This is an I-Hard podcast, guaranteed human.

I read science fiction, and I read a lot of it, to escape into another universe where the rules have changed and what it's like to be human and to be

alive can be a totally different experience. But I also read science fiction to be inspired

and to glimpse potential futures for humanity. In my view, science fiction authors are part

of the science and engineering enterprise. Scientists are trying to

understand the universe and engineers are trying to bend it to our needs, but science fiction

authors are part of that too. They live on the far forward edge, imagining what we might create

and thinking through what it means for living and loving and dying. At least, that's the

story. But how true is that in history? What are some examples of ideas from science fiction

that actually inspired real engineering or scientific leaps? That's the topic we're diving into

today while we're waiting for our warp ship to be

completed. Welcome to Daniel and Kelly's extraordinary universe.

Hello, I'm Kelly Wtersmith. I study parasites and space. And today we're talking about some of my favorite topics, which are technology and sci-fi.

Hi, I'm Daniel. I'm a particle physicist, and I read a lot of science fiction. You do read a lot of science fiction.

So what I want to know is what piece of technology in science fiction, if you could bring to life right now, would you want to bring to life to have in your own personal life?

Ooh, well, I have two answers to that.

One is a replicator.

I would love, like, essentially a 3D printer that could make anything. I find it really frustrating that there are things we know can exist, but we don't know how to make them, like how to arrange the atoms very easily. And so I would love a replicator. That would be amazing.

I'm having trouble following the dream there.

Like what in particular would you replicate if you could?

I mean, imagine being able to make food without having to go through this complex food chemistry

process to start from ingredients and end up at souffle, right?

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