All posts by A Futurist at the Movies

A Futurist at the Movies is written by Josh Calder, a futurist living in Washington, DC. For more about Josh, see "Who am I?" or contact him here.
Apocalypse, Space

Supernova in our backyard?

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Astronomers have discovered the brightest supernova ever seen, and there is a star “near” Earth thought to be a candidate for a similar explosion.

This would have its positives and negatives:

  • On the positive side, it would be possible to read a book at night by the light of the dying star.
  • On the negative, the proximity of the blast — 7,500 light years — could make Earth vulnerable to a gamma ray blast that could severely damage the atmosphere and biosphere, even inducing an ice age. Fortunately, the odds of the blast being pointed directly at Earth are low.

Cosmiclog notes that two movies have covered supernovas:

There was a “Supernova” movie starring James Spader and Angela Bassett, as well as a “Supernova” made-for-TV movie with Tia Carrere and Luke Perry — but neither made much of a scientific or a critical splash.

Biotechnology, Human transformation

Enhancement: enhancing senses

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Scientists have successfully given mice full color vision by inserting a human gene into mouse embryos, the WP reports.

Mice normally see in yellows, blues, and grays, and it was not known if the modified mice would be able to use the new gene, or if their brains would have to gradually adjust to the change over generations. Tests revealed that the gene was effective in the first generation.

This is important in the question of making this kind of macro change in creatures. If an animal — or person — is given a new feature or ability, such as tail, or infrared vision, will it be useless because their brains are designed to handle it? This study suggests more plasticity in the brain’s ability to adapt.

The article notes more immediate implications:

The work also points to the possibility of curing some of the millions of colorblind Americans — and even enhancing the vision of healthy people, allowing them to experience a richer palette than is possible with standard-issue eyes.

A scientist suggests that people might be given fourth color receptor — human have three — and thus be able to see a whole new world of color. One can iimagine ready adoption of vision enhancements by soldiers, including the ability to see colors invisible to normal people, and also to see in the dark without mechanical enhancements.

Movies, Space

Upcoming: I’mmmm going to start up the sun

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Sunshine, about a mission to “trigger a device to save the dying sun,” will be released April 6th.

This sounds even less promising than The Core, which at least involved terra firma, but it was made by Danny Boyle and the team responsible for the excellent 28 Days Later.

Note: while the sun will die, it is not expected to do so for several billion years. If it were dying now, there is very little chance we could do anything about it: even if we set off every nuclear weapon we had, that would be a trivial disturbance compared to the sun’s ordinary energies.

Apocalypse, Disaster, Science fiction

Apocalypse in 7 Not-so-easy Steps

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Open the Future has devised an 7-level “apocalypse scale,” grading the threat to humanity and the planet of 7 levels of disaster.

Given the popularity of mega-disasters in movies, we can consider which of the levels have been depicted — or at least threatened — on screen.

LEVEL — SCALE
0 — Regional catastrophe
Movies depicting:

  • 28 Days Later

1 — Human die-back
Movies depicting:

  • The Day after Tomorrow
  • The Postman
  • The Road Warrior
  • Terminator

2 — Civilizational extinction
Movies depicting:

  • Deep Impact
  • 12 Monkeys — due to a madman aiming for a 3A
  • Planet of the Apes
  • The Matrix

3A — Human extinction–engineered
Movies depicting:

  • On the Beach — the apparently imminent fate of humanity after a nuclear war
  • Children of Men — global sterility of unknown cause
  • Independence Day — or so the aliens intend

3B — Human extinction–natural
Movies depicting:

  • none known

4 — Biosphere extinction
Movies depicting:

  • none known

5 — Planetary extinction
Movies depicting:

  • Armageddon — “nothing will survive” unless the giant asteroid is deflected, though a Texas-sized asteroid might be more like a level 4

X — Planetary elimination
Movies depicting:

  • Star Wars — Alderaan at the hands of the Death Star