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posted by janrinok on Saturday August 01 2015, @06:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the who-is-the-father?-test-the-oil dept.

In contemporary science fiction, we often see robots passing themselves off as humans. According to a [University of Stavanger] researcher, the genre problematises what it takes to be accepted as a human being and provides a useful contribution to the debate about who should have the right to reproduce.

Science fiction culture has prospered and gone from being for nerds only in the 1970s and 1980s to becoming part of popular culture in the last two decades. This particularly applies to the TV series genre, which has become mainstream with Battlestar Galactica (2004), Heroes (2006) and Fringe (2008).

"The genre has evolved from depicting technology as a threat, to dealing with more intimate relations between humans and machines", says Ingvil Hellstrand. In her doctoral thesis, she points out that science fiction today is often about humanoid androids that are trying to become "one of us". According to Hellstrand, this is not incidental.

What is SN take on this issue??


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:11AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:11AM (#216689)

    Sure we say nerds are mainstream, but we only tolerate Hollywood Nerds: buff suave guys who happen to wear glasses. If you're genuinely socially awkward, you belong in prison or in a mental institution, depending on how angry you look to a social worker whose job it is to make sure you never participate in society.

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  • (Score: 2) by Subsentient on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:27AM

    by Subsentient (1111) on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:27AM (#216693) Homepage Journal

    Eloquently said, far better than I could have. The world is a sad place.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
    • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:16PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:16PM (#216820)

      > Eloquently said, far better than I could have. The world is a sad place.

      What? I wouldn't call that eloquent, I'd call it persecution complex hyperbole. Now is the best time ever to be a real nerd. Look at silicon valley. Everybody's got problems, that's not unique to any particular group of people, but nerd life is 1000x times better than it used to be.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @08:47PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @08:47PM (#216837)

        One man's "eloquent" is another man's "too close for comfort" reality.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday August 02 2015, @11:31PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 02 2015, @11:31PM (#217148) Journal
          I have to agree with the previous AC. And I think having a persecution complex doesn't make you a nerd. There's plenty of evidence that it just isn't that hard to fly under the radar of social workers even when you really need their help. If you're getting involved with them on a regular basis, then it indicates something is going on other than just being a nerd.
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Grishnakh on Saturday August 01 2015, @01:33PM

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Saturday August 01 2015, @01:33PM (#216741)

    That's why we nerds need to work on androids, so we can bring about the demise of humanity. We'll have the last laugh.