What does the future look like? We essentially rely on science fiction thrillers to give us a taste of what lies ahead for humanity: Avatar; Iron Man; I, Robot; Surrogates; Star Wars; and I am Legend. But these films only give us part of the picture both in terms of the science and the social implications. They also never explain how we’ll get from here to there, making the future tantalizing but also implausible.Big Think

Way back when, during the final decades of the last century, if a woman had a hard time conceiving, she saved her dollars by the tens of thousands and passed them over to a clinic specializing in assisted reproductive technology. (New York Times)

We all complain about our ambivalence with modern technology. I’ve think I’ve given myself acquired attention deficit disorder by staying connected all the time. But it’s hard to scale back without giving up many of my relationships (not to mention my job). “You can easily find yourself sucked into the vortex of spending hours a day starting at a computer screen,” says Jonathan Mostow, the director of the film Surrogates, which opens tomorrow. (Scientific American Blog)

IT is a rare treat when parting with money for a mainstream movie buys real food for thought. But Hollywood hoopla and high-profile castings hide the kernel of real, human issues in My Sister’s Keeper. The movie, which opened in cinemas across the nation this week, prompts a discussion that ethicists say society must have continually if it is to keep its laws related to embryo selection thoughtful and its moral barometer calibrated. (Courier-Mail)