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I often search for new friends on social networks, using various keywords related to my interests. That's not a surprise. More of a surprise are the results for 'science fiction'. It brings up many people who aren't interested in science fiction. They've simply mentioned it, usually in the context of "I wish [insert thing] had happened, like science fiction promised!"
So what are the top ideas that everyday non-science fiction people would like to see? From least popular to most...*
- 5) Food Cubes - The idea of a tasteless cube/pill dealing with your daily food needs is a bit of a niche desire. The food cubes are the wistful want of the very busy person, who can't be bothered to cook dinner that day.
Cube shaped food seems more popular than pills, sheets, wafers, drinks or other forms of easy-to-eat food. Perhaps food manufacturers should take note, because there aren't that many cube-shaped foods**. - 4) Clones - Wouldn't life be so much easier if you had a clone to do the boring bits, like going to work? It doesn't really work like that, but this is the hope of the overworked person. The main flaw in the plan is a clone of you is unlikely to enjoy working anymore than you do.
- 3) Housework Robots - Most common chores that get "I wish I had a robot" are laundry and hoovering. Things like decorating and gardening get less complaint, though it seems that many gardeners don't like mowing their lawns (we dealt with this at my house by removing most of the grass).
- 2) Personal Jetpacks - Never worry about parking again! It also means you can cut out the inconvenient walk from the house to the car. The biggest downside is what happens if you forget to buy enough fuel for your trip.
- 1) Flying Cars - The clear winner is the flying car. It's more popular than the personal jetpack. Probably because most people are a little cautious about the idea of flying that high without a protective covering. And partly because people get very attached to their cars.
The trend is clear... people tend to remember and discuss science fiction ideas that directly relate to their everyday lives. Perhaps I need to start writing more stories about easing the domestic burden (or need to walk), in order to lure in new science fiction fans. Certainly I shall remember the fascination with cubes.
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* No, I didn't do this survey very scientifically. This is the soft science fiction of the survey world.
** You do get those little cubes in Dolly Mixtures though. I like those.
5 ink splashes:
The reason I hope flying cars never become a reality: my grandmother. Grandma can barely navigate the walmart parking lot with her seat belt hanging out the door. I dread the thought of her and those like her in a flying car.
As a pedestrian, the risk of terrible drivers (pilots?) does make me wary of flying cars. I'd have to start walking in battle armour.
Y'all might want to start putting together your battle armor...
http://www.moller.com/
http://www.terrafugia.com/
Jetpacks are more of a niche, really. Like motorcycles or surfboards, they're not going to replace cars and boats, no matter how technically advanced they get. If we've got flying cars, though, flying jetpacks (skycycles?) ought not be far behind.
For housework robots:
http://store.irobot.com/corp/index.jsp
Clones you've already pointed out the primary problem with. Some people might think of the 'hey, if there were four of them, each of us would only have to go to work one day a week!', but they forget both cost of living per person and the fact that similar personalities often get on each others nerves. Non-AI robots are a much better option all around, since they don't have the potential slavery abuse.
As for food cubes, my brain is now chewing on how to construct a Wonka-esque cubefood maker. Really, once you've got the recipe, the machinery ought to be pretty simple. Which makes me somewhat miffed that no one's done it.
Sorry, someone posts something like this, and my natural reaction is either to find them what they want, or try to figure out how to make it. It's a curse. OK, I've got the idea for the food cube. I'll try it sometime soon and let you know if it works :-)
When still in college my wife and I were required to pitch a futuristic product for a speech class. We went with the food wafers, with the idea that the product would taste like any food you wanted it to.
My wife made tea cakes to stand in for the wafers. Our pitch was a class favorite.
Kenny Celican, A food cube machine sounds natty. Should you manage to make your own food cubes, let me know... or if it fails horribly and you have the humorous photos to prove it, still let me know!
James A Woods, Sweets that set solid could also make reasonable substitutes. I'm thinking things like coconut ice (recipe here), which could be shaped easily. Ideal for a science fiction theme party.
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