March 20th, 2012 
HostRocket The “cold hard reality” in the twelveth sentence, I think it means “robots are coming to reality”, and the “cold, hard” refers to robots because they’re made of steel. But my teacher insisted that “cold, hard reality” means the real “ruthless, difficult reality”. I think she’s wrong! The entire article never mentioned about how difficult and ruthless the reality is, instead, it’s all about robots!
Someone please help me with this! I will thank you very much! 
1.We all know that robots are bloodthirsty machines bent on wreaking havoc with humankind. But what about all the other menacing creatures that lurk in the shadows?
2.Movie scripts and sci-fi books are bursting at the seams with threats to the human species.
3.Other than robots, humankind is vulnerable to a host of unthinking enemies, including slimy aliens, slinking ninjas, and shambling zombies. (Also, great white sharks.)
4.Unlike our robotic creations, these monsters cannot be remote-controlled, reprogrammed, or shut down.
5.Vampires lust for our blood, werewolves stalk our children, and rogue asteroids hurtle toward our defenseless planet.
6.To survive, we must look beyond the human-killing potential of robots and see them for what they really are: humankind’s most powerful ally in the war against horror.
7.Consider this: During the coming apocalypse you may not be hit by a massive dose of gamma radiation and turned into an unstoppable mutant killing machine.
8.Instead, in the future fray you will have to rely on your wits and on your limited human physique.
9.In stark contrast to puny people, robots are highly specialized metallic superheroes capable of delivering diesel-powered scissor kicks and launching rocket fists at any time.
10.A well-balanced combination of robots, humans, and slightly robotic humans constitutes our best defense – no matter what monstrous foes those caffeine-addled Hollywood screenwriters concoct.
11.As the enemies of earth multiply, brave scientists are developing new robot allies to shield our tender human bodies from insensate evil.
12.Cold, hard reality is replacing what was once hot, throbbing science fiction.
13.To that end, leading scientists in academia and industry contributed advice on every section of this book, whether it be mobilizing a team of metal-sheathed robots against zombies, staking out a werewolf-infested forest with auto-guns, or sending an autonomous underwater vehicle to hunt a man-killing great white shark.
Chosen Answer:
I say your teacher is right about the usual meaning of that phrase, “cold, hard reality,” but in this case that cliche expression is used in a context that exploits the phrase’s familiarity and the more literal meaning of its words in depicting the contrast to the “once hot, throbbing science fiction.” I agree with you that the phrase refers to metallic beings with no hearts.
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on: 9th October 09
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cold hard reality in my opinion although it may not aplly to your question but it is kind of like the the truth even though it hurts. its reality not sugar coated
This is an interesting article and you have a very valid point. The article does not specifically mention reality as being ruthless or difficult, but we must think a little deeper. In section 12, it mentions that “Cold, hard reality is replacing what was once hot, throbbing science fiction.” This means that in todays society we are being hit with the reality that the once awesome science fiction is coming to life because of these robots. In our society it’s fun to think of scary, creepy, horrific things because, hey, they aren’t real! But suddenly this article talks about robots being real and alive in our world today, and what a scary, horrible thing that would be because now its no longer science fiction, but everyday life. It’s ruthless and difficult. It’s a cold, hard reality.
I say your teacher is right about the usual meaning of that phrase, “cold, hard reality,” but in this case that cliche expression is used in a context that exploits the phrase’s familiarity and the more literal meaning of its words in depicting the contrast to the “once hot, throbbing science fiction.” I agree with you that the phrase refers to metallic beings with no hearts.