Category: SF

Twilight of the Elites and the Rise of the Culture

In which I use my double license as a physicist and a science fiction fan to engage in some half-assed futurism spinning off Chris Hayes’s much-discussed book. ————- I don’t read a lot of political books, because I tend to find them frustrating. They’re usually surprisingly ephemeral, trying to spin Deep Meaning out of a… Continue reading Twilight of the Elites and the Rise of the Culture

Gandalf Was Wrong: Spectroscopy and The Lord of the Rings

It’s a banner day for science explainer things I wrote, as a piece I wrote has just gone live at Tor.com: Why Gandalf Is Wrong Even as a kid, reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings at the golden age of twelve or so, Gandalf’s response to Saruman never sat well with… Continue reading Gandalf Was Wrong: Spectroscopy and The Lord of the Rings

Genre Fiction and the Real Problem With Philosophy of Science

There’s been a bunch of discussion recently about philosophy of science and whether it adds anything to science. Most of this was prompted by Lawrence Krauss’s decision to become the Nth case study for “Why authors should never respond directly to bad reviews,” with some snide comments in an interview in response to a negative… Continue reading Genre Fiction and the Real Problem With Philosophy of Science

Recent Genre Fiction Reading: Schroeder, Buckell, Cole

I’ve gotten out of the habit of booklogging recently, which is sort of a shame, because it means I’ve also gone back to the problem that led Kate and me to start booklogs in the first place: people ask what I’ve been reading recently, and I can’t remember… As a sort of corrective to this,… Continue reading Recent Genre Fiction Reading: Schroeder, Buckell, Cole

How to Wreck Your Career With Social Media

This was the title of the group discussion I led at Boskone on Saturday, and since it’s probably relevant to the interests of people reading this blog, I figure it’s worth posting a quick recap. Of course, between the unfamiliar format and Friday’s travel with the Incredible Screaming Pip, I didn’t actually make any notes… Continue reading How to Wreck Your Career With Social Media

Reflecting the Times?

I’m at Boskone this weekend, and this morning went to a fairly frustrating panel on “SF/F/H As a Mirror on Society,” described thusly: It’s simplistic to say genre fiction maps to current politics. Vampires are bankers, zombies are the revengeful victimized classes, and werewolves are the media in feeding frenzy? C’mon. But did we write… Continue reading Reflecting the Times?

Upcoming Appearances: Boskone

I’ve been falling down a little in the area of shameless self-promotion, but I will be at Boskone this coming weekend, where I’ll be doing three program items: Reading: Chad Orzel (Reading), Fri 19:30 – 20:00 This will be a section from the forthcoming book, probably involving Emmy and particle physics. Or possibly William Butler… Continue reading Upcoming Appearances: Boskone

Random Note That Wouldn’t Bother Normal People

In a book that I read recently (either The Cloud Roads or The Serpent Sea— I finished the first and immediately started the second), as some characters are traveling from one place to another, there’s a passing mention that they weren’t able to hunt at night because the moon wasn’t out and it was too… Continue reading Random Note That Wouldn’t Bother Normal People