Top 10 things that sci-fi predicted correctly
When fiction came before fact
4. Communications satellites
Arthur C. Clarke is a true genius in every sense of the word. Not only did he invent the paranormal with his seminal TV series The Strange World of Arthur C. Clarke, he also invented the communications satellite, a device that has revolutionised the way we watch TV, use our computers and interact with other people. According to Wikipedia, Clarke posited the use of communication satellites in an article with the catchy title of ‘Extra-Terrestrial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?’
What a communications satellite probably looks like
So the next time you’re enjoyning the sight of two muscle-bound oafs smacking each other into submission on the other side of the world, courtesy of a live pay-per-view event, spare a thought for Arthur C. Clarke and the literary snoozefest he wrote one afternoon in 1945.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? Arthur C. Clarke predicted the use of satellites for communcations
3. The tablet computer
Apple released its tablet computer in 2010 but it wasn’t exactly the first. In fact, the tablet computer might well have been invented by a prop maker or artist working on Kubrick’s excellent visual rendering of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Simply resolutionary
In the film, two astronauts can be seen using a ‘newspad’, a rectangular and slim-line computer that lets the user engage with high technology in a casual manner. Samsung famously used the same scene in its defence when Apple sued it for patent infringement.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? Cheap 60s iPad clone
