While researching for Portals we came across books, movies, and other stuff that embodies the spirit of time fluidity and futurism. Here’s some suggested reading (and listening, and watching…)
Short Reads
- William Gibson, “The Gernsback Continuum” (1981). Available in the collection Burning Chrome. Ocean State Libraries (Text can also be found online.)
- Wikipedia entry for Charles Piazzi Smyth, particularly the “Pyramidological researches” section. For a sense of the range of schemes proposed during the debate over unified time.
- Edmund Arthur Engler, “Time-Keeping in Paris,” Popular Science Monthly, vol. 20 (1882). Online
Long Reads
- Paul J. Nahin, Time Machines: Time Travel in Physics, Metaphysics, and Science Fiction (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1999). For the nitty-gritty details of how to keep your time machine in working order. WorldCat
- I.F. Clarke, The Pattern of Expectation, 1644-2001 (New York: Basic Books, 1979). WorldCat
- Joseph J. Corn & Brian Horrigan, Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996). Ocean State Libraries
- Peter Galison, Einstein’s Clocks, Poincare’s Maps: Empires of Time (New York: W.W. Norton: 2003). PPL
- Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014). PPL
Podcasts
- Gizmodo’s Meanwhile in the Future podcast. Soundcloud, iTunes, Overcast
- Radiolab’s “Beyond Time” episode.
- On the Media’s “Digital Dark Age” episode.
Music
- Sun Ra Arkestra – The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra
- Joseph Haydn – Il Mondo della Luna
- Joe Meek – I Hear a New World
- Bjork – Biophilia
Film & Television
- Metropolis (1927), Netflix, PPL
- Tron (1982) PPL
- Primer (2004) Netflix
- Black Mirror (2011-), Netflix
- The Matrix (1999) PPL
- Children of Men (2006) Ocean State Libraries
- Pleasantville (1998) PPL
- Her (2013) PPL
- Commune (2005) Netflix
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