Showing posts with label Futuristic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Futuristic. Show all posts
Seeing the Future
Discussion,
Reading Comprehension and Video Activity
Future Life
|
Through the
Eyes of Science Fiction...
Science fiction is a genre with imaginative content and topics such as futuristic
science and technology and space travel. One of its purposes is exploring the
consequences of these scientific innovations to discuss philosophical ideas
morality, and social structure.
Read the following
fragment and answer the questions that follow.
The first coherent vision
of a world transformed into a future run entirely by computers may have been
E.M.Forster’s “The Machine Stops,” published in 1909, in which people
basically become hive creatures in a worldwide city run by a massive machine:
“No
one confessed the Machine was out of hand. Year by year it was served with
increased efficiency and decreased intelligence. The better a man knew his
own duties upon it, the less he understood the duties of his neighbor, and in
all the world there was not one who understood the monster as a whole. Those
master brains had perished. They had left full directions, it is true, and
their successors had each of them mastered a portion of those directions. But
humanity, in its desire for comfort, had over-reached itself. It had explored
the riches of nature too far. Quietly and complacently, it was sinking into
decadence, and progress had come to mean the progress of the Machine.”
Eventually , goes Forster’s
story, in this world where people are fed, clothed, and housed by the
Machine, and never see each other face to face (but only through two-way
video), the system collapses.
Fragment
from "Writing the Future:Computers in Science Fiction"
by
Jonathan Vos Pos and Kirk L. Kroeker
IEEE Computer, vol. 33, no. 1
|
True or False?
1)E.M.Forster describes a future dominated by computers.
2)As time passed men lost their intelligence.
3)Forster compares the machine to a monster.
4)Men still fully controlled the machine.
5)The machine had created itself.
6)Forster describes the world as
full of comfort and riches.
7)People do not interact in person anymore.
8)This world does not have a happy ending.
VIDEO SEGMENT
Have you heard the buzz about Google Glasses? They are an augmented reality product that
displays information in front of your eyes, with
applications activated by voice.
Your Task:
You are going to watch a short video which shows what Project
Glass is.
After watching, compare the ideas shared in the first discussion to
what you have read and seen in the clip.
Are the views in the article and the video similar or different?
Which Google Glasses features are the best in your opinion?
What aspects will be negative about wearing these glasses?
What will be the advantages and disadvantages of an augmented reality
gadget?
Will there be other implications, social or moral?
Will a new reality dominate humanity?
|
The Future of Computers
Video and discussion activity
The Royal Lectures - 4.45
min
Chris Bishop interviews Bill Gates via a live satellite link to find out
his thoughts on the future of software, and to invite kids from the audience to
ask him their own questions.
Watch the clip
and write Bill’s answers.
QUESTION 1: What do you think computing will be like in 50 years? |
|
QUESTION
2: Do you think computers will ever be able to think for themselves?
|
|
QUESTION
3: What do you think opportunities are there in the use of software in
medicine and health care?
|
Discuss the
questions below:
What do you
think life will be like in 50 years?
Do you agree
with Bill Gates about the future of computers?
How will the industries below manage in the future?
What will
change? What will disappear or be created?
v
Basic Materials
: Chemicals,Gold ,Oil & Gas, Steel & Iron
v
Consumer Goods
: Auto Manufacturers, Beverages,
Dairy Products, Electronic Equipment , Farm Products, Food , Green products,
Paper, Rubber & Plastics, Textile ,Tobacco Products
v
Financial:
Insurance, Asset Management, Credit Services, Mortgage Investment, Savings
& Loans
 v
Healthcare
: Biotechnology, Drugs , Health Care
Plans, Hospitals, Medical Appliances & Equipment
v
Services
: Advertising, Air Services,
Broadcasting , Computers, Education & Training Services , General
Entertainment, Lodging , Publishing, Restaurants
v
Technology : Software, Communication Equipment, Data Storage Devices, Information
Technology,Personal Computers, Wireless
Communications.
v
Utilities
: Electric Utilities, Gas
Utilities, Water Utilities
|
Future Tenses
Be Going To, Will,
Present Simple, Present Progressive
Comparative
Use:
Be going to
|
Will
|
Simple
Present
|
Present
Continuous or Progressive
|
-Future
plan or intention.
“I am going to start a diet.”
|
-Voluntary
action or intention
“I will
help you with your exam.”
-Promises
or threats
“I’ll get very angry if you don’t return my book.”
-Spontaneous decisions
“It’s very
warm. I’ll switch on the air conditioning.”
|
-Action or
event set by a time table or schedule.
“The movie starts at 6.30.”
|
-Action or
plan already arranged for a future time
“I am having lunch with my sister on Friday.”
|
-Assumption
or conclusion about the future, usually based on evidence
“It’s so cloudy and dark. It is going to rain.”
|
-Assumption
or prediction about the future
“We will
have robots at home some day”
|
-In clauses
beginning with: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc.
“When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner.” (Not “when you will arrive...”)
|
VERY IMPORTANT!
It is not always clear the meaning that the speaker has in mind. Often,
there is more than one way to interpret a sentence.
For example, when we make a
general assumption or prediction about the future using be going to or will:
“Celeste is going to be our class President.”
“Celeste will be our class President.”
When we express a plan or a voluntary action:
“I’m going to make a cake.”
“I’ll make a cake.”
Also there may not be a clear difference between a plan or intention
with be going to, and a plan
with present progressive.
“They're going to study tomorrow.”
“They're studying tomorrow.”
So, in these cases, it doesn't matter which tense we use if the context
does not limit us. However, it is usually clear if we are expressing a promise,
or an arranged plan or a spontaneous decision.
Exercise: Use the best tense to complete the sentences below. The context will help you decide.
1.I ... (call) you when I get home.
2.
A: The phone is ringing.
B: I ... (get) it.
B: I ... (get) it.
3.Don't worry, I ... (be) on time for our appointment this time.
4.I ... (make) dinner if you do the dishes.
5.Mae promised she ... (throw) a party next Saturday evening.
6.You are falling asleep, I ... (make) you some coffee.
7.If you drive like that, you ... (have) an accident.
8.Jamie, if you don’t wash your hands first, I ... (not give) you this
sandwich.
9.I heard John and Ellie ... (have) a baby.
10.If you vote for me, I ... (improve) the working conditions here.
11. They ... (spend) a vacation in Australia next summer.
12.Hurry home! The football match ... (start) at 7.
13.I ... (see) Cecil on Thursday at the corner coffee shop.
14.I ... (be) a scientist when I grow up.
15.This year ... (be) very interesting for our company.
16.I ... (start) my PhD next year.
17.We ... (take) the kids to the zoo on Friday.
18.
A: Any plans for the weekend?
B: I ... (paint) my kitchen sometime on Saturday.
C: I ... (study) with some friends for a test on Monday.
19.The first plane ... (leave) at 5.45 AM. It’s going to be an early morning.
20.What can I give you for your birthday? Oh I know! I ... (get) you
something really nice.
Telling the Future
Song,
Vocabulary and Writing Activity
Fortune
Teller by Maroon 5
Fill in
the blanks of the first part of the song with one verb from the box.
roll turn
predict brings try
stay end leave
mean
|
“I'm not a fortune teller
I won't be bringing news of what tomorrow .... I'll .... that up to you I'm not a fortune teller Don't have a crystal ball I can't .... the future Can't see nothing at all It doesn't .... I'm afraid of all the things that you say But I just think we should .... Stuck in the moment today And as the seasons .... by No matter how hard I .... Summer will .... and the leaves will .... again.” |
Fill in
the blanks for the rest of the song with a verb form – only one word. Base your
choice on the context and the theme.
“I don't know why you're ... like this
I don't know why you .... to do it again Why'd you have to go and .... the night Don't .... about tomorrow's mess. I never know how the future will .... I don't know what to .... you, I'm not a fortune teller I never ...., but I want you to .... I don't know what to .... you, I'm not a fortune teller.
I don't like .... TV
I don't know what that all .... And your American dream, baby it just .... in me I know that what I'm ...., may not be on your mind I know the song I'm ...., it's not your favorite kind It doesn't mean I'm afraid of all the things that you .... But I just think we should .... Stuck in the moment today And as the seasons ... by No matter how hard I .... Summer will .... and the leaves will .... again. This feeling, keeps ...., these rivers keep .... How can I have answers when you .... me in questions.” |
Check your work
with the clip.
Discuss the questions below:
|
Read the
following comments and give your opinion. Afterwards, choose one and expand the
idea in writing.
The Futuristic Crossword Puzzle
Vocabulary & Trivia Game
Across
4. Crystal-ball user (2
words)
6. Religious figures who claimed to see into the future (pl).
9. A bionic futuristic
human.
14. Luke Skywalker's Jedi teacher.
17. ...McFly, Michael J. Fox’s character in the movie "Back to the
Future".
18. Futuristic Mel Gibson movie (2 words).
19. The latest time for finishing something.
21. Chiromancy is a form of divination performed by examining the lines
in the...
22. Futuristic novel genre (abbreviation).
23. An automaton that is created from biological materials and resembles
a human. Also called humanoid.
24. Movie where humans began adopting monkeys as pets and eventually
became their slaves. Planet of the ...
25. In finance, an
agreement to buy or sell an asset at a certain date at a certain price.
Down
1. Prediction that some people check daily.
2. One of Stanley Kubrick's true masterpieces of cinema, "A ...
Orange".
3. "Back to the Future" vehicle.
4. The science, art and practice of postulating possible, probable, and
preferable futures.
5. WALL-E's love interest in the Pixar movie.
7. Someone with unusual or progressive ideas about the future or
advancements.
8. Fuel used in the car invented by Dr. Emmett Brown.
10. 1982 Harrison Ford film ( 2 words).
11. George Lucas’s blockbuster (2 words).
12. Author of Fahrenheit 451 and
The Martian Chronicles.
13. The date on which something, food, a license, etc. is no longer good
or valid.
15. An 1895 novel by H. G. Wells (2 words) The...
16. Time traveller who comes from the future looking for Sarah Connor.
18. Popular movie with characters Neo and Morpheus, The...
20. "I, Robot" author. Isaac...
The Futuristic Issue - Answers
Seeing the Future
1.F (by one
machine) 2.T 3.T 4.F(no one had full
understanding of the machine) 5.F(it had been created by
men) 6.F(decadent) 7.T 8.T
The Future of Computers
Transcript
Of course software is also used to
tackle much harder problems. And to give us his thoughts on the power of
software, joining us live by satellite, from the USA, please welcome Bill
Gates.
Bill, welcome to the Christmas Lectures
and thank you very much for joining us.
Bill It’s
great to be here.
Chris Bill,
we have a question from, ah, Thomas, who’s sitting in the audience
here. Thomas, do you want to ask Bill
your question?
Thomas
What do you think computing will be like
in 50 years, when I’m your age.
Bill Well
50 years is, ah, a very long time. Ah, if we look 50 years ago, computers were
so expensive that people thought of them as just for government, or big
companies and, and in fact, they scared people. Now we’ve got it so they’re
fairly inexpensive, ah, individual people can own them, they’re viewed as
empowering, they let you reach out and learn things about the
world. A big change will be that we’ll
be able to write software that models the world. So, for example, understanding
if you’re designing a product, you know, trying out, is this car going to be,
ah, cheap? If it’s in a crash, will it respond well? If I’m thinking of a
medicine, ah, does it have the right shape, will it have the effect on people’s
bodies? So, being able to model the world will allow us to be way more
productive.
Also in the time frame you’re talking
about, we’ll even have robots, ah, computer controlled machines that can, ah,
do hard tasks. Ah, today some robots, ah, clean up the carpet, but that’s very
simple – these robots will be able to see and walk, just like human beings. And
so, ah, it’ll, it’ll be a radical change, ah, and that will probably happen
even in 25 years. Ah, for the next 25 years after that, you know, I think we’ll
all be surprised, because computing can go a long, long ways from where it is
today.
Chris Bill,
we have, ah, Olivia up here and Olivia has a question for you. Olivia, do
you want to ask your question?
Olivia Um, do you think computers will ever be able to think for themselves?
Bill That’s
an excellent question and even within the field you find people who disagree.
Ah, as we learn about human intelligence, our admiration for how powerful the
brain is just goes up and up. The way that an infant can acquire vocabulary and
common sense and a sense of time and, just pick up a book and learn new
subjects, you know, we still have nothing that’s even close to that.
In some areas like vision or listening,
or even locomotion, moving around, the last five years there has been very good
progress. And so, I think we can say for sure that we’ll match human ability in
terms of senses, ah, seeing, smelling, tasting, being able to move, but when it
comes to learning and the broad general purpose way that humans learn, ah,
certainly nothing
dramatic will change on that in the next
decade. Beyond that, it’s really a little bit guesswork. Ah, people like myself
think yes, computers will eventually be smart. It’s a little bit scary, ah, but
getting the computer to be a little bit smarter and to be an even better tool,
I think, can be a, a very positive thing.
Chris Bill,
perhaps we could finish with one last question, which is to do with an area
that’s very close to my own research interests which is, ah, use of software in
medicine and health care. What do you think the exciting opportunities are
there?
Bill The
most interesting area today, if I was a young person, is on that boundary
between the very best computer science and medical advances. You know, I think
about it a lot, not just in terms of the rich countries, but also the poor
countries where you still have a lot of terrible diseases like malaria and AIDS
and, you know, I know this is the golden age of using digital software, ah, to
help improve the practice of medicine.
Chris Bill,
it’s been a great pleasure talking to you and thank you very much for joining
us.
Bill Thank
you.
Chris So
we’ve seen that there are plenty of important problems for computers to tackle.
But after the break we’ll be looking at problems which are so hard that even a
supercomputer can be completely overwhelmed.
Future Tenses
1.I will call you (promise) 2.B:
I'll get it. (spontaneous decision) 3.I'll be on time (promise) 4.I will make dinner(promise) 5.she will
throw a party(promise)
6.I’ll make you some coffee. (spontaneous decision) 7.you are going to
have an accident. (evidence) 8.I won’t give you this sandwich. (threat) 9.are going to have a baby. (evidence) 10.I
will improve the working conditions (promise)
11.They are going to/ will (plan or decision) 12.starts at 7. (schedule)
13.I’m seeing (fixed arrangement) 14.I'm going to/ will be (plan or decision)
15.This year will/ is going to be (prediction) 16.I’m starting/ going to
start / will start 17.We're taking
(arrangement) will take (promise) are going to take (plan).
18.I’m going to paint (plan) I’m studying/ going to study (arrangement or
plan)
19.The plane leaves (schedule) It’s going to be (evidence) will be
(prediction)
20.I’ll get you something really nice. (spontaneous decision)
Telling the Future
Lyrics:
I'm not a fortune teller
I won't be bringing news of what tomorrow brings
I'll leave that up to you
I'm not a fortune teller
Don't have a crystal ball
I can't predict the future
Can't see nothing at all
It doesn't mean I'm afraid of all the things that you say
But I just think we should stay
Stuck in the moment today
And as the seasons roll by
No matter how hard I try
Summer will end and the leaves will turn again.
I don't know why you're acting like this
I don't know why you have to do it again
Why'd you have to go and ruin the night
Don't worry about tomorrow's mess.
I never know how the future will go
I don't know what to tell you, I'm not a fortune teller
I never change, but I want you to stay
I don't know what to tell you, I'm not a fortune teller.
I don't like watching TV
I don't know what that all means
And your American dream, baby it just stays in me
I know that what I'm thinking, may not be on your mind
I know the song I'm singing, it's not your favorite kind
It doesn't mean I'm afraid of all the things that you say
But I just think we should stay
Stuck in the moment today
And as the seasons roll by
No matter how hard I try
Summer will end and the leaves will turn again.
I don't know why you're acting like this...
I never know how the future will go...
This feeling, keeps growing, these rivers keep flowing
How can I have answers when you drive me in questions
I never know how the future will go...
I won't be bringing news of what tomorrow brings
I'll leave that up to you
I'm not a fortune teller
Don't have a crystal ball
I can't predict the future
Can't see nothing at all
It doesn't mean I'm afraid of all the things that you say
But I just think we should stay
Stuck in the moment today
And as the seasons roll by
No matter how hard I try
Summer will end and the leaves will turn again.
I don't know why you're acting like this
I don't know why you have to do it again
Why'd you have to go and ruin the night
Don't worry about tomorrow's mess.
I never know how the future will go
I don't know what to tell you, I'm not a fortune teller
I never change, but I want you to stay
I don't know what to tell you, I'm not a fortune teller.
I don't like watching TV
I don't know what that all means
And your American dream, baby it just stays in me
I know that what I'm thinking, may not be on your mind
I know the song I'm singing, it's not your favorite kind
It doesn't mean I'm afraid of all the things that you say
But I just think we should stay
Stuck in the moment today
And as the seasons roll by
No matter how hard I try
Summer will end and the leaves will turn again.
I don't know why you're acting like this...
I never know how the future will go...
This feeling, keeps growing, these rivers keep flowing
How can I have answers when you drive me in questions
I never know how the future will go...
The Futuristic Crossword Puzzle
Across: 4.Fortune teller 6.prophets 9.Cyborg 14.Yoda
17.Marty 18.Mad Max 19.deadline 21Palms 22.scifi 23.Android 24.Apes 25.Futures
Down: 1.Horoscope
2.Clockwork 3.Delorean 4.Futurology
5.Eve 7.visionary 8.Garbage 10.
Blade Runner 11.Star Wars 12.Bradbury 13.expiration
15. Time Machine 16.Terminator
18.Matrix 20.Asimov
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)