World historian William McNeill argued that humans had evolved for synchronous ritual: dancing, chanting, marching in time. The anthropological data seem to support this. For example, researchers recently found that Sufis engaged in the dhikr, […]
Tag: science
Cyberpunk I: Cyberpunk as Retrofuturism
Cyberpunk and its offshoots (biopunk, solarpunk, etc.) are still our significant cultural vision of the future. And yet, it hasn’t aged particularly well. This is the vid-phone from Blade Runner (1980), which was supposed to […]
The Shape of the Universe
The model described in this article — the “Big Bounce” instead of the Big Bang — is potentially a big deal. Quanta Magazine: Big Bounce Simulations Challenge the Big Bang This new simulation is merely […]
On Misanthropy
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 […]
(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 […]
