Punky Futures
No Backup, But Restore
The Generative Area: A Mind for Imagination
Reliving It Up
The Future Wasn't Meant to Be
100
Who coined the term "futurism"?
Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
100
What are the two other names for chiptune music?
Chip music, 8-bit music
100
What is the phenomenon of seeing faces in objects called?
Pareidolia
100
Who is this guy and why is he pushing a giant rock?
Sisyphus, punishment from the Greek gods
100
The song “To the Unknown Man” by Vangelis is inspired by what?
Tao philosophy of the cyclical nature of the universe
200
This image is from the Ghibli film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Which pro-nature "aesthetic/movement" does this movie fall under?
Solarpunk
200
What was the song deleted from the Mulan movie called? What was it about?
Written in Stone - how Mulan's future has been "written in stone", but she still feels a duty to disobey her parents and enlist
200
What's REM sleep?
Rapid eye movement sleep: rapid eye movements, increased brain activity, and vivid dreaming, occurs in 90 minute cycles
200
Compare Diyu vs. Jigoku/Naraka.
Diyu: various levels depending on severity of sin; purpose is to punish and prepare spirits for reincarnation. Chinese mythological hell.
Naraka: people are "born" into Naraka after spending their lives accumulating karma over a lifespan (not sent to X level), are punished there until karma wears off (temporary stay), then reincarnated into higher “levels” of “the world”. Buddhist mythological hell.
200
Why are hydrogen-powered vehicles unpopular despite being more efficient and environmentally friendly than alternatives?
Hydrogen in fuel form is hard to come by and a pain to produce, risk of hydrogen leaks, lack of hydrogen infrastructure
300
What is the premise of the story The Ones Who Stay and Fight by N. K. Jemison?
Set in utopian city called Um-Helat -> citizens see and are horrified by our world (depicted as dystopian hell) -> some citizens see start underground info gathering to learn more about it -> someone is exposed for spreading these ideas, so they're killed -> suggests utopias aren't really utopias
300
How does the rhythm game "Tap Tap Revenge" work?
Tap colored balls when they reach the end of your screen, once you hit a certain number of correct hits, activates "Revenge" mode. Single player + multiplayer mode
300
Describe the role of salons in the 17th and 18th century.
Philosophers, authors, musicians, poets etc gathered together to share knowledge; often hosted by wealthy women; the only place women could get educated in the male-dominated world => helped lay foundation for civil rights movement!
300
Describe the Zamaa-style and Akuyaku Reijo subgenres.
Zamaa-style: main character is treated poorly, then karma gets the perpetrators "serves you right"
Akuyaku Reijo: characters with major character flaws that make them relatable, as opposed to "Mary Sue" characters
300
Describe what "maglev" means, and how it would work. What are the pros and cons?
Magnetic levitation - trains floats with electromagnets = no friction, super fast, super quiet, but very expensive and energy consuming
400
In the song "Old Man Atom" by Sons of the Pioneers, all but four of the words in the song are spoken. What are the four words that are sung, and what is the significance of those words?
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini - all places where nuclear weapons were either tested or used
400
Sing/speak the beginning lyrics of "A TV Show Called Earth" by Philip Labes.
What if aliens are real, and they live a trillion years
And they've watched every single one of us since birth
What if aliens exist, as an endless consciousness
And for fun they watch a TV show called Earth
400
There are 8 traits AI needs to master before it can become AGI. List at least 5 of them.
Visual perception
Audio perception
Fine motor skills
Natural language processing
Problem solving
Navigation
Creativity
Social and emotional engagement
400
You foolishly pay an artist $50,000 to draw something for your art gallery. He takes the money and runs. This is similar to which famous historical figure?
Qin Shi Huang (first emperor of China) very scared of death, killed people who mentioned him dying, fell for a scam artist called Xu Fu who said there was an island that had the “the elixir of life”. Qin Shi Huang dies eventually, duh
400
Where is nuclear propulsion used today?
Typically for military - naval vessels like submarines and aircraft carriers; space exploration for long-duration missions; some civilian use in icebreakers
500
Summarize the key points of Filipo Tommaso Marinetti's "The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism", and name at least 3 of the key points of his manifesto.
Article opens with a vivid narrative of the future: gruesome, grotesque, “beasts” and “corpses” surrounded by death but thrilling regardless. A strong declaration for the movement of futurism. Very pro-war, pro-danger, pro-future, anti-art/museum/literature, anti-women.
11 pt manifesto:
Sing the love of danger
Courage and revolt will be essential
Literature should be aggressive and describe feverish insomnia and action all the time
Speed is the new beauty
A man at the wheel is revered
A poet must describe himself with a lot of ego
All beauty is in struggle, and poetry must reflect this
We live in the now, we should not look back on yesterday
War will be glorified as the only way to clean the world, and women will be scorned
Museums, libraries and academies will be destroyed
People will be excited for work, pleasure and riot, and a picture of a very industrial and futuristic world is painted
500
An article explaining the history of chiptune music mentions four video game music composers at the end, and asks them to give their insights on the future of video game music. List all four.
Inon Zur (Dragon Age, Syberia, Fallout); Darren Korb (Hades, Bastion, Pyre); Chase Bethea (Aground, Aztec Ride); Jacob Foxe (Verdancy Vale)
500
1) List the title and author of this poem, and explain its premise. 2) Read the following excerpt (I recommend having someone who knows Chinese pinyin do this).
Shíshì shīshì Shī Shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī.
Shì shíshí shì shì shì shī.
Shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì.
Shì shí, shì Shī Shì shì shì.
"Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den" (施氏食獅史) by Yuen Ren Chao, or the shi shi shi poem or Shī shì shí shī shǐ.
It's about a poet who lived in a stone den who wanted to eat lions, went to the market for lions, killed them, but then the corpses turned to stone lion corpses
500
Define EACH of these technologies: cryonics, biomechatronics, senolytics, stem-cell therapy, and regenerative medicine.
Cryonics: freezing bodies to reawaken later
Biomechatronics: robotics + biology = cyborg
Senolytics: killing select cells to improve health
Stem-cell therapy: using stem cells to treat disease
Regenerative medicine: regenerating and replacing damaged cells + tissues
500
What did Francis Fukuyama argue in "The End of History and the Last of Man"? What does he define as the 3 key features of a liberal democratic state?
"His argument was that the unfolding of history had revealed – albeit in fits and starts – the ideal form of political organization: liberal democratic states tied to market economies."
Liberal democratic state requires three things. 1) democratic (election outcomes result in the implementation of the will of the citizenry) 2) state possesses sufficient strength and authority to enforce its laws and administer services 3) The state – and its highest representatives – are constrained by law