Abstract
This paper discusses that some of the devices and instruments featured in many popular science fiction novels and films are, in essence, conceived through bad engineering, meaning that these devices and instruments are neither practical nor possible according to present scientific knowledge. The author points out that Verne's "rocket to the moon" stands as the ultimate example of bad engineering, even when one takes into consideration that Verne was using his imagination as a means of conveying his ideas to the reading public, who, at the time of the novel's publication, were obviously quite ignorant of science. The paper relates that Capek's plot in "R.U.R" is the seminal robot motif that has influenced every science fiction film, but the vision of creating a race of robots that take over the roles usually assigned to human beings in the context of work and labor was far-fetched for its time and is still so even in the 21st century.

From the Paper
"Michel Ardan then suggests that the spaceship launching will be powered by a formidable quantity of guncotton, and that the occupants of this spaceship will be protected from the shock of the launch by a layer of water filling the space between the vehicle's double walls. There will also be thick glass portholes for observation, sealed during the liftoff and then opened by screws controlled from the inside of the vehicle. The air supply will be renewed by oxygen obtained by heating potassium chlorate, a powerful oxidizing agent. The flight, of course, will be monitored from the ground by a powerful Rocky Mountain telescope operated by the Cambridge observatory."

Tags:practical, possible, knowledge, rocket, robat

Abstract
The Robots in Karel Capek's classic science fiction story R.U.R. are mass-produced in great numbers in order to provide efficient labor for all of human society, but that society is deeply flawed and dysfunctional because the importance of love has been forgotten and the meaning of life has thus been lost. Reading and analyzing this compelling story reveals that the vital importance of love is the ultimate theme of R.U.R., for the absence of love destroys human society and demonstrates that love must be the foundation of the new Robot society. This moral lesson is emphasized in a memorable final scene, for when two Robots, Primus and Helena, fall in love and are christened Adam and Eve by the last survivor of the human race, the foundational role, meaning, and power of love are rediscovered and acknowledged, and love is established as the basis of Robot society.

From the Paper
The Role of Love in Rossum's Universal Robots: An Analysis The Robots in Karel Capek's classic science fiction story R.U.R. are mass-produced in great numbers in order to provide efficient labor for all of human society, but that society is deeply flawed and dysfunctional because the importance of love has been forgotten and the meaning of life has thus been lost. Reading and analyzing this compelling story reveals that the vital importance of love is the ultimate theme of R.U.R., for the absence

Tags:love, in, r.u.r.

Abstract
This paper examines how science fiction explores the nature of technology. It starts by pointing out that the bulk of science fiction is populist, and therefore propagates the naive view of technology. This is where technology is seen as a mere instrument to satisfy human needs, and the paper shows how the instrumentalist view corresponds with the Darwinian concept of unending progress. The paper then introduces Heidegger's critique of instrumentalism, which says that instrumentalism overlooks the essence of technology as "enframing" human existence. The paper then explains why Heidegger calls technology "revealing" and why instrumentalism represents a challenging of nature, as opposed to the traditional view of technology which appeases nature. The paper then highlights the prescience of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", which explores the essence of technology so accurately. Other examples of science fiction that explore the essence of technology in the Heideggerian sense, such as Isaac Asimov's robot stories, Karel Capek "Rossum's Universal Robots" and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" are also discussed.

From the Paper
"The modern genre of science fiction is by and large defined by its celebratory approach to technological advance. In this way it embodies the ethos of the Enlightenment, which Condorcet had expressed through the notion of the "infinite perfectibility of man". From this point of view technology is a mere means to an end, and the end in question here is the full realization of the potential of material man. From the Industrial Revolution onwards technology becomes more and more a conscious aspect of man's life, and the conscious concept of "technology" is as a tool by which man imposes his control over nature. Despite being the general perception, the opposite perception, that technology unleashes horror onto the world, has also been entertained all along. This is the perspective of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, arguably the very first science fiction novel. "

Tags:Frankenstein, Asimov, robot, rebellion, Capek, Rossum, Brave, New, World

From the Paper
"The most sought after power in the history of man is immortality. Stories have flowed through generations concerning its power and whereabouts. Legends about Floridian Fountains have motivated some in search of it. Movies about the life giving chalice of Jesus have even been made. On the surface it appears as if immortality is the ultimate spoil of life. But if put in a position to receive this power, would most mortals accept, or refuse? Karel Capek wrote a play illustrating what could happen if immortality became reality among mere mortals. Bernard Williams believes that death gives a meaning to our lives that is stripped with the onset of immortality. He suggests that immortality is the worst thing anyone could have happen to them. Yet, Williams overlooks a number of factors and makes some odd assumptions in his argument. Immortality is not necessarily a misfortune."

Tags:capek, heaven, karel, life, religion, resurrection