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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Hear, Hear to  Peter Mikes
Message-ID: <591@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Aug-85 18:44:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: mmintl.591
Posted: Mon Aug 12 18:44:29 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Aug-85 20:37:07 EDT
References: <466@sri-arpa.ARPA> <161@prometheus.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 21

In article <161@prometheus.UUCP> pmk@prometheus.UUCP (Paul M Koloc) writes:
>  HOWEVER, [the laser] was ENVISIONED long before it was invented.
>Take Flash Gordon movies and their use of the laser-like "death ray!".

It is easy to imagine a death ray.  The idea has undoubtably occurred
independently to many people.  There are many possible inventions which
could match this idea: lasers, particle beams, flamethrowers, etc.
This is about as much of a coincidence as the fact that you and my
uncle are both named Paul.

>ANOTHER example of general precognition (telepathy with the future?)
>would be the Dick Tracy wrist televideo "watch".

This is even less of a coincidence.  All you need to know to predict
the two-way wrist television is that eventually, electronic components
will get small enough to build one.  This was not obvious at the time,
but it was certainly plausible.

As I remember it, Dick Tracy also had vehicles shaped like flying saucers,
which were used to visit the moon, where the dwellers were humanoids
with antennae.