Techie Inspire – The Technology Blog
We love movies because they take us to places that are entirely out of this world. They create entire universes where people can fly, move faster than the speed of light and communicate via sleek little devices. The only thing is, we can do all of those things right now. Our abilities are almost limitless now thanks to computers. You can use coupons to purchase a new PC that will put an entire universe of knowledge at your fingertips. When you really think about, our technology has followed pretty closely to what a lot of movies foretold long ago. Star Wars has been a particularly prophetic series of films. While we have yet to find an entire species of furry little creatures like the Ewoks (unless you count Furbies) we have accomplished quite a bit.
Moving into Light Speed!
It was one of those ridiculous suspensions of disbelief moments the first time Han Solo took the Millennium Falcon and its passengers into light speed. People sitting in the theaters munching their popcorn and enjoying the movie in the 1970s had to hold back any guffaws for the sake of the story but now, light travel is not entirely out of the question. Researchers in a European facility have successfully beamed small particles across the continent faster than the speed it takes for light to fill a room after a switch has been hit. This pretty much turns science on its head and lands a big feather in George Lucas’ hat.
There’s An App For That
One of the most epic scenes in Star Wars comes when Luke, Han and Leia are facing the very real threat of being crushed in a garbage compactor aboard the Death Star. Good thing the movie didn’t end like that because it probably would not have gone on to be one of the highest grossing films ever. It’s also a good thing that Luke Skywalker had what looked like an early prototype of an iPhone that connected to his good buddy R2-D2 and allowed the droid to deactivate the trash compactor. Sure, walkie-talkies existed back in the 1970s but they were basically glorified tin-can phones.
Next time you see something totally ridiculous in a movie, don’t be so quick to laugh it off as ridiculous. Give it a few years and you might be driving your own lightning-fast hover car through Cloud City.
