Science Fiction has often been a predictor of what technologies might be possible in the future and has occasionally guided scientists in developing new tech.
Efforts to create a Universal Translator are ongoing, though none have yet reached the level of real-time translation seen in Star Trek.
Redditor I-Like-Being-Alone asked:
"What are your favourite examples of advanced technology from Science-Fiction?"
Replicators
"Star Trek replicators"
-sadh*ndjob
"Yep. Any consumable item, at any temperature, perfect everytime."
-Fickle-dill-pickle
"Yes. I want nachos. With cheese, and beef, and beans, and salsa, and tomatoes, and sour cream, and olives."
"I live in Japan, obtaining some of those items is nearly impossible. I weep. Even Taco Bell nachos bel grande would be welcome at this point."
-ClancyHabbard
Infectious Luck
Giphy
"The positive viruses from Red Dwarf - sexual magnetism virus and luck virus"
-Item_Successful
Capsule Corp To The Rescue
"Capsules from Dragonball. We would save so much area just from parked cars alone."
-pvtskittels
"A portable house and car sound amazing"
-Zorro5040
Instantaneous Travel
"Teleportation; whether we're talking Star Trek, Dr Who, etc. Flying/driving needs to become a leisure activity"
-MrBlusie
"But most forms of teleportation would just bring up The Ship of Theseus Paradox since most forms of teleportation breaks the user down and reconstructs them elsewhere. Are we truly the same person or were we just killed and a clone was placed to replace us?
-ForgottenForce
You Could Be Anything
"The Omnitrix. The fact that you can use this device with millions of alien samples and walk around in their shoes and use their unique traits is pretty cool. Plus you could become a superhero...or a supervillain, whichever you choose lol"
-WrathfulBroly
"All good fun till you turn into something that can't survive in Earth's atmosphere and implodes from the pressure difference."
-Northerleyfire
"Hopefully there would be some form of safeguard to prevent that... But that would depend on the device working correctly, and a competent user... 🤪"
-4rd_Prefect
Really Fast Travel
"Surprised not to see literally any of the multiple forms of FTL tech yet. Warp drive, slipstream, slipSPACE, wormhole tech, stargates…"
-Sawsamurai
"Right. All of the other things are mere convenience. If we can figure out FTL, we can literally control the galaxy."
"Problem is, it's probably not possible. That makes me sad."
-heuristic_al
Instant Big Mac
"This is a silly one... I always wished the microwave thingy from Spy Kids was real. The one where, it looked like a candy bar before putting it in there and then BOOM Big Mac?"
"That's honestly something I think was always pretty cool."
-Storm137
New-Old Tech
"Mine would have to be a particular in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Basically, it's a voice-to-text-typewriter. The character misspeaks while dictating to the device and so she has to throw out the paper and start again. I love how the idea of a word processor just didn't come to him. It shows how there's so many innovations that couldn't be easily predicted."
-SmartAlec105
"Like Dick, who imagines robot teachers or super computers that run the world but they all run on tape."
-RavioliGale
It Sonics Things
doctor who television GIF by BBC America
Giphy
"The sonic screwdriver"
-SavageCabbageGG
Just So Useful
"A Star Trek's tricorder. A portable device which can tell me what something is or wha's wrong with someone? So good."
-Megidra989
Some of these are certainly fantastical and seemingly impossible, but an iPhone would seem completely absurd to someone from 100 years ago. Anything is possible.
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