Concept: Flash Crowds

In one of Niven's Universes Flash Crowds occur when large number of people teleport into areas where news is being made at the moment, i.e. riots.

A "Flash Crowd" happens like this:  Riot begins, more rioters transport in after seeing riot begin on the news, more news reporters transport in, every johnny-come-lately wanting a view of the riot transports in, every mad religious cultist wanting exposure transports in as well as looters who are coming in to take advantage of the overwhelming crowds.  By this point, no one can transport out of the area as the transport booths are blocked by even more hawkers wanting to view the riot.

Reality: Flash Mobs

From Wikipedia:

"In modern usage, flash mob describes a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks...."

Other Parallels:

"Flash Crowds" also build up on Internet sites where the unexpected popularity and demand on the server is beyond its capabilities.  

For example, slashdot.org featured an opportunity for Fans to submit questions to Larry - in so doing linked back to this website - we had a large excess bandwidth bill for the web hosting the next month. Slashdot has been known to bury some websites permanently.

Organlegging:

Organlegging is the removal of human organs by a means of theft for resale for profit.  Larry coined the phrase in his Gil the ARM Stories.  The main character and detective of the future police force or ARM tracks down many of the "Organleggers" and their crime syndicates and brings them to justice.  Gil Hamilton's most astonishing special ability is his telepathic psychic arm - but read the stories!  The original Long ARM of Gil Hamilton collection was published in 1976.

Today the practice of selling organs for profit is becoming commonplace in the third world and increasingly these organs are being removed without the donor's consent.

Brain Implants and Tasps

In the novel "Oath of Fealty" by Larry and Jerry Pournelle, humans make use of computer circuits in their brains to help in the recall and access of information.  This news article, reports on the very first breakthrough where brain cells and chips are combined successfully. 

In "Ringworld" Nessus controls Louis and Speaker by using a Tasp on them, a device which stimulates the pleasure center of the brain.

Reality:

National Public Radio ran a story on transcranial magnetic stimulation, a way to combat depression by using electromagnets on the brain to generate current in the synapses.

NPR Tasp Story

Later in the store they describe something that reminds me of Louis Wu and his wire addiction--an electrode attached to a nerve in brain stem that when activated makes a person happy.

-- Allyn Gibson

Autodocs

OB Niven Reference - Ringworld - Autodocs feature in many Known Space stories, they are 99% reliable and this reliability has made the inhabitants of the future very nonchalant about injury or disease.

In this article, NASA is developing its own "Robo Doc" for use on the ISS and Shuttles.

Solar Sails:

OB Niven Reference - A Mote in God's Eye - The Mote's traveled to the Solar System using a Solar Sail.  Other of Niven's stories also feature this means of propulsion i.e. the Fourth Profession.

Moving Earth:

OB Niven: A World Out of Time - In AWOOT the Earth had to be moved further away from the Sun after it turned into a red giant following an interstellar war, millions of years into the future.

Space Tourists:

Many of Larry's most popular characters, Louis Wu, Beowulf Shaeffer are born space tourists.  Larry was very pleased to see that commercial tourists are finally being allowed to pay their way into space.  When the news of Dennis Tito's journey was posted to the Larry Niven list to which Larry subscribes, Larry's first response was : "Yesss!!!"

With Mark Shuttleworth being the 2nd successful space tourist, Space.com have now started their own collection of Space Tourist headlines, far many more than is practical to display here, try http://www.space.com/spacetourism/ for further reading.

• "Denim" Solar Panels to Clothe Future Buildings

OB Niven: New Scientist article on a flexible solar panel cloth that is, for all intents and purposes, identical to what Larry Niven describes as "Begley Cloth" in Destiny's Road.

• Space Research Tests the Role of Gravity in Fertilisation

OB Niven: The Integral Trees - Humans living in low gravity environments have had their physiology changed by the gravitational conditions.  During the birthing process, infants and mothers were sent to higher gravity regions of the trees.

Black Holes in the Center of Galaxies

OB Niven: A World Out of Time - In AWOOT Niven wrote about a black hole in the centre of the Milky Way. AWOOT was published '71 - way before the theory was widely accepted.

Chandra Photograph of Galactic Centre:

Asteroidal and Cometary Impacts

OB Niven:  Lucifer's Hammer.  In the story a comet approaches the earth, right up to the last moment the authorities declare that the chances of a strike are remote.  They were wrong.

Gas Rings

The Gas Torus of Voy in The Integral Trees. In The Integral Trees and the Smoke Ring, a gas torus surrounds a neutron star, all that remains of a mighty supernova.  The gas torus supports a habitable atmosphere which is home to the descendants of man.

Dark Matter

The Missing Mass - Draco Tavern Short Story