SF/publishing update

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."

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.)

Down a wormhole

(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.)

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."

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

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.

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.

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.

Verne: From the Earth to the Moon

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?"

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.

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.

Mars or bust!

It's not like a human landing on Mars is imminent -- certainly not by way of NASA's planning --  but people are thinking about it.

To begin, consider (from Dvice) that:

Mars

2018 is not going to be the year that humans land on Mars. But, if millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito has his way, it could be the first year that humans visit Mars. Tito has formed a group called the Inspiration Mars Foundation, which is going to try to swing two people around Mars without stopping and then bring them back to Earth on a mission lasting 501 days. 

More at "Millionaire wants to send humans to Mars (and back) in 2018."

Looking both ways before we cross into 2014

'Tis the season of lists, look-aheads, and look-backs, from which I'll single out a few science-and-tech specific instances.

A small part of the LHC

Let's begin with Physics World. After the (by now) pro forma acknowledgement that the big science news this year was discovery of the Higgs boson, their focus is "The world of physics in 2014." And it's quite the year they foresee, everything from the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at incredible new energy levels to the billion-star-search of ESA's newly launched Gaia observatory to enhanced sensitivity in the hunt for dark matter at the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) detector. And that's only a small part of their preview. Neat stuff.

The Museum of Science Fiction

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Greg Viggiano, executive director of the hopefully soon-to-be Museum of Science Fiction. Greg's vision is to set MSF in Washington, DC, nestled among (though not as a part of) the many museums of the Smithsonian.

EMP Museum, Seattle

(Until a few weeks ago, I'd labored under the misconception that there was an SF Museum in Seattle. It turns out that science fiction is but an exhibit area within Seattle's much larger EMP Museum (formerly the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame or EMP | SFM. )

MSF's mission:

The Museum of Science Fiction will be the world’s first comprehensive science fiction museum, covering the history of the genre across the arts and providing a narrative on its relationship to the real world.

Given the popularity of SF -- as in: Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens, Battlestar Galactica, The X Files, Terminator, Firefly, Avatar ... -- the prospective audience, IMO, is huge.

Books to knock your socks off ...

I've been known to blog in this space about my own writing, but this isn't that sort of post. This is, rather, about what I read this year -- more specifically, some standout books, both fiction and non -- that I heartily recommend.

Disclaimers:

• In a couple cases I know the author, but those are the exceptions. (And those friendships are immaterial to a book being mentioned here.)
• When some acclaimed title, especially of a recent release, isn't on this list, please don't take the absence as a vote of no confidence. My to-read stack is piled many electrons deep -- as you might reasonably infer from a few of the books that I did read. 

Herewith, in no particular order ...