Short stories of human inventions
Posts tagged Believing
From Science-fiction to Science Fact: Seeing is Believing in the Age of the Internet
For most people, sci-fi is pure fantasy and a means to provide some escapism from the hum-drum of everyday life. Programmes such as Star Trek and Doctor Who have drawn legions of dedicated fans, studying each scene, memorising lines and analysing sub-plots for hidden meaning. Indeed, the impact that the sci-fi genre has had on popular culture is probably incalculable.
Many modern-day inventors and scientists admit to being inspired by shows such as Star Trek. The communicator-like â??flip-phoneâ??, for example, is now commonplace. And in medicine, laser â??scalpelsâ?? have even been developed. In some respects, we may even be centuries ahead of the world that is on display in Star Trek, given it was set in the 23rd century.
Indeed, the world we see today is different altogether from the one 100 years ago. At the beginning of the 20th century, some people said that everything that could be invented had been: the telephone, the automobile, recorded sound, moving images and the first flight had taken place. But, of course, the surface of the technology revolution hadnâ??t even been scratched. The 20th century saw man travel faster than the speed of sound and go to the
Seeing is Believing: a Century to Remember For Medical Science
It’s probably fair to say that medical science has advanced greatly. From the discovery of penicillin by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928, to the first human-to-human heart transplantation by South African cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard in 1967, the 20th century certainly saw some major medical breakthroughs. But whilst there can be no disputing the universal significance of Fleming and Barnard’s scientific advances, there have been a number of other notable medical visionaries that we have a lot to be thankful for, some of whom perhaps don’t receive the credit they deserve. With many technological inventions, it’s not always easy to give credit to one person, given that it may have been honed and perfected over a period of time. Indeed, there may well have been a number of people who helped to progress the technology over several decades. Laser eye surgery, for example, has had numerous pioneers over the years. Even before laser surgery was invented, Russian doctor Svyatoslav Fyodorov was performing groundbreaking work in the field of eye surgery – and in 1960, he implanted the first artificial crystalline lens. Dr Fyodorov also developed a surgical technique for
Seeing is Believing: a Century to Remember For Medical Science
It’s probably fair to say that medical science has advanced greatly. From the discovery of penicillin by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928, to the first human-to-human heart transplantation by South African cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard in 1967, the 20th century certainly saw some major medical breakthroughs. But whilst there can be no disputing the universal significance of Fleming and Barnard’s scientific advances, there have been a number of other notable medical visionaries that we have a lot to be thankful for, some of whom perhaps don’t receive the credit they deserve. With many technological inventions, it’s not always easy to give credit to one person, given that it may have been honed and perfected over a period of time. Indeed, there may well have been a number of people who helped to progress the technology over several decades. Laser eye surgery, for example, has had numerous pioneers over the years. Even before laser surgery was invented, Russian doctor Svyatoslav Fyodorov was performing groundbreaking work in the field of eye surgery – and in 1960, he implanted the first artificial crystalline lens. Dr Fyodorov also developed a surgical technique… More >>