Tuesday, May 25, 2010
religion, science fiction, real science
What does me smile is the hidden meaning while using the word "Babel" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2011:1-9&version=KJV) its or concept in science fiction and computer science. In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (BBC, 1981; http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/ & movie, 2005; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/), the Babel is a fish that people would put in their inner ear that would translate what others would say. In "Doctor Who" (BBC, 1963-1986 & 2005 to present; http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/ & http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/) the TARDIS (the character's space-time vehicle, practically a secondary main character with an intelligence and life of its own; http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/characters/TARDIS) can translate languages directly into the mind of those who travel in it and are its proximity. In the computer field, Babel Fish (perhaps more of a reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" than to the Tower of Babel, http://babelfish.yahoo.com/) is a translation service that has a fish as its mascot and as part of its logotype. Maybe I'm too much of a nerd mixing religion with science fiction and "real" science.
Labels:
babel fish,
bbc,
doctor who,
esperanto,
genesis 11:1-9,
language,
religion,
science,
science fiction,
tardis,
the hitchhicker's guide to the galaxy,
time and relative dimensions in space,
tower of babel,
tv