Beacon College’s next Salon Speaker Series presentation features “The Future Happened Yesterday” by Christopher Irving on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Venetian Center. 

Advancements in astronomy such as the James Webb telescope, technological innovations such as the SpaceX program, robotic advancements like those happening at Boston Dynamics, and controversial tech products like Elon Musk’s Neuralink create a potentially growing dilemma for sci-fi literature and cinema. Maybe.  

How can we keep the fiction in science-fiction as our ability to understand the universe is growing exponentially? Christopher Irving will examine how sci-fi literature and its cinematic representations are both expanding and retreating due to our continued demystification of the universe. Where, if anywhere, does progress direct or maroon both literature and cinema of this genre? 

Tickets are free, and registration is required at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/beaconsalonseries2024-2025/event/chrisirving/.  

In its eighth year, the Beacon Salon Speaker Series at Beacon College is the school’s flagship community education outreach program. The Speaker Series brings in speakers, educators, authors and entertainers from Florida and around the country to educate, edify and entertain by exploring Florida history, waxing poetic, delving into popular culture and clenching the political third rail.  

Channeling its ethos from the Parisian salons of the Enlightenment, the Speaker Series honors the college’s sacrosanct duty as an institution of higher learning to uplift the community in which it operates, spark engagement and sow seeds of conversation and discovery.