In this TEDx talk at Harvard College, Charlie Jane Anders (Science Fiction author and co-founder of io9) discusses something near and dear to my heart – how a person manages to be optimistic about the future of mankind while, simultaneously, acknowledging that there are some catastrophes on the horizon. There are a few points where…
Simon Pegg and the case for an “open source” sci-fi universe
Simon Pegg has posted a lengthy and thoughtful essay on his web site about how “nerd culture” is infantilizing society. While making it abundantly clear that he is a proud member of that culture and loves sci-fi, Pegg makes some compelling arguments. Among them he points out that prior to “Star Wars”, popular films dealt…
Relaxation & meditation recordings for nerds
BBC 6’s Peter Serafinowicz created the Dalek Relaxation Tape for Humans (see below) as a bit of a joke, but somehow it fits. For most of my life I’ve seen the new-agey meditation and relaxation tapes and CDs. Things like “Songs up the Humpback Whale”, “Mountain Stream”, “Bird Songs”, “Thunderstorm” etc. At one point in…
Video “Lies That Sci-Fi Movies Have Taught Us About Space”
Science fiction should more properly be called ‘science based fiction’. There is no magic in science fiction. There is no ‘god’ in science fiction, no ‘light’ magic and no ‘dark’ magic. If there is a ‘dragon’ in science fiction, it likely comes from a planet where large flying reptiles evolved. The science in science fiction…
A Short Video About the Possibility of Life on Mars
The question of whether or not there is life on Mars has been with humanity for hundreds of years, particularly once we spotted what seemed like canals. A great deal of early science fiction dealt with the question of Martian life. In 2013 the questions have evolved based on greater understanding, but they still exist. Is…
Science Fiction Technologies That Exist in the Real World [video]
Technologies from science fiction that are becoming reality has been a regular topic on this site: From cybernetics and space travel to 3D printing, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Those are just a few examples though. Here, from AllTime10s are a some more technologies that have made their way from the pages of science fiction novels into the…
Why Do So Many Science Fiction Writers Fear Science?
Charlie Jane Anders at io9 asked an interesting question this week: “Why does science fiction portray extended human lifespans negatively?”. It is an interesting question in and of itself, but it almost immediately raised other questions for me. Specifically, how do science fiction writers treat other advances that may soon be within our grasp. Surprisingly,…
On Overview of Life Out There in Fact and Fiction: “Once Upon a Planet” [podcast]
The CBC’s Idea’s podcast with Paul Kennedy recently took a one hour look at our search for extraterrestrial life. The podcast features views from: Ray Jayawardhana, Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics at University of Toronto. Robert J. Sawyer, science fiction novelist. Jack Cohen, biologist, science writer and science fiction author. Gregory Benford, Professor of…
How Science, Technology, Science Fiction and Progressive Politics are All Related
If you read this blog regularly, or follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed that science, science fiction and progressive politics are regular topics. To me though these are not unrelated topics. Good science fiction is based on science. Science is what separates science fiction (Star Trek) from fantasy (Lord of the Rings). Fantasy, like religion, relies on magic.…
Bladerunner in 60 Seconds (video)
The latest masterpiece from 1A4 Studio who have previously done 60 second versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, Aliens, the Matrix and more. Now you can watch Blade Runner during the commercial break of a different show and without all that annoying dialogue and color! [via Blastr]