On a lighter note

[jeriendhal]

I'm re-rereading RAH's Space Cadet, and while most of it's science beyond orbital mechanics has been disproven, I just realized it managed to get one thing right that didn't exist yet when I first read it in the early 80's.

Namely, it starts with Matt standing in line and chatting with his dad on his cell phone (not called as such obviously), with his soon-to-be-friend Tex avoiding talking to his parents by conviently packing it into his suitcase. RAH doesn't go into much more detail beyond noting Matt leaving his phone behind since in orbit it would be beyond a cell tower radio relay station, but what would have been a sci-fi wonder when it was originally published wouldn't be recognized by a new reader nowadays as particularly notable.

Not bad for 1948.

Comments

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I like that one. Thought the politics in it provide some perspective on why Heinlein was surprised by the blowup over Starship Troopers. Space Cadet's government is a lot scarier to me.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

The politics of nuclear weapons was still pretty much in flux at the time the book was written (if not published), the Soviets hadn't even detonated their first atomic bomb yet. I suppose it would have seemed possible back then to keep the genie in the bttle so to speak and turn the nukes over to a theoretically benevolent United Nations sponsored organization.

As I recall

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Someone in rasfw pointed out that the reason Matt hides his phone rather than turning it off is because when the book was written, The Phone Company did not provide for the ability to turn off a phone. You could opt not to have one but if you did have one, the bell would be active at all times (and since phones were wired into the walls, you could not unplug them). As I further seem to recall, Heinlein wanted a phone he could turn off but TPC was very firm about not allowing that. I *think* the compromise was being allowed to have a phone in the garage that was on all the time and one in the house that wasn't.

Re: As I recall

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Plausible, and it would fit Tex's apprehensions, but that would be hell on battery power in pre-lithium days.

[the-blue-fenix.livejournal.com]

Similarly, "Between Planets" begins with the young hero taking a 'cell' phone call while riding his horse at a youth camp. Wildly SFnal at the time, invisibly normal to kids today. (I don't remember how I took the matter when I first read the two books, 1978-ish.)

[estokien.livejournal.com]

Admittedly, not the biggest stretch in the world, considering that you already have telephones and radios. Didn't they even have those crank operated two-way radios in the military then? Wouldn't be surprised if there weren't at least speculative articles about personal portable phones back then in popular science or something. Still as you say, something future tech back then, that is old technology now.

[allah-sulu.livejournal.com]

I like reading old sci-fi; and it's fun to see which things came true and which things (massive vacuum tubes, people still using slide rules) are incredibly dated.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Matt's teaching advisor actually notes that Matt already knows how to use a slide rule and differential calculus table. And later when he's out in space the captain of his ship declines to make a maneuver to avoid "cutting a cam" for their ship's presumably mechanical guidance computer.

[allah-sulu.livejournal.com]

Slide rules are common in Heinlein's older stuff; I just reread Have Space Suit, Will Travel recently, and the protagonist's father thinks that anyone unable to operate one is not completely human, and doesn't deserve the ability to vote.