Frankenstein: a name that has enjoyed cultural relevance for more than two centuries but has probably never been featured on babynames.com.
Whether you think it refers to the reanimated monster or know that it’s actually the name of the scientist doing the reanimating, pretty much everyone is familiar with the iconic story. And if we go back to the beginning, there’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—the novel that started it all in the early 19th century.
Published when Shelley was just 20, the novel tells an enthralling story of creation, tragedy, revenge, and so much more. But beyond the narrative it presents, Shelley’s Frankenstein breathes life into our intellectual curiosity, leading us down a rabbit hole with some fascinating stops.
Rabbit Hole Stop #1
Some critics say Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was the very first science fiction novel. For a genre in which futuristic technology or cutting-edge science typically leads the plot, most readers probably don’t associate it with works of fiction from so long ago. But what if the genre’s roots went back even further? This article dives into what could be called works of science fiction from long before even Shelley’s time.
While we’re on the subject of stories being told earlier than thought, here’s an interesting tidbit: researchers recently announced that they’d discovered the oldest known example of a story told through art, a cave painting of a hunting scene that dates to 44,000 years ago. Ever wondered where these numbers come from? Read more on how archaeologists determine the date of ancient sites and artifacts.
Rabbit Hole Stop #1
Frankenstein’s creature has become synonymous with the act of harnessing the power of the natural world to create something new, especially when that new creation has the potential to pose some kind of risk. But the novel’s impact within the scientific community goes beyond just metaphor. Some even say that today’s scientists, who are working on developing new “life” of their own—artificial intelligence—could learn a thing or two from Shelley’s novel.
While there are risks to AI, the potential benefit to our lives is undeniable. In fact, AI recently beat out expert radiologists at spotting breast cancer in mammograms.
On the less-helpful-but-infinitely-creepier front, an AI company has built a neural network that creates people “out of thin air.” You can try it yourself. Visit this website, and every time you refresh the page, you’ll see the face of someone who doesn’t exist—someone who was stitched together not by Victor Frankenstein, but by AI.
Rabbit Hole Stop #1
In 1815, Mount Tambora, a volcano in what is now Indonesia, erupted, spewing a dense dust cloud into the atmosphere that affected the weather systems of virtually the entire northern hemisphere. This cataclysmic event led to an “endless winter” in 1816.
That same year, an 18-year-old Mary Shelley spent the summer in Switzerland with a few friends. Unable to enjoy the outdoor activities they had planned, the group of friends instead had some fun by reading old ghost stories and eventually entered into a competition to see who could write the best horror story. Can you guess the winning story?
Speaking of volcanoes, research recently carried out by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) suggests that there are active volcanoes on Venus. Studying the surface of the planet is helping us better understand our own world, researchers say, as well as others we may spot far off in space—whether they serve as homes to their own alien versions of Frankenstein’s monster or not.
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