My buddy the engineer clings to the nobility of man, presumably because we invented mathematics. He accuses me of misanthropy. But I am not a misanthrope. A misanthrope hates mankind, which I do not. Neither […]
Tag: science
(Curiosity) The Planck length as a “pixel” of our universe
One of the chief characteristics of simulations is low information density compared to the phenomenon being simulated. Even very complex simulations with relatively high information density will still fall short of reality — in the […]
(Fiction) Cleaning Agent Blues
Nio adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulder as she paced around the bus stop, stepping carefully over an icy sidewalk pockmarked in frozen footprints, like the fossil of a prehistoric riverbed. It was […]
(Curiosity) The Science Fiction of ‘Hold My Beer’
As my beta readers work through the manuscript of Part 2 of FEAST OF SHADOWS and my editors does what she can ahead of their feedback, my brain continues to wrestle with the project I’ve […]
(Curiosity) A 16th Century Political Meme
16th century anti-papal political meme by Lucas Cranach the Elder: German peasants farting at the pope (1545). The whole fake news phenomenon is big and complicated and covers everything from the advent of social media, […]
(Art) The Hyper-Real Dream Girl
Look closely at the cover image. Now this one: And finally this one: Georgian artist Irakli Nadar makes hyper-real digital portraits from photographs of models and celebrities. “Hyperrealism” is a genre of art distinguished by […]
(Art) The Abstract Science Fiction of Karl Sisson
As a boy, I never understood why little green men would be attracted to human females (as in Mars Attacks!), especially where the reverse was not true. I was older before I realized these stories […]
(Curiosity) Against Popular Science
RC Lewontin’s short collection of essays “Biology as Ideology” was formative for me. As you might expect of a nearly 30-year-old book, parts of it have not aged well. His rant against the Human Genome […]
(Curiosity) Reading With a Tin Foil Hat
Those who compulsively hate on what’s popular never think that’s what they’re doing. Like the paranoiac who believes his tin foil hat is all that saves him from the government machine, these people legitimately confuse […]
(Feature) Why I Tattooed Science & Magic On My Arm
“But what does it mean?” Of course you know that’s what my folks said. But they listened. They’re always good like that. Some of you will recognize the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which I’ve had […]
