Every great invention started life as a mere thought, became a vision before turning into an obsession.

One of the most oft questions I get asked, “Is where do ideas come from?” and one of the most oft answers I give is Science Fiction.

It’s amazing what our brain’s have stored away from what we’ve read, watch and imagine and how at just the right moment of opportunity it springs these dormant thoughts back into life, ready for creation.

In our regular Nightlife on ABC Local Radio catch up Dom Knight and I chatted about the influence Science Fiction has had on our lives and asked listeners what Sci-Fi marvel they still wanted to see come true (spoiler Alert: as always Flying Car s and Hoverboards – listen to the interview to see how far away these are from everyday reality).

Here are just a few of the many sci fi “wow” gadgets we chatted about that have already come true:

• Mobile Phones – Start Trek
• Space Travel – Jules Verne 1865 From the Earth to the Moon
• Submarines – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Nautilus manned by Captain Nemo
• Helicopters – Leonardo Da Vinci, Jules Verne’s in Robur the Conqueror
• TV News – Jules Verne’s 1989 article “In the Year 2889” also wrote about skywriting and videoconferencing
• Ear Buds –Ray Bradbury (22/08/1920 – 6/6/2012) had in ear buds called “seashells” in Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
• Credit Cards – Edward Bellamy’s (26/3/1850 – 22/5/1898) book Looking Backward (1887)
• Smart watch – Dick Tracy, James Bond, Star Trek
• Cyborgs – 6 million dollar man
• Skype / Video Chat – Hugo Gernsback 12 part sci-fi novel serial called “Ralph 124 C 41+” written in 1911 for Modern Electrics magazine
• iPad / Tablet – Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• Fritz Lang’s Woman in the Moon (1929) showed us a rocket taking off to the moon, 28 years before Sputnik attempted it
• Antidepressants – Aldus Huxley Brave New World 1931
• Connected World – Arthur C Clarke “The Space Station”
• Electric Cars – John Brunner in 1969 published “Stand on Zanzibar” also mentioned a Detroit wasteland, decline in marriage replaced with short term hook ups

We had a tonne of callers and so many more we couldn’t get to and honestly it was one of the best sessions in a very long time and well worth a listen (50 minutes and 56 seconds)