Today’s links You were promised a jetpack by liars: AIs and self-driving cars are the new jetpacks. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. You were promised a jetpack by liars (permalink) As a science fiction writer, I find it weird that some sf tropes – like space colonization – have become culture-war touchstones. You know, that whole “we were promised jetpacks” thing. I confess, I never looked too hard at the practicalities of jetpacks, because they are so obviously either used as a visual shorthand (as in the Jetsons) or as a metaphor. Even a brief moment’s serious consideration should make it clear why we wouldn’t want the distracted, stoned, drunk, suicidal, homicidal maniacs who pilot their two-ton killbots through our residential streets at 75mph to be flying over our heads with a reservoir of high explosives strapped to their backs. Jetpacks can make for interesting sf eyeball kicks or literary symbols, but I don’t actually want to live in a world of jetpacks. I just want to read about them, and, of course, write about them: https://reactormag.com/chicken-little/ I had blithely assumed that this was the principle reason we never got the jetpacks we were “promised.” I mean, there kind of was a promise, right? I grew…Pluralistic: You were promised a jetpack by liars (17 May 2024)