Despite the ongoing popularity of TV and movie science fiction (no matter how atrocious the science), SF literature remains marginalized. Some of that marginalization, I'm of the opinion, stems directly from a general perception of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as "too hard." But is it possible genre authors bring marginalization upon ourselves? From Locus Online, see Kameron Hurley's thoughtful essay, "Making Excuses for Science Fiction."
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Look deep into my eyes (er, deep into space)
As a technologist and an SF author, I am -- no surprise -- enthusiastic about space exploration. So although American astronauts remain dependent on ever-pricier Russian transportation to the ISS, and will remain dependent for several more years, it's good to see that "These 5 far-out space projects are making science fiction a reality: From 3D food printing to warp drive." (The three projects not named in the subtitle, just to afford you a sneak peek, are: growing plants on the Moon, private mining of asteroids perhaps beginning as early as 2016, and Tokyo-based Shimizu Corporation wanting to build a giant solar-power plant across the lunar surface.)
(Many SF authors have toyed with FTL travel [sometimes aka warp drive], asteroid mining, and food synthesizers, so I claim no ground-breaking credit for my own fictional dabbling in those areas. I will, however, point out that paving the Moon with solar cells was a key plot element of my 2005 novel Moonstruck.)
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| Down a wormhole |
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Year's first potpourri
From the cornucopia of recent science & tech articles that is my bookmark file ...
Imagine a visit to a doctor where a simple blood test provides the key to your genetic code, and with that information, the doctor can base your care precisely on the treatment that will work best for you. No longer will it be one medicine, dosage, or treatment plan fits all—each patient will get the care that best fits his or her genetic makeup.
It's always satisfying to see one's alma mater do important things. Inexpensive gene sequencing from a simple blood test certainly qualifies. See (from the University of Illinois Department of Engineering) "Novel DNA sensing technology could revolutionize modern medicine."
A major gap in global climate modeling is the omission of clouds. That's a big deal. Some cloud types trap heat in the lower atmosphere, reinforcing the greenhouse effect. Other cloud types reflect sunlight and keep it from ever entering the lower atmosphere, for a cooling effect. So what's the net worldwide influence of clouds? Unknown.
Imagine a visit to a doctor where a simple blood test provides the key to your genetic code, and with that information, the doctor can base your care precisely on the treatment that will work best for you. No longer will it be one medicine, dosage, or treatment plan fits all—each patient will get the care that best fits his or her genetic makeup.
Novel
DNA sensing technology could revolutionize modern medicine - See more
at:
http://engineering.illinois.edu/news/article/2013-10-21-novel-dna-sensing-technology-could-revolutionize-modern-medicine?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News+from+Engineering+at+Illinois+-+December+2013&utm_content=News+from+Engineering+at+Illinois+-+December+2013+CID_933635bac16b888fa97fa3859ceaa927&utm_source=CampaignMonitor&utm_term=Novel%20DNA%20sensing%20technology%20could%20revolutionize%20modern%20medicine#sthash.LutBCEvH.dpuf
Imagine
a visit to a doctor where a simple blood test provides the key to your
genetic code, and with that information, the doctor can base your care
precisely on the treatment that will work best for you. No longer will
it be one medicine, dosage, or treatment plan fits all—each patient will
get the care that best fits his or her genetic makeup. - See more at:
http://engineering.illinois.edu/news/article/2013-10-21-novel-dna-sensing-technology-could-revolutionize-modern-medicine?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News+from+Engineering+at+Illinois+-+December+2013&utm_content=News+from+Engineering+at+Illinois+-+December+2013+CID_933635bac16b888fa97fa3859ceaa927&utm_source=CampaignMonitor&utm_term=Novel%20DNA%20sensing%20technology%20could%20revolutionize%20modern%20medicine#sthash.z8RxlQKR.dpuf
Sticking with biology, but looking way back, consider (from Fox News) "Evidence of 3.5-billion-year-old bacterial ecosystems may be earliest sign of life on Earth." That's about 100 million years earlier than past evidence of terrestrial life.
Imagine
a visit to a doctor where a simple blood test provides the key to your
genetic code, and with that information, the doctor can base your care
precisely on the treatment that will work best for you. No longer will
it be one medicine, dosage, or treatment plan fits all—each patient will
get the care that best fits his or her genetic makeup. - See more at:
http://engineering.illinois.edu/news/article/2013-10-21-novel-dna-sensing-technology-could-revolutionize-modern-medicine?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=News+from+Engineering+at+Illinois+-+December+2013&utm_content=News+from+Engineering+at+Illinois+-+December+2013+CID_933635bac16b888fa97fa3859ceaa927&utm_source=CampaignMonitor&utm_term=Novel%20DNA%20sensing%20technology%20could%20revolutionize%20modern%20medicine#sthash.z8RxlQKR.dpuf
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
SFnal back story
I've encountered many debates about the beginnings of SF. Perhaps you have, too.
Some feel SF's roots are to be found in the novels of Verne and H. G. Wells. Others suggest we look back a bit further, to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein. Moving in a different direction, yet others declare SF as a genre began more recently, in the era of the pulp magazines, characterizing earlier works with elements of SF as pre-genre novels written for a mainstream audience.
And then (from The Telegraph), there's an assertion of an SF novel from the ancient world. See: "Is this the first ever sci-fi novel?"
True History by Lucian of Samosata is ostensibly a parody of Ancient Roman travel writing. But with characters venturing to distant realms including the moon, the sun, and strange planets and islands, it has a surprising amount in common with modern sci-fi novels and films.
The article goes on to suggest other (perhaps) early SF from centuries before the usual candidates.
Some feel SF's roots are to be found in the novels of Verne and H. G. Wells. Others suggest we look back a bit further, to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein. Moving in a different direction, yet others declare SF as a genre began more recently, in the era of the pulp magazines, characterizing earlier works with elements of SF as pre-genre novels written for a mainstream audience.
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| Verne: From the Earth to the Moon |
Interstellar warfare, travel to distant planets and alien reproduction: all
familiar elements of modern science fiction. But all of them also appear in
a little-known text written in Ancient Greek, in the second century AD.
In a talk at last week's Cambridge Festival of Ideas, senior lecturer Dr Justin Meggitt claimed that the first ever work of science fiction was in fact written by a Greek-speaking Syrian author, in Ancient Rome.
In a talk at last week's Cambridge Festival of Ideas, senior lecturer Dr Justin Meggitt claimed that the first ever work of science fiction was in fact written by a Greek-speaking Syrian author, in Ancient Rome.
True History by Lucian of Samosata is ostensibly a parody of Ancient Roman travel writing. But with characters venturing to distant realms including the moon, the sun, and strange planets and islands, it has a surprising amount in common with modern sci-fi novels and films.
The article goes on to suggest other (perhaps) early SF from centuries before the usual candidates.
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