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Philip K. Dick's Paranoid Science Fiction Has Largely Become Our Everyday Reality

Philip K. Dick's Paranoid Science Fiction Has Largely Become Our Everyday Reality

Let's start with a story. One day Dick came home to find that his house had been burglarized.

Philip K. Dick's Paranoid Science Fiction Has Largely Become Our Everyday Reality

Someone had ransacked his house and blown up his safe, containing a bunch of writing and documents.

Someone had ransacked his house and blown up his safe, containing a bunch of writing and documents.

Dick wrote extensively about the government, conspiracy, and abuses of technology. It had all been fiction, of course, but the incident didn't mesh well with his paranoia — was he getting "too close" to something true?

Dick wrote extensively about the government, conspiracy, and abuses of technology. It had all been fiction, of course, but the incident didn

This incident establishes the mindset that would come to govern Dick's work — What is real? What is fake? How do we know the difference?

This incident establishes the mindset that would come to govern Dick

Dick tackled the real vs. fake question head-on with his book Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Dick tackled the real vs. fake question head-on with his book Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Even if you haven't heard of the book you probably know it from the big screen, as the canonized sci-fi film Blade Runner.

Even if you haven

In the movie, Rick Deckard is responsible for dismantling (read: killing) human-like androids called replicants.

In the movie, Rick Deckard is responsible for dismantling (read: killing) human-like androids called replicants.

By administering "empathy tests," Deckard can determine if someone is a flesh-and-blood human or a replicant. The replicants are completely indistinguishable from humans save for their inability to empathize.

By administering "empathy tests," Deckard can determine if someone is a flesh-and-blood human or a replicant. The replicants are completely indistinguishable from humans save for their inability to empathize.

There's a famous idea in robotics called the "uncanny valley" — the more human-like you make a robot, the more appealing it becomes. Once it gets "too human," it's repulsive. But once you push past that point where the robot is indistinguishable from real people, it becomes appealing again.

There

That's why this robot is horrifying...

That

...and why this one is fine.

...and why this one is fine.

Pulling together all kinds of discipline from the medical and scientific fields, people are already at work to make — well — people.

Pulling together all kinds of discipline from the medical and scientific fields, people are already at work to make — well — people.

Android builder David Hanson, left, shows off his Philip K. Dick android.

Android builder David Hanson, left, shows off his Philip K. Dick android.

Now let's ask another Philip K. Dickian question — how can you know if you are the real you?

Now let

Dick's short story on the topic, "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," became the classic film Total Recall. Main character Douglas Quail can't tell if he's a regular person pretending to be a secret agent, or a secret agent pretending to be a regular person.

Dick

Modern neuroscience has discovered a molecule in the brain that's related to storing long-term memories.

Modern neuroscience has discovered a molecule in the brain that

Manipulate these molecules and — the theory is — you manipulate the memories. On a long enough timeline, we may very well be able to change or control memories.

Manipulate these molecules and — the theory is — you manipulate the memories. On a long enough timeline, we may very well be able to change or control memories.

Neuroscientist Andre Fenton says that the chemical processes taking place in your brain when remembering something are nearly identical to the processes when you're actually having said experience — looked at in a certain way, your memories make reality.

Neuroscientist Andre Fenton says that the chemical processes taking place in your brain when remembering something are nearly identical to the processes when you

Dick is also slightly credited with coming up with virtual reality. The Empathy Box, a fictional device from "Androids," plunges characters into a fake world that seems utterly real.

Dick is also slightly credited with coming up with virtual reality. The Empathy Box, a fictional device from "Androids," plunges characters into a fake world that seems utterly real.

Surely a farfetched idea when he published the book in the 1960s, but VR is now the basis of an entire industry.

Surely a farfetched idea when he published the book in the 1960s, but VR is now the basis of an entire industry.

Thomas DiFanti works at StarCAVE, an impressive piece of imaging technology that makes use of virtual reality technology.

Thomas DiFanti works at StarCAVE, an impressive piece of imaging technology that makes use of virtual reality technology.

Inside the StarCAVE, every surface is rear projected, making it appear as though you are inside a 3D structure. Scientists use it for a number of purposes, such as studying the quirky shapes of proteins.

Inside the StarCAVE, every surface is rear projected, making it appear as though you are inside a 3D structure. Scientists use it for a number of purposes, such as studying the quirky shapes of proteins.

In Dick's story Minority Report, psychic mutants can find murders before they happen.

In Dick

Then they dispatch police to make arrests on a crime scene before the crime takes place. The big twist occurs when Chief John Anderton is sent to arrest HIMSELF!

Then they dispatch police to make arrests on a crime scene before the crime takes place. The big twist occurs when Chief John Anderton is sent to arrest HIMSELF!

The story raises all kinds questions about surveillance and the law that are being asked today.

The story raises all kinds questions about surveillance and the law that are being asked today.

While we certainly don't have the psychic "precogs" from Dick's story at our disposal, law enforcement across the country make use of statistical and mathematical models to predict when and where crimes will take place.

While we certainly don

Some precincts chalk this up to as much as a 30% decline in crime.

Some precincts chalk this up to as much as a 30% decline in crime.

Sure, you can enjoy Dick's work purely for the sake of the story. But they also help us be more mindful of how we interact with technology, and how technology interacts with us.

Sure, you can enjoy Dick

Now see ...

Now see ...

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