tehran
In 2013, I sent my first FOIA request for any information and documents pertaining to the 1976 Tehran UFO incident. This event remains one of the most well-documented and fascinating UFO encounters ever reported by military pilots and witnesses. After receiving a response to my request, I wrote the following article to give everyone an idea of just exactly what I was able to pull from the documents I received, and testimony from several witnesses, including Major Parviz Jafari of the Iranian Air Force. I hope this will give you some insight into this deeply dramatic event.
By Ryan Sprague9 years ago in Futurism
4 Bizarre 'House' Diseases that Actually Exist
If you have never seen an episode of House M.D., then you are missing true TV brilliance. House M.D. has incredible writing and acting and is worth watching just for Hugh Laurie's portrayal of Dr. House. The one criticism I always hear about House M.D. is how unrealistic it is. Virtually every episode ends with House figuring out what rare disease is killing his patient. House only deals with rare diseases and in the first episode his employee, Dr. Foreman, says "first year of medical school: If you hear hoofbeats, you think horses, not zebras." What separates House from other doctors is that he only deals with Zebras, all his cases have some element that makes them unique. The problem with having 177 unique diseases is that sometimes you need to stretch the truth a little. However, sometimes even the craziest illnesses are 100% real and here are some of the weirdest ones.
By Jason Schwartz9 years ago in Futurism
A Tough Day For Skeptics
In the small fishing village of Shag Harbor, Nova Scotia, things were pretty simple and quiet for this modest Canadian province. But on October 4th of 1967, the village would host one of the most well documented UFO incidents of all time.
By Ryan Sprague9 years ago in Futurism
Confessions of a Conspiracy Geek
On May 19th, 2002, a finely strung bow was tightly wrapped around nine (although it is now ten) seasons of what is arguably one of the greatest science fiction shows to ever hit the television airwaves. With a cult-following spinoff, two major motion pictures, and a handful of Emmys, The X-Files became a favorite amongst believers and non-believers alike. Special Agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were introduced to many characters throughout the series, but none as memorable as the basement dwelling trio known as the Lone Gunmen. A short and stout hacker with the hots for Scully, a suit-wearing conservative with a heart of gold, and a poster child for metal bands everywhere, the Lone Gunmen quickly made a one- time appearance into something the fans just couldn’t get enough of. And for one of the gunmen, a character’s keen interest in conspiracies and the UFO phenomenon began to spill over into real life.
By Ryan Sprague9 years ago in Futurism
Antimatter: X-mas Files Edition
Sure. Sure. The Christmas season is full of crass commercialism. Materialist dogma -- of all varieties -- are on display everywhere. But the season has traditionally been regarded as a time of supernatural activity and high strangeness, as this edition of Antimatter shows.
By Matt Swayne9 years ago in Futurism
Time Traveling Views from Stars
The White Queen in Through the Looking Glass made a regular morning habit of believing at least six impossible things before breakfast. There is one thing that simply cannot be done. It is impossible to travel backward in time. I have absolutely no faith that we might be able to transport ourselves back to the Crusades, the Ice Age, or even earlier I do not doubt that Einstein's relativistic time-dilation effect is valid; but that is a different thing.
By Conrad Morningstar9 years ago in Futurism
Quantum Computing is Huge
Most people think that a quantum computer is either a plot device in a science fiction plot, or, at the very least, a relic of mankind's 100-year fascination with adding the adjective "quantum" to nouns to make things appear mysterious or powerful.
By Matt Swayne9 years ago in Futurism
Ceratoid Anglerfish Spermatozoa
A man generates billions or so spermatozoa during his "active" lifetime. In the same time, a female ovary releases a strictly limited number of eggs (around 400). Despite the contrast in productivity each sex contributes exactly the same amount of genetic material to the next generation. It is an uncomfortable truth that the main biological role of males is to manufacture vast quantities of sperm to fulfill a genetic function that the other gender accomplishes much more efficiently
By Caesar Finkle9 years ago in Futurism
