As usual, John Brockman has asked a large number of prominent science types to answer a broad and general question, and posted the results to the Web. This year’s question: WHAT ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT? WHY? Many of the answers are of the form “I am optimistic that my personal research topic or political obsession… Continue reading Scientific Optimism
Cheesy Poof
Well, that was a cranky post. Not a good start for New Year’s Day, is it? To make up for that, how about a good recipe: Cheesy Poof (From Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food) Ingredients: 270 g all-purpose flour 10 g baking powder 9 g dry mustard (1.5 teaspoons) 100 g eggs… Continue reading Cheesy Poof
You Have to Be Bright to Be This Dim
Over at The Island of Doubt, James Hrynyshyn (pronounced, no doubt, just like it’s spelled) points to an article by Daniel Dennett in which he refuses to let a bad idea die: In July, 2003, I wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times entitled “The Bright Stuff”, where I drew attention to a… Continue reading You Have to Be Bright to Be This Dim
2006 Was Just This Year, You Know?
I lost a lot of weight, read a lot of books, taught a lot of classes, did a bit of research, and oh, yeah, I got tenure. I think that last outweighs the miserable stomach problems by, oh, quite a bit. And now, that’s officially last year, at least for those using the Western calendar… Continue reading 2006 Was Just This Year, You Know?
A. Lee Martinez, Gil’s All Fright Diner [Library of Babel]
Having booklogged two heavy and confusing books already today, let’s throw in something light. A. Lee Martinez’s debut novel Gil’s All Fright Diner is a comic fantasy featuring a couple of redneck-y guys named Duke and Earl, who stop by a diner in rural Texas for a quick bite to eat. Of course, Duke is… Continue reading A. Lee Martinez, Gil’s All Fright Diner [Library of Babel]
Hal Duncan, Vellum [Library of Babel]
Having finally posted about Gaudeamus, I might as well get the other great “WTF” book in the stack out of the way. Hal Duncan’s Vellum has been described as “cubist fantasy,” and while I’m not quite sure what that means, it’s probably as good a description as any. Vellum takes place in 2017, and also… Continue reading Hal Duncan, Vellum [Library of Babel]
John Barnes, Gaudeamus [Library of Babel]
In some ways, John Barnes’s metafictional novel Gaudeamus is the proximate cause of the huge backlog in my book logging. I was more-or-less caught up at one point, but then stalled on this book, unable to think of what to say about it. I’m still not entirely clear on it, but I’m just going to… Continue reading John Barnes, Gaudeamus [Library of Babel]
Certain Principles
Matt Yglesias nails it when talking about faux-outrage over people complaining about the execution of Saddam Hussein: Do these guys not understand the concept of principles? The point of the belief that all people are entitled to fair trials before receiving criminal sentences is that all people are entitled to fair trials. The point of… Continue reading Certain Principles
2006 in Astronomy Pictures
I’ve got to be close to the last person on the Internet to link to this, but in the unlikely event that you haven’t already seen it, Phil Plait presents the best astronomy pictures of 2006. My personal favorite of his images is probably this one: We haven’t sent all that many probes to Mars,… Continue reading 2006 in Astronomy Pictures
John C. Wright, The War of the Dreaming [Library of Babel]
I’m very angry with David G. Hartwell. Hartwell, for those who don’t know his name, is a very distinguished editor of science fiction, with a long list of anthologies and scholarly essays to his credit, not to mention fabulous taste in clothes. He’s also an editor for Tor Books, where he appears to be the… Continue reading John C. Wright, The War of the Dreaming [Library of Babel]