Two announcements of science-related festivals have turned up in my email in the last week or so: The second annual World Science Festival will be held in New York June 10-14 this year. They feature an impressive array of speakers again, including Nobel laureates (Physicists David Gross, Frank Wilczek, and William Phillips), well-known authors, distinguished… Continue reading Science Is Festive
Category: Books
Award-Winning Science Writing
The winners of the American Physical Society’s Science Writing Awards for 2008 were announced today: Ann Finkbeiner won in the Journalist category for The Jasons, her book about a secretive groups of scientists who work on classified problems for the US government. Gino Segre won in the Scientist category, for Faust in Copenhagen, about the… Continue reading Award-Winning Science Writing
What I’m Planning to Nominate for the Hugos
We are now one week out from the deadline for Hugo Nominations. I’m eligible to nominate this year, and while a couple of past requests for recommendations have failed to generate anything, I thought I’d throw up a preliminary look at my ballot in hopes of bringing in a few recommendations:
Quantum Physics for Dogs: Many Worlds, Many Treats?
On Saturday at Boskone, I gave a talk on the Many-Worlds Interpretation of QM. This was held up a bit by waiting for the projector to arrive (I was busy enough with other stuff that I didn’t notice that I hadn’t received confirmation of my request for a projector until late Thursday night, so this… Continue reading Quantum Physics for Dogs: Many Worlds, Many Treats?
Interesting Stuff at Boskone
I usually post something here about what panels look interesting when the Boskone program goes up on the web. This year’s program went up over the weekend, and I’m just now getting around to making a list of worthwhile items. This tells you what kind of week I’m having. Anyway, I looked the program over… Continue reading Interesting Stuff at Boskone
Best Physical Science Writing of 2008?
I didn’t expect the post griping about the Best American Science Writing anthology to generate as much discussion as it did. Shows what I know. In comments, “bsci” made a good suggestion: Instead of complaining about this volume, I’d love it if you and your readers made a list of the best physics writing in… Continue reading Best Physical Science Writing of 2008?
Heads Talking About Quantum History
I’m running a little behind this week, but I wouldn’t want this week’s Science Saturday bloggingheads to slip by without a mention. It’s a conversation between George Johnson and Louisa Gilder about The Age of Entanglement, which I liked quite a bit: The conversation is primarily about her book, the story it tells, and how… Continue reading Heads Talking About Quantum History
Recommended SF Reading
Locus magazine has come out with its “Recommended Reading” list of science fiction and fantasy published in 2008. There are, as always, some annoying quirks– several of the books making the list have been published only in the UK or by small presses, so I’ve never even seen them– but it’s a reasonably good consensus… Continue reading Recommended SF Reading
Denis Dutton Goes On About Art
There’s a mini media blitz underway promoting Denis Dutton’s new book The Art Instinct. He was on the Colbert Report last week, he’s reviewed in the Times, and he’s featured in this week’s Bloggingheads Science Saturday: While it’s kind of entertaining to listen to John Horgan struggling to get a word in edgewise, I’m kind… Continue reading Denis Dutton Goes On About Art
Foundation and Left Behind
In Friday’s installment of his ongoing examination of Left Behind: The Movie, Fred Clark points out some gaps in the movie-Antichrist’s plan, where it departs from the loopy prophetic cosmology of the Left Behind books. He then notes how they could’ve done better: If Team Nicolae had really done their homework, they’d have consulted with… Continue reading Foundation and Left Behind