Every geek from time to time suffers from gadget envy. Even if you’re an early adopter and already waiting in line to get an iPad, your personal collection of devices is limited by that annoying thing we call “reality.” Go ahead and tell me no while you watch trip to the starsHe thought about how useful it would be to have a transporter. And who hasn’t wished (usually right after saying or doing something stupid, or seeing a long shot at winning a race) that they had a time machine?
So, here is a list of the ten most useful gadgets in science fiction and comics. I’ve restricted myself to one gimmick per source, because I could write an entire list based solely on Star Trek or star warsFor example. And I’ve also tried to focus on devices that would be useful without being incredibly dangerous; Therefore, there are no lightsabers (because you know you would cut off a significant part of the body thirty seconds after turning it on), no time machines (because paradoxically we have that whole destruction problem: the space-time continuum on which we warned Doc Brown), and no transporter (because, as incredible as the idea is, I’m with Dr. McCoy that being disassembled and reassembled sounds full of potential for serious problems). Oh, and the James Bond movies are too easy to use as source material, so those are available too.
10. Gesture computer interface Minority report -Was there a geek who watched this movie who didn’t feel a little disappointed when he came home and sat in front of his computer ignoring the gestures? The interface was really cool, and unlike many (if not most) futuristic computer interfaces in movies, it actually looked like it could be usable.
9. Mr. Fusion back to the future cinema – I know that the people who made the trilogy included Mr. Fusion at the end of the first movie because it was fun, and then they were forced to continue with it when making parts II and III. But it raises some serious questions, like: If in the future they have a device that can create a fusion reaction powerful enough to generate (at least) 1.21 gigawatts of electricity from a few kilograms of garbage, why the hell do they still use gasoline in their cars? (We know it does, because not only does the DeLorean still use gasoline after its “floating conversion,” but we also see a Texaco station run by robots.)
8. KITT knight rider -Okay, calling this “sci-fi” is a bit of a stretch, but really, KITT was great. Speaking from my own experience, I think most of the guys who saw knight rider I wanted to be Michael Knight not so much because David Hasselhoff was so handsome or amazing, but because he could ride KITT. Of course, KITT’s AI often made him annoying, but mostly he did cool James Bond-style things, but he was even cooler than any of Bond’s cars. And William Daniels voiced him, which is also cool.
7. The sonic screwdriver doctor who – Sure, it’s a classic. God ex machinawhich is why the writers (wisely) try to keep the Doctor from using it too often. But consider that, although it is frequently used God ex machina in a TV show is a bad thing, it would be surprisingly useful to have one in real life. I, for one, would be perfectly willing to have a device that could get me out of virtually any trouble I might find myself in, no matter how boring it might be to those watching.
