The “Philosophy of Science” panel I moderated was surprisingly well-attended, and got some decent discussion going. Kate took notes, at least for a while, and I’ll post a link if she writes it up on LiveJournal. The “Knights who Say Fuck” panel was in a very remote room that was much too small to contain… Continue reading Worldcon Miscellany
Category: Pop Culture
Worldcon Talk: How to Effectively Talk About Science to Non-Scientists
My talk was Friday morning at 10am, on the title given above. This wasn’t my choice– when I volunteered to be on programming, I said some general areas that I’d be willing to talk about, and left it at that. Somebody else made up the title and description for the talk, which made it very… Continue reading Worldcon Talk: How to Effectively Talk About Science to Non-Scientists
Where I’ll Be at Worldcon
The Worldcon program has been posted, but only as a giant, confusing PDF. I was getting cross-eyed trying to figure things out, so I ended up creating my own blank grid sheets, and making notes on those. The following is a by-no-means comprehensive list of things I think look interesting enough to attend. There are… Continue reading Where I’ll Be at Worldcon
Colbert Nation Baby
We don’t have SteelyKid watching any kind of baby-oriented tv, because I’d rather be stabbed with a fork than have to listen to the Tellytubbies. We do frequently have the tv on while she’s playing in the living room, though, as we try to catch up on DVR’ed programs. This has led directly to SteelyKid… Continue reading Colbert Nation Baby
Two-Word Lyrics: Proper Name Edition
I should queue up some more PNAS posts, but I think I’m going to save a bunch of them for when we’re at Worldcon. And I do have more serious science-related stuff that I’ve marked to talk about, but it’s Friday, and everybody could use a break. So here’s a silly pop-music thing instead. As… Continue reading Two-Word Lyrics: Proper Name Edition
Philosophy of Science (Fiction)
As previously noted, I will be on programming at the upcoming Worldcon in Montreal, including moderating a panel at 10am Saturday with the following title and description: The Philosophy of Science To what extent does SF explore the meaning of science for scientists and create the ideas that our culture has of science? Panelists: Greer… Continue reading Philosophy of Science (Fiction)
Make the Hugos Better
Worldcon is less than two weeks off, which means that it’s time once again for the SF part of blogdom to explode with complaints about the quality of the nominees. There are some reasonable reactions, but it’s mostly slightly over-the-top broadsides. It’s worth emphasizing again that the source of the problem is also the solution… Continue reading Make the Hugos Better
Infinite Jest: Who’s Telling This Story?
There are a lot of things about Infinite Jest that are easier to understand than most people seem to believe. I’ve never had a problem seeing a plot in it, for example, though a bunch of people don’t see it. One thing that I’ve never been entirely sure of, though, is just who is narrating… Continue reading Infinite Jest: Who’s Telling This Story?
Neil deGrasse Tyson Owes Emmy a Cookie
I’m watching an episode of NOVA scienceNOW (eccentric capitalization makes it hip!), and Neil deGrasse Tyson is doing a segment on extrasolar planets. I’m only half listening, because I’m also trying to keep SteelyKid from trying to eat any of the furniture, but it’s quite good. All of a sudden, Emmy’s head snaps up. “Hey!”… Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson Owes Emmy a Cookie
Unscientific America: The Pluto Thing
I’ve been really surprised at the number of people writing about Unscientific America who are confused by the discussion of the Pluto incident (Mad Mike is the latest, but it’s not hard to find more). For those who haven’t read the book, the first chapter opens with a description of the public reaction to the… Continue reading Unscientific America: The Pluto Thing