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

[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.