The other day the Geekdom was set all a flutter when scientists announced they had figured out how to make a light saber. Not just a replica but an actual real working light saber. Never mind that it would be an impractical weapon, with not much use. It is an icon of science fiction and just being able to have a real one would probably be at the top of more than a few parental basement dwellers lists of must haves. It is amazing really to think that scientists can figure this stuff out. Some of the things from shows when I was a kid are now common place thanks to some smart guy using all his brain power and knowledge to create which was once the dream of some potentially drug induced science fiction writer. Things like automatic doors. I remember watching Star trek and seeing them walk from room to room with the doors automatically opening and closing behind them. From what I heard, those doors had to be manually opened and closed by people who were just on the other side with a hand pump or something. Now I run into doors at the supermarket when they don’t open in time or I missed triggering the sensor. It seems that there is a good healthy relationship between Science fiction and real Science. One is the dreamer of  what can be and the other is the maker of reality. Science has to have a great grasp of how things really work in our world to be able to apply those principles to solve problems. Science fiction does not apply rules or logic, it merely says “what if”. Of course not all of what is dreamed can be real, for example I am still waiting on my transporter, but if no one ever dreamed beyond what we have today we would all probably still be living in tents in the desert.