Learning in Science Fiction Movies
For links to an in depth PDF and a video recording scroll all the way down. Don’t panic! This talk is just for fun… And yes, there will be school violence 😉
000 Dreams of the Future
Last week we discussed the many uses of towels and their practical applications in space-travel survival. So do you know where your towel is? Good job! But now to something completely different. I’ve always been a science fiction (SF) enthusiast. Captain Future was my favourite hero as a child! In this week’s speech science fiction (SF) and my passion for higher education meet each other.
005 Legal Disclaimer 😉
In Edith I found a like-minded person. That’s why we wrote a chapter about learning in SF in a published book. I don’t believe (or hope for that matter) that all predictions will come true, but I do hope it’s food for thought. You will see 11 scenes alongside with my comments. Let us begin!
010 Attack of the Clones (USA, 2002)
In “Attack of the Clones” you’ll see all the stages from mass cloning to mass education used to build a massive clone army and thanks to growth acceleration they’ll send ten-year-olds to war.
020 The Matrix (USA, 1999)
In “Matrix” people live in a virtual world created by machines. This has its advantages for easy know-how transfer. Want to fly a helicopter? One call, some eye blinking and there you go!
030 Outlander (USA / Germany, 2008)
In “Outlander” a space traveller crashes on Earth. With no rescue in sight he has to learn the local language – with the help of a “Nuremberg Funnel” in super fast but painful 20 seconds…
040 Star Trek (USA, 2009)
Science officer Spock seems to know everything. In “Star Trek” we witness the adaptive learning environment that taught him as a student – and the mobbing he had to endure during the breaks.
050 Forbidden Planet (USA, 1956)
In this classic a rescue mission is sent to the far away planet Altair IV. They find only two survivors and the technologically highly advanced relics of a long time ago extinguished alien race – the Krill.
060 Real Steel (USA, 2011)
In “Real Steel” an out-dated robo boxer with a function for shadow boxing is being taught by a former boxer how to fight successfully. Just for fun his son shows the robot some dance moves.
070 The Amazing Spider Man (2012)
If you’re wondering about the meaning of 42, ask at the end 😛
080 WarGames (USA, 1983)
In “WarGames” an AI tries to win a thermo nuclear war which would be the end of life as we know it. In using the analogy to Tic-tac-toe a kid teaches the machine the only winning move…
090 2001: A Space Odyssey (USA, 1968)
This ground-breaking motion picture from 1968 features tablets and moreover an interview with an AI. The fear of many a technophobe – a technological singularity: machine intelligence surpassing our brain.
100 Class of 1999 (USA, 1990)
In the imaginary year 1999 violent students vandalize schools. A mad scientist modifies android soldiers to teachers and equips them with a kind of decision driven flowchart didactics.
110 Idiocracy (USA, 2006)
We’ll end with the biological side of intelligence. The assumption: Evolution simply rewards those who reproduce the most. Let us hope at least this film-maker will be proven wrong…