Encyclopedia Asimova

An example of headline writing

2012-03-02T10:18:00.002-07:00

This article has nothing to do with Isaac Asimov per se, except that it's something he would have deplored - and I thought it was funny.

A variety of newspapers must have received a press release yesterday on the fleas that used to exist in dinosaur times - discovered in China - and whoever writes their headlines was really trying to attract readers!

It's kind of funny to see the "attention-grabbing" headlines that the papers have used for this story:

Massive Jurassic fleas fed on dinosaurs
The State Column
Massive Jurassic fleas snacked on dinosaurs, according to a study published in the journal Nature Wednesday. The massive Jurassic fleas measured approximately one inch long, researchers reveal. “That's a beast,” said Michael Engel, one of the study's ...

and

Giant Fleas Feasted on Dinosaur Blood, Scientists Say
International Business Times
By Amir Khan: Subscribe to Amir's RSS feed Giant fleas feasted on dinosaur blood in the Jurassic era, according to a new study. At nearly 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, these bloodsuckers were eight times larger than their modern-day counterparts.

and

International Business Times
Inch-long Jurassic fleas slurped feathered dinosaur blood
SlashGear
Scientists have discovered fossils of several large fleas measuring about inch-long that are thought to have fed on feathered dinosaurs back in the Jurassic period. The fossils of the giant fleas were unearthed at two separate sites in China.

What Science Fiction Books Does A Futurist Read?

2012-02-29T12:54:00.002-07:00

From NPR: What Science Fiction Books Does A Futurist Read?
One of science fiction's jobs is to give humanity a map of where we're headed. From Jules Verne to William Gibson, sci-fi authors have described their versions of the future, and how people might live in it.

Those ideas came up in a recent conversation I had with Brian David Johnson, who works for Intel as a futurist — a title that gives him one of the tech world's cooler business cards.

Johnson says that his job lies at the intersection of science fiction and science fact. With that in mind, I asked him to name some of his favorite sci-fi books. His list is below, with stock summaries of the books. If you scroll below the list, you can read what Johnson thinks of them:

6 Science Fiction Picks From A Futurist

Frankenstein, Or, the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
A young Swiss scientist's discovery of the cause of generation leads to the creation of a hideous monster.

Robot Novels/the Caves of Steel/the Naked Sun/the Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
Lije Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw, a robot, investigate the murders of a famous robotocist, an isolated inhabitant of Solaria, and Jander Panell, an advanced robot
The Sentinel

The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke
A collection of short stories by the author of Childhood's End and 2001: A Space Odyssey showcases the author's storytelling skills in such works as "The Sentinel," "Guardian Angel," "The Songs of Distant Earth," and "Breaking Strain." .

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
After being interrogated by the Department of Homeland Security after a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, Marcus is released into what is now a police state and uses his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

Halting State by Charles Stross
Sergeant Sue Smith is called in to investigate a daring Edinburgh robbery at a dot-com startup company, a crime perpetrated by a band of marauding orcs with a dragon in tow in the virtual reality land of Avalon Four, but she soon discovers that events in the virtual world could have a devastating impact on the real one, especially when an unknown enemy launches attacks on both.

Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge
In a near-future western civilization that is threatened by corruptive practices within its technologically advanced information networks, a recovered Alzheimer's victim, his military son and daughter-in-law, and his middle school-age granddaughter are caught up in a dangerous maelstrom beyond their worst imaginings. By the Hugo Award-winning author of A Deepness in the Sky.

Johnson started out with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, calling it "a foundational classic. One of the first ever, and still very, very important for today."

He also includes Isaac Asimov. "The Robot series was one of the first times where logic was brought in to science fiction, there was actually a logic system — you know: The robot would do this, or wouldn't do this."

Many readers will know that those rules centered on a central idea: that robots were forbidden from harming humans. And many of those rules were first laid out in Asimov's I, Robot.

Johnson also recommends Arthur C. Clarke's The Sentinel, a short story that is often cited as holding the seeds of his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. The story centers around the discovery of a pyramid-like relic on Earth's Moon.

Moving on to writers working today, Johnson mentions Cory Doctorow, whose Little Brother "gets into some of the messy ideas around surveillance, and around ubiquitous computational power — and what does that mean."

"Charlie Stross has some really interesting books that look at near-future technology. He wrote a book called Halting State, which is really interesting. It looks at device connectivity, especially around policing."

"I'm always a huge fan of Vernor Vinge. Vernor came up with the term 'singularity.' He always has a really good eye for this stuff," Johnson says. "He wrote a great book called Rainbows End, where he was looking about 10-15 years out, and what that future might look like."

Rainbows End, Johnson says, is "kind of a mystery novel," in which a man wakes up from a coma to find himself in a world full of new advances. To be specific, the protagonist, who had been an Alzheimer's patient, wakes up in the San Diego of 2025.

In telling his story, Vinge "has some fun - he makes fun of laptops, he makes fun of a lot of things," Johnson says. "What I love about Rainbows End is that it's a small book that really has an interesting view of technology."

Asimov Keychain

2012-02-27T13:35:00.001-07:00

From Thingiverse: Isaac Asimov keychain

Instructions
0. Using a 3D printer, print the Asimov_keychain.stl file
1. Using pliers, attach ring and chain

Alternatively:

0. download the DXF and SCAD files (SVG can be used to tweak the image and regenerate a DXF file) and save them to the same folder
1. You may optionally tweak the heights of the image layers and the ring radius in the SCAD file.
2. compile and export an STL file
3. print it and attach ring&chain

The Virus in Your Pocket: a Boom in Android Malware

2012-02-27T13:31:00.001-07:00

From the Daily Beast: The Virus in Your Pocket: a Boom in Android Malware

Android has become the top smartphone operating system and now, sure enough, here come the bad guys. As hackers target mobile devices, Google’s software is being hit hard.

The first of Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics was that a robot may not allow a human being to come to harm. But apparently that little Android smartphone in your pocket didn’t get the memo. Mobile devices are becoming a top target for hackers, and the Android platform has been hit hard, with the amount of malware soaring more than 3,000 percent just in the last seven months of 2011, according to a new study by Juniper Networks.

“The amount of malware targeting mobile smartphones and tablets has really accelerated over the last couple of years. And we’re seeing a huge uptick on the Android side,” says Dan Hoffman, the chief mobile security evangelist at Juniper, which makes—you guessed it—anti-malware software, and has a bunch of new products due to hit the market by the middle of this year.

The bad guys are simply going where the money is, Hoffman says. As the smartphone market booms, it’s creating new opportunities. The same hackers who were targeting PCs in the past now have turned their attention to mobile devices. “Hacking has been a business for years in the PC space and now it’s moving into the mobile space,” he says.

Hackers have spent the past few years figuring out how mobile operating systems like Android work, and how to break into them, and “now they’re starting to monetize the research they’ve done. They want to make money on this, and the time is now,” Hoffman says.

Not only are security researchers seeing lots more malware hitting mobile devices, but they’re also noticing that the malware is becoming more complex and sophisticated. Malware programs perform all sorts of nasty tricks ranging from stealing your private banking information to secretly sending out “premium” SMS messages that add a few bucks to your monthly bill.
Google Android

Illustration by The Daily Beast

Contributing to the problem is the fact that it is pretty easy to create a malicious application, load it onto an online store, and trick people into downloading it. “There’s such a low barrier to entry. A kid in a basement can write a malicious app. Some of the hackers are organized criminals, but some are just people doing a one-off to make a little extra cash,” Hoffman says.

Android is a favorite target because the software has become so popular. Android is created by Google but used by dozens of handset makers, including Samsung, HTC and Motorola. In the past year Android has become the most popular smartphone platform, ahead of Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry. Also, because of Google's open approach, it's relatively easy to get an app distributed in its online store.

Earlier this month, Google announced a new security service called Bouncer that scans the Android Market (Google’s store for distributing apps) looking for malware. One good sign, Google says, is that while malware is being created, less of it is actually being downloaded—perhaps because users have become more savvy at spotting suspicious apps. In a blog post, Android engineering VP Hiroshi Lockheimer said malware downloads dropped 40 percent from the first half of 2011 to the second half of the year.

With so many hackers targeting Android, you might imagine you’d be safer if using an Apple iPhone, but Hoffman doesn’t think so. He says because Apple is so secretive, it’s difficult for independent researchers to find out how much malware is being created for Apple’s iOS mobile operating system. Recently Apple has landed in hot water after it was revealed that an oversight in the company’s software was allowing third-party applications to upload private address book information without seeking permission from users.

“Hackers want to make money on this, and the time is now.”

Hoffman says he uses both Apple and Android phones, but prefers Android since “the threats are the same, but the means to mitigate the threats are sometimes better on Android than on iOS.” He adds, “I would rather know what the threats are and how to protect against them rather than not know and have to rely on someone else. With Apple it’s just blind trust.”

There are three main types of malware to look out for:

* Spyware - This is software that looks like a regular program –a weather widget, or a game—but is secretly combing through your phone and sending information to a third-party Web site.

* Premium SMS Trojans -These programs again look like ordinary apps, but once you download them they are able to send expensive SMS messages that cost a few bucks every time they connect, sort of the SMS version of making a phone call to a 900 number. The damage might be only a few bucks, small enough that you won’t even notice it on your bill if you’re not paying close attention.

* Fake Installers - Hackers will download a legitimate application from Google’s Android Market, make a clone of the app, then sell that clone for a few bucks on a different market. The developer is getting ripped off, and you’re getting defrauded—especially in cases where the legitimate application is free, but the clone costs money.

Whatever Google and independent security companies do, hackers will continue to target mobile devices. Hoffman at Juniper has some advice on how to protect yourself.

For one thing, don’t download apps from independent app markets and third-party Web sites. Stick to the ones run by Apple and Google. They’re not perfect, but they at least make an effort to filter out bad programs.

Also, when you download a new app, look closely at the permissions that the app is asking for. Most of us just click yes without even looking at the list of permissions. It’s also a good idea to go over the apps you’ve already downloaded to see what permissions they’ve been granted.

Watch out for apps that want to send SMS messages or make phone calls. Juniper found 14.7 percent of apps in the Google App Market ask permission to make outbound phone calls without the user’s knowledge. “We’re not saying that’s definitely malicious but if you’re downloading a weather widget and it wants to be able to make outbound phone calls, that’s a little disconcerting. You might want to think twice about that,” Hoffman says.

Another thing to consider is what some researchers call “security through obscurity.” Apple computers and machines running Linux have always been safer than Windows PCs, simply because there were fewer of them, so hackers didn’t bother targeting them.

By this logic you might want to consider a device running the new Windows Phone operating system, which has only a few points of market share. The software itself is really nice. And Nokia, which is Microsoft’s top partner, has recently introduced some really nice handsets.

Of course, eventually the hackers will get to those as well. Ultimately, all you can do is be careful and hope you can stay a step ahead of the bad guys.

Looking Back on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation

2012-02-24T01:28:00.001-07:00

Photos/illustrations referenced in article below can be seen at the original link.

From Barking Books review Blog: Looking Back on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation
Nerd that I am, I recently reread Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, including the sequels and prequels. Actually that’s a bit of a misnomer; I had read the Foundation series — the original three — years ago, back in my college days, but had never actually read the sequels and prequels written some 30 years later.

This isn’t going to be so much literary criticism as it is merely personal reflection, observation and pondering. After all, a serious critical treatment of the entire series would be the stuff of graduate school theses, and I don’t have the time on my hands that I once had when I started Barking Book Reviews.

Of course, the original Foundation trilogy is notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it won a one-time Hugo Award for Best All Time Series, ahead of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Remember, this was way back in 1966, long before Hollywood ever got a hold of either Tolkien or Asimov. Nevertheless this was perhaps at the height of Tolkien’s popularity here in the United States (as distinct from that of LoTR as modern media phenomenon) — this was the era of “Frodo Lives,” after all.

At the risk of beating a dead critical horse, in many ways, the original trilogy is stereotypical of when it was written: the 1950s. Women characters are virtually nonexistent. Colonization of space is seen as inevitable — sort of a Galactic Manifest Destiny, as it were, although conveniently there isn’t the nuisance of any indigenous species to subjugate and/or slaughter. Asimov, incidentally, actually finds a reason for this empty galaxy — this struck me as odd the first time I read the novels — which he elucidates near the end of the sequels.

But Asimov can’t be dismissed as so many ’50s-era science fiction writers can, those who imagined a bright, shiny future where men were men, women were women and Science — with a capital S — made everything better. While science is the hope of human civilization in the Foundation series, it is mathematics, psychology, sociology and history — all of them together comprising Hari Seldon’s psychohistory — not nuclear rocket ships and and square-jawed, crew-cut manly men.

Indeed, Asimov said that he originally conceived of the series as a science fiction version of Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. This isn’t the the pulp or even pop sci-fi of Buck Rodgers movie serials; this is the thinking person’s science fiction. The ideas here are not only the central plot conceit but also essentially the main characters, and it’s to Asimov’s credit as a writer that he pulls this off with aplomb.

It’s also to his credit that Foundation stands the test of time. It’s true that certain aspects of it seem dated, but nevertheless its central themes and ideas — the individual vs. society, cultural evolution, fate and predestination (and the moral ambivalence they engender), the inevitability of entropy and decay (and humanity’s inevitable balking at same) — seem as relevant today as they surely must have back then. Bear in mind that at that time the first Foundation novel appeared in book form (it was first serialized in Astounding Magazine in the 1940s) World War II had concluded only a few years before, the Cold War was getting into full swing and nuclear war was consequently a real possibility – not science fiction but terribly disturbing fact.
They Have Sex in the Future, Don’t They?

But then as has been widely observed, science fiction isn’t really about the future; it’s about the current time — the Future is just a literary conceit. This becomes readily apparent when we look at the sequels to the original trilogy. While the third book in the trilogy, Second Foundation appeared in 1952, the first of the sequels, Foundation’s Edge, appeared in 1982, followed by Foundation and Earth in 1986.

While Asimov remains true to the original trilogy and its ideas in these two books (yes, there are contradictions, but that’s the nature of the literary beast), two things are evident: 1) Asimov has matured as a writer; and 2) there are signs of the times, so to speak. With regard to the former, the characters here are considerably more developed, replete with moral flaws and all. The female characters (and male characters’ attitudes to them), while not perhaps paragons of feminism or even egalitarianism, are nevertheless a far cry from the female characters found (few and far in between) in his earlier work — the character of Dr. Susan Calvin perhaps being a notable exception that proves the rule.

This brings us to the latter: in these latter-day Foundation sequels there is … gasp! … sex! In Asimov’s early works, there might be the occasional nod to the fact that men and women bump uglies from time to time, but it was always an oblique reference at best – someone mentions spending the night, or someone (always a man, of course) who has been up the gravity well for a long time and is looking forward to getting back planet-side, because it’s been a long time since he’s seen a dame.

But flash forward 30 some years, and not only do we have characters having sex, but we have female characters initiating it. Sometimes the characters even talk about sex. Of course, by today’s popular fiction standards, the brief and occasional sexual interludes among Asimov’s characters seems almost quaint (not to mention a little awkward).

Still, “the idea’s the thing,” if I may paraphrase the Bard.

Isaac Asimov in a (deservedly so) kingly pose, in all his mutton-chopped glory (art by Rowena Morrill).The ending also struck me as one that Asimov would not have written in the 1950s – and indeed, didn’t – even if his muse had instructed him to write the sequels back then. I have to admit – and this isn’t a bad thing – I didn’t see it coming. The fact that the character himself is caught by surprise by his own decision that determines the future of humanity is perhaps a sly acknowledgment of this on Asimov’s part (but I’m purely speculating here).

I hesitate to engage in specifics, and thus spoilers, so I shall remain vague. Looking back on the previous books, it wasn’t a complete surprise – I’m referring to the ultimate fate of humankind, or rather the course of its development as determined at the end of Foundation’s Edge – and I think it caught me by surprise since I tend to always compartmentalize Asimov as a writer from the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction. As such, again, had he written Foundations Edge in, say, 1955, I somehow don’t think he would have brought the series to the same conclusion as he did in 1982, on the other end of the 1960s and ’70s.

Incidentally, I would add that one of my first thoughts upon finishing Edge was that the conclusion was more reminiscent of Asimov’s colleague Arthur C. Clarke than of Asimov himself. One wonders if Asimov was perhaps influenced by some of Clarke’s more idea-driven works, but then one is indulging in speculation once again. Asimov was a big fan of Clarke, however – so much so that he declared Clarke the best science fiction author of their time, while he, Asimov, was self-declared (albeit with a bit of tongue in furry cheek) the best science (as in nonfiction) writer.

I should back up a moment here; if you haven’t read the books and you’re a bit confused, I don’t blame you. I keep talking about “the end,” but Foundation’s Edge isn’t the last book. Without getting too spoilerish here, as mentioned above, the course of the future development of humans is set at the end of this next-to-last book. But of course there is still one more sequel, and you may be thinking, “Yikes! How do you write a sequel when the course of Life, the Universe and Everything has been decided?”

Well, Douglas Adams gets away with it, and Asimov does too. In Foundation and Earth, we follow along as the character who is tasked with determining the course of humanity’s development in the previous book seeks to confirm that he made the right decision. Along the way he finds the mythical origins of humanity, working his way across the galaxy – it’s worth reading Foundation and Earth just to come along for this ride — and Asimov ties in his earlier robot books and empire books here as well.

It’s to Asimov’s credit as a writer and a man of ideas that he pulls this off: writing a tolerably good sequel after the fourth book in the series determines the eventual fate not just of the Galactic Empire and Hari Seldon’s Foundation, but of all humanity to the end of its evolutionary track. Most authors of popular fiction, when faced with such a task, seemingly phone it in to milk the resulting cash cow. Oh the names I could name …
Foundation Prequels: More Substance than Milk

Isaac Asimov's Prelude to FoundationOne might think that said milking might be the case in the prequels that were written after the two sequels (and the original trilogy), but this is not the case. Rather than looking literally at the big picture once more (and sticking to a successful formula), in these two books Asimov drills down to examine the life of Hari Seldon. Up to this point we the readers have known little of Seldon, the mythical founder of the Foundation, who looms large over the original trilogy despite being, in terms of the plot, a minor (albeit very important) character who never appears again – in the flesh, at least – beyond the first part of the first novel, Foundation.

I have to say in retrospect, I found these two chronological prequels – the last two, in terms of the order in which Asimov wrote – to be perhaps the most fulfilling. Here we get the most well-developed characters of the Foundation series, and certainly some of the most interesting. While one can argue that character development and plotting were not among Asimov’s strengths as a writer, I think it is fair to say that in these later novels – this is true of the later robot novels as well – we see Asimov at his best as a writer. While he lamented a lack of ideas late in his life, he seems to nevertheless have perfected his art.

Here we see Asimov deftly weave his robot novels together with the Foundation novels as well. This tie-in first occurs at the end of Foundation and Earth, and while placed in a context that makes sense, it still comes across in terms of plotting as rather tacked on or last-minutish – as in, “I want to tie in these two different series of novels, so I’m just gonna throw this chapter on here at the end and do it.”

But in the two prequels he goes back and expands and firmly establishes this tie-in, giving it roots by elaborating in detail historical events mentioned in brief before. In fact, if one were to read the books in the proper chronological order – prequels, original trilogy, two sequels – the ending of Foundation and Earth would not appear tacked on at all. In fact a clever reader will see it coming; Asimov clearly had the ideas for the prequels in mind even as he was writing the sequels.

One more note about the prequels. I think it’s fair to say – as many others have observed – that we can draw parallels between the aging Hari Seldon and an aging Asimov. He did acknowledge that he thought of Seldon as his literary alter ego, after all. Either way, there is a ring of truth about the aging Seldon – both in his middle age and in his elderly years – as depicted by Asimov.

Perhaps having suffered a heart attack in 1977 and bypass surgery in 1983, and consequently having faced the spectre of his own death, he subsequently experienced a rather expansive spate of creativity – nothing like pain, misery and death to awaken one’s muse. In any event, the Foundation sequels and prequels, while perhaps not eclipsing the original trilogy in terms of ideas and scope, do manage to surpass them – and much of Asimov’s earlier work – in terms of artistry.

Isaac Asimov by Rowena MorrillAgain, its a credit to Isaac Asimov as an author – an incredibly prolific one in both fiction and nonfiction – that he wrote some of his best work not at the beginning of his life or even in the middle, but at the end. Perhaps his widow, Janet sums it up best with the title of the posthumous collection of her husband’s diaries and personal letters: It’s Been a Good Life.

P.S. So I set out to jot down a few thoughts on the Foundation series, and ended up with 2,100 words. D’oh!. But then I’ve been doing that since college.

P.P.S. That rad portrait of Asimov sitting on the bas-relief throne? That’s by Rowena Morrill. You’ve likely seen her work sitting on a bookshelf. Be prepared to spend some time perusing her excellent artwork, if you follow that link. And just for the heck of it, here’s another one of Asimov by Rowena.

Iowa: CHS students have eyes on robot prize

2012-02-23T10:25:00.001-07:00

From Clinton Herald: CHS students have eyes on robot prize

CLINTON — Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics were a simple, yet deceptively effective means of ensuring that humanity would be served by mechanical automatons, rather than be overtaken and enslaved.

Ted Lamb’s laws of robotics are designed to help put a racquetball in a milk crate.

Lamb, a teacher at Clinton High School, and a dedicated team of student engineering enthusiasts have spent much of the school year perfecting their robot in preparation for the First Tech challenge. This is the second year the CHS Robotics team has competed in the national challenge, and this time the participants feel that they have a contender.

“We’ve seen some of our flaws and stuff, (and) we’ve revamped this robot,” Lamb said. “We’re looking at making a strong showing at state.”

First Tech challenge robots are tasked with manipulating racquetballs and milk crates, and lifting them high in the air. After finishing fourth in a qualifying match against other high school robotics teams earlier this year, the CHS team will compete in the state competition this Friday and Saturday at the University of Iowa. If they do well enough there, the team could earn a ticket to the national competition in St. Louis this April.

But first things first. The qualifying matchup was brutal, and with state only days away, the team must stay focused.

“We’re looking at it one match at a time,” Lamb said.

The robot was built using parts supplied by First Tech. The team received three boxes of metal girders, wires and other electronics, and was tasked with assembling them into a functional robot. The robot is operated by the team via remote control, using a programmed PC game controller. The robot’s task is simple, but building it was not. The construction process involved a lot of trial and error, according to team members.

“We started with brainstorming, just laying down all the ideas,” said Michael Espey, a CHS senior. “Our first couple of designs really didn’t work at all. Then we had some trouble, actually a lot of trouble, with the gears.”

Sometimes the realization that an idea would not work would not come until after the legwork was completed.

“(It’s frustrating) when you spend six hours working on something and then you have to tear it down,” Espey said.

The team is required to keep detailed notes, and document every step in their process. This information is compiled in an “engineer’s notebook,” which will factor into the judging process.

Clinton High’s involvement with the contest began last year, when Lamb was searching for activities to occupy the time of the newly formed engineering club. Initially intended to be a fun diversion, Lamb said the contest is so time-consuming that it has become the primary focus of the club.

“It pretty much consumes the year,” Lamb said.

Today's "Isaac Asimov's Super Quiz"

2012-02-21T12:40:00.003-07:00

A variety of newspapers carry Isaac Asimov's Super Quiz - which has nothing to do with Asimov these days, of course, except in the name. But it was doubtless licensed by his family.

And how Asimov would have cringed to have seen today's Super Quiz - regarding not science in any way, shape or form but movies!

Yes, humanity can be saved with science and sanity.... and a detailed knowledge of movies. (Not that I begrudge film and tv fans their knowledge... but we are talking about a quiz posted under the Asimov imprimatur - we do not expect to see questions that have nothing to do with science.)

Subject: FILMS

(e.g., The only film to win Best Picture without being nominated in any other major category. Answer: "Grand Hotel.")

FRESHMAN LEVEL

1. What Best Picture winner had no female speaking roles?

Answer________

2. Which actor appeared in 138 films before receiving an Oscar?

Answer________

3. What 1935 film had three men nominated for Best Actor?

Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL

4. What film won the most Oscars (eight) without being named Best Picture?

Answer________

5. Barry Fitzgerald was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in this film.

Answer________

6. Name an actor who starred in Best Picture films two years in a row.

Answer________

PH.D. LEVEL

7. What film had 11 nominations for Oscars but won none?

Answer________

8. Name a Best Supporting Actor winner who committed suicide.

Answer________

9. What 1976 film won Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress?

Answer________

ANSWERS: 1. "Lawrence of Arabia." 2. John Wayne. 3. "Mutiny on the Bounty." 4. "Cabaret." 5. "Going My Way." 6. Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon or Russell Crowe. 7. "The Color Purple" or "The Turning Point." 8. George Sanders or Gig Young. 9. "Network."

SCORING:

18 points — congratulations, doctor; 15 to 17 points — honors graduate; 10 to 14 points — you're plenty smart, but no grind; 4 to 9 points — you really should hit the books harder; 1 point to 3 points — enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0 points — who reads the questions to you?

March 20, 2012: 2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Faster Than the Speed of Light

2012-02-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

From American Museum of Natural History: 2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Faster Than the Speed of Light
March 20, 2012
Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity has been tested with ever-increasing precision since its publication in 1905. One of its key predictions is that only light itself can travel at the speed of light. While the theory does not forbid particles from moving faster, such particles must be traveling backward in time.

Two recent papers by a large consortium of physicists using the world's most powerful accelerator are claiming the discovery of neutrinos moving at speeds slightly in excess of the speed of light. If confirmed, this would be one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of physics. Our understanding of space, time, mass, and energy all hang in the balance until we know who is right.

This year's Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate will pit some of the experimentalists who claim to have discovered faster-than-light neutrinos against their strongest critics, as well as other teams that are racing to replicate or disprove the extraordinary claims.

Join Director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson as he hosts and moderates six of the world’s leading voices in this great scientific debate.

Dr. David Cline, Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA
Dr. Gian Giudice, Theoretical Physics Division, CERN
Dr. Sheldon Glashow, Department of Physics, Boston University
Dr. Chris Hegarty, MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development
Dr. Laura Patrizii, Department of Physics, University of Bologna
Dr. Mike Shara, Curator of the Department of Astrophysics, AMNH

Café on One will offer refreshments for purchase before the event from 6 to 7:15 pm.

The late Dr. Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific and influential authors of our time, was a dear friend and supporter of the American Museum of Natural History. In his memory, the Hayden Planetarium is honored to host the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate-generously endowed by relatives, friends, and admirers of Isaac Asimov and his work-bringing the finest minds in the world to the Museum each year to debate pressing questions on the frontier of scientific discovery. Proceeds from ticket sales of the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate benefit the scientific and educational programs of the Hayden Planetarium.

Is Issac Asimov the Father of Science Fiction?

2012-02-14T12:28:00.002-07:00

From GoArticles: Is Issac Asimov the Father of Science Fiction? by Ashley Fredy
When it comes to science fiction, one question is often asked:Isaac-Asimov.Isaac-Asimov- does he deserve the credit as "father" of Science fiction? The answer to that question has caused many debates in the past. Some of those who answer this question in the affirmative do so for a variety of reasons, including Asimov's impressive list of works. Those who answer in the negative, often do so as a matter of historical reference.

It is hard to argue against the premise that Issac Asimov was one of the founding fathers of modern science fiction. When died at the age of 70, he had published an estimated 370 books and stories. This is impressive and no one can debate that fact. Just as impressive is his life story which begins with his birth in Petrovichi, Russia in 1920 and continued throughout his lifetime.

One of the main reasons Asimov was so well loved as writer was his background in science. He knew what he was writing about, even when his knowledge was used in works of fiction. He was educated in biochemistry, kinetics, enzymology and photochemistry to name of a few of the disciplines he knew. His work ethic also helped him to achieve such prominence. He normally wrote a full eight hours a day and would write for weeks on end in order to finish a project.

There is also another question that often causes debate: In terms of science fiction novels - the Best selling novels equals the best? This is yet another of those questions that can be answered in different ways, depending on how you look at the question.

It is no secret that Issac Asimov had many best selling novels. Some of these novels are still as loved today as they were years ago when they first came out. But the same can be said of other writers as well. For instance, Jules Vern is considered by many to be one of the pioneers of science fiction, just as Asimov is considered. In terms of best selling novels, Vern was extremely popular in his day and age and his works continue to be read and cherished even in this modern time. To answer the question of whether being best selling equates to being the best, truly depends on how a person looks at it.

One of the more unique distinctions of Asimov is that while he was born Jewish, he did not believe in God or the supernatural. He was, by all accounts, a humanist. In his mind, the forces of good and evil did not reside in heaven or hell but rather within mankind itself. This deep feeling that humans were responsible for their own plight (as well as achievements) is shown throughout much of published work. Much of his work concentrates on how humans (and other intelligent beings) act and react to problems that they themselves have created.

In addition to novels, Asimov is also known a short story writer. One of his best known short stories is "Nightfall". For those new to Asimov, this would be a great place to begin as the story delves into many of the issues that his longer works focus upon.

So, to answer the question: Isaac Asimov - does he deserve the credit as "father" of Science fiction? Well, some say yes and some say no. You decide for yourself.

Trumpet glory from Alison Balsom

2012-02-10T01:08:00.002-07:00

From IndyStar.com: Trumpet glory from Alison Balsom
“Seraph” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “burning,” and Isaac Asimov, the genial American polymath of the late 20th century, suggested that “the burning ones” might be a good translation of “seraphim” — burning with their love of God, making their spectacular debut in the Book of Isaiah and later assigned the top position among the nine orders of angels.

James MacMillan, one of the few confessedly Christian composers of major reputation today, wrote “Seraph” for Alison Balsom, and it is the title piece of her new recording on EMI Classics. The seraphic burning manifests itself in different intensities throughout the 15-minute piece, played with keen understanding and tenderness by Balsom, with Jonathan Morton as leader of the accompanying string orchestra, the Scottish Ensemble. The primary characteristic is a glowing tone, which Balsom shows consistent mastery of.

Her mastery of programming is remarkable as well. These 20th and 21st century works reflect a great wealth of personal styles. I like her deft touch in putting a straight-up arrangement of “Nobody Knows,” the black spiritual, just before Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s haunting trumpet concerto, “Nobody knows de trouble I see,” a post-war cry to consider the value of all humanity across every racial and religious barrier. There’s nothing sentimental about the appeal the doomed Zimmermann makes in this composition, however. It’s in part an oblique but unmistakable tribute to a wide spectrum of black American music and its message of universal liberation from war and oppression.

Also making a strong impression is Alexander Arutiunian’s populist warhorse, a somewhat conventional three movement Trumpet Concerto of virtuosic reach, and — at the other end of the display and exroversion spectrum, Toru Takemitsu’s unaccompanied trumpet solo, “Paths.”

If the name seems familiar to readers of this blog, Balsom soloed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in October 2008, playing concertos by Albinoni and Haydn.

Those Scots. We owe them blackmail

2012-02-08T12:03:00.001-07:00

Asimov in the 3rd para from the bottom.
From the Globe and Mail: Those Scots. We owe them blackmail
The debate continues in Britain over whether and how Scotland should seek independence. Scottish separatist leader Alex Salmond wants a referendum in late 2014 that would propose degrees of independence. British Prime Minister David Cameron says any question should be a straight yes or no on complete independence.

In The Scotsman last month, a former military man said a newly independent Scotland would need a proper defence force, without which it “could leave itself open to blackmail by a terror group, especially with regard to North Sea assets.” In the same newspaper last October, Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said Scots “should be able to take our decisions without the financial blackmail of the U.K. government.”

Ah yes, blackmail. As it happens, the language owes the word to the early Scots.

“Mail” is the Old English (and Scottish) word for rent or tax payment, from the Old Norse mal, which began life as speech or talk and later meant a contract or legal action. Tenant farmers would pay their rent in silver coins, known as white money.

In the 1500s, Highland freebooters began demanding that Lowland farmers pay them an additional fee for protection from other clans – or else. The coerced rent – Sir Walter Scott called it “a sort of protection money” in 1814 – became known as black money, or black rent. That is, blackmail.

The play on “white money” may have arisen because the rent was paid with black cattle, or because those who didn’t pay up had their goods seized and sold on the black market, or just possibly because black was associated with villainy. By the early 1800s, blackmail described any payment coerced by threats.

As for freebooter – one who gets his booty free through the use of force – it comes from the Dutch vrijbuiter (vrij, free, and buit, booty). The same Dutch phrase gave us filibuster, which in the 1800s described U.S. mercenaries who incited revolution in other countries, and by 1889 had gained the political sense of a person who obstructs the work of a legislature to achieve his ends.

But let’s nip back to the Scottish referendum. In Britain’s The Guardian on Jan. 18, Joan McAlpine said the Scottish Daily Record had criticized British Labour Leader Ed Miliband for supporting David Cameron on the referendum question. “The Record knows its readers,” she wrote, “and [knows] that Ed Miliband’s fulsome backing of Cameron would be incomprehensible and offensive to the man on the Sauchiehall Street bus.”

The word fulsome is itself becoming incomprehensible. As a recent string of letters in The Globe and Mail indicated, people can’t agree on what the term means.

When fulsome began life in the 1300s, it meant abundant. That meaning gave way by the 1600s to a sense of tasteless, cloying, offensive excess, which is the meaning most reference books assign to fulsome now. In the 1980s, William and Mary Morris asked about 100 word lovers, including author Isaac Asimov and journalist Charles Kuralt, whether they would accept fulsome in a flattering sense. Eighty-four per cent said no. Asimov called it “one of my favourite criteria of illiteracy.”

But a great many people, doubtless because of the sound of the first syllable (full), happily continue to use fulsome in a positive sense as effusive or copious. Last November’s issue of Uncut magazine described musician Ravi Shankar as “sporting a fulsome white growth around his chin.”

The upshot is confusion. If someone receives fulsome praise, is she being heartily congratulated, insincerely buttered up or drowned in sickly syrup?

Garner’s Modern American Usage says the word “might justifiably be treated as a skunked term,” one that can’t be relied upon to convey the intended meaning and is no longer of use. The Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage reached the same conclusion: that the word “should probably be avoided.”

Nobody has taken the advice. The fulsome use continues.

Alan Turing is “the Key Figure of Our Century,” Marvin Minsky

2012-02-06T10:09:00.001-07:00

From the Turing Centenary: Alan Turing is “the Key Figure of Our Century,” Marvin Minsky

Days to Centenary: 146

On the one hand, pointing out yet again how important a role Alan Turing played in twentieth century affairs, and how large his legacy looms into the twenty-first, seems almost unnecessary now that we are in the midst of the Alan Turing Year.

He’s made it, the moment has arrived, the hoopla has begun.

On the other hand, the mere fact that it is the Alan Turing Year means that we run the risk that the celebration itself becomes the focus of our attention and that the man gets obscured in the glitz.

I don’t know how many times I have now seen a news item or a blog post about the fact that there is an Alan Turing postage stamp. I have nothing against the postage stamp — he certainly deserves it — but the repetition of this fact at the expense of anything else that might be said about him is a symptom of the fact that Turing may, if we are not careful, end up too much a symbol and too little an actual human being.

I don’t want to detract from any aspect of this year’s celebrations — anyone who has read this page before knows that I appreciate all of Turingdom, the official and the unofficial, whether on a great scale or on a small one, the institutional and the personal. But at this moment, for the reasons I just gave, I want to come back to the very real man and the real-world accomplishments he realized in his short life.

In The Strange Life and Death of Dr. Turing (1992), the first voice we hear (apart from an announcer briefly quoting Turing himself) is that of Marvin Minsky, who says:

Here’s a person who discovered the most important thing in logic and he invented the concept of the stored program computer and he did these wonderful things in biology and cryptology and started artificial intelligence and ran marathons and rode bicycles and had these terrible sexual problems, but I don’t know anything about this person… here’s the key figure of our century, but I don’t know him and I wish I did.

Marvin Minsky — who is a cognitive scientist working in artificial intelligence — is an intellectual giant. Just ask Isaac Asimov, who said of him that Minsky was one of only two people whom he, Asimov, would admit was more intelligent than he was (the other was Carl Sagan). When Minsky says someone is the key figure of the 20th century, that’s coming from someone who is himself one of its key figures.

So Minsky’s comment portrays Turing’s legacy in its appropriate scale, but at the same time it provokes the same reaction in us that Minsky is having himself: we want to know the man, the real guy.
Marvin Minsky

Unfortunately we can’t, not directly, but we can know him indirectly through portrayals and recollections, as in last years Channel 4 documentary, Britain’s Greatest Codebreaker. Unfortunately that movie isn’t yet available for many of us outside the UK. Even for those within the UK who’ve seen it, it may have left them wishing for more.

For people in either of those categories, The Strange Life and Death of Dr. Turing is conveniently available on YouTube. The first half is embedded below. Beneath the embed is a link to the second half.

So by all means, buy one of the limited-edition first day cover stamps with the unique postmark. I’d love one myself. But before you do, sit down and watch the documentary and remind yourself just what the celebration’s really all about.

Asimov on Ebay

2012-02-01T10:28:00.002-07:00

Do a search on Isaac Asimov on Ebay and you'll come up with at least 4,000 lots on which to buy or bid on.

Here's my search link for today:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Isaac+Asimov&_sacat=See-All-Categories

It's possible to acquire a lot of Isaac's books this way, most of them quite cheaply.

(And in some senses this is a pity. When I put together my mismatched set of his F & SF essay books, at least half of them turned out to be deaccessioned library books.)

It never ends

2012-01-29T11:40:00.001-07:00

My mom is having some major health issues...so much so that I'm not going to be able to post here for another couple of days while we get it straightened out.

Note to all my readers: If you have high blood pressure, make damn sure you take your medication or 20 years later you'll have congestive heart failure and wham, bam goes your quality of life.

Did Isaac Asimov “Tell me why”?

2012-01-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

From:Religion & Spirituality Examiner: Did Isaac Asimov “Tell me why”?

There is a song titled “Tell me why” which consists of the following lyrics:

Tell me why the stars do shine
Tell me why the ivy twines
Tell me why the sky's so blue

And then I'll tell you just why I love you

Because God made the stars to shine
Because God made the ivy twine
Because God made the sky's so blue
Because God made you, that's why I love you

Tell me why the stars do shine
Tell me why the ivy twines

Because God made the sky's so blue
Because God made you, that's why I love you

The atheist, Isaac Asimov, responded thusly:

Nuclear fusion makes stars to shine,
Tropisms make the ivy twine,
Raleigh scattering make skies so blue,
Testicular hormones are why I love you.

Leave it to an atheist to turn love into, or misinterpret love as, the result of testicular hormones. Can you imagine that Saint Valentine’s Day card?

Our writing shouldn’t be allowed to just disappear

2012-01-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

From the Ottawa Citizen: Our writing shouldn’t be allowed to just disappear

As children return to school following winter holidays, most of us in Canada have a comforting sense of security that they will receive the best of education. But should we assume it will always be that way?

To the south, most U.S. states have adopted the new Common Core State Standards for English. This allows schools in each state to stop teaching kids how to write cursively. The rationale is that with the prevalence of computers and cellphones there is no longer a need for children to learn how to write. Sound incredible? In Indiana for example, Grade 2 students will no longer be asked to move from printing to writing. Time can be spent doing more important teaching.

Decades ago, Isaac Asimov wrote a prescient short story about a sensation who mystified his community because he had the ability to do simple arithmetic without the aid of a calculator. The notion being that humans had lost memory of any capacity to do such brain calculating. His point was, “What are we coming to?” Well, now we’re there.

There is something troubling if not downright scary about kids growing up without being able to write. An adult society that no longer writes, where no one knows how to do it.

Weird idea, isn’t it? But it’s more than that. It reveals how slavishly and uncritically we embrace every technological development and all the consequent ramifications. New instantly equates to better. New means “gotta have it.” The younger generations have been born into this normative thinking and awareness. Those 40 and older know different times and different understandings of life. They can compare.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the iconic 92-year-old American poet from the Beat Generation of the ’50s and ’60s reflects that back then the emerging ethos was to “Be here now.” The idea being to be present in one’s mind and body and fully aware of life around and within self. Now, Ferlinghetti observes it is “Be some place else” as he sees drivers, pedestrians, couples at dinner all engrossed in cellphone activity.

So, what does cursive writing contribute that makes it valuable? Well, it slows us down and makes us concentrate. It puts physical texture into our communication. The letters and words and sentences, the paragraphs and pages flow from our minds to fingers to the page and our ideas and souls stay in the ink on the paper and then find their way to someone else’s hands and eyes and mind and soul. We open letters with our hands, touch the paper, let the words and feelings soak into us. We connect with the being who wrote to us. We read and re-read, we fold the paper and keep it for later, maybe for life. We keep that communication, the intentions of the writer, and it retains meaning for us. It makes us more than what we are. It is the tangible and tactile antidote to aloneness. The soldier in a foxhole or a bunk clutching the paper holding his sweetheart’s love words.

With technological communication — emails, text messages, we read quickly, gather in only a fraction of the import and move on to the next item in our inbox. There is no intimacy, no deep pondering or absorption. It’s all flat and quick. It disappears.

When my uncle died 10 years ago, we went through his things and found a suitcase of old letters. Writing from his mother, his sisters, his brothers. And I keep them now. No one will go through all the old computer files even if they haven’t been deleted. No one will keep them. They are machine ilk, not flesh and blood ilk.

Does it matter if we stop teaching kids to write? It’s another detachment from being human with one another. Another detachment from developing awareness and power within self and it’s a diffusion of intimacy. It’s a message that exposes the shallowness and ignorance prevailing in educational leadership. A message which draws kids farther into the abbreviated world of emoticons and consumerism.

Cursive writing is connected to the same area of the brain as art. It’s expressive. The very image of a kid in class passing a note to someone else without the teacher seeing suggests the personal, human world of touch. Yes, printing letters is still physical on paper. But it’s more cumbersome, less individualistic, and surely printing will be next on the list of deletions from school curricula.

Gandhi and the wisest of those who followed in his footsteps spoke about technology. They saw how it needed to be understood — as a tool to make one’s life easier and advance efficiency but not to detract from humanity. They saw technology that replaced human workers as negative because all need jobs. They saw technology which improves the worker’s plight as positive.

They might have thought similarly about the devices which help our communication to be quicker but less deep, less complex, less personal and human.

Calvin White is a former high school counsellor and author of The Secret Lives of Teenagers, due in 2013 from Key Publishing Company.

Asimov in Italy

2012-01-23T09:52:00.002-07:00

Someone uploaded a photo they'd taken in Rome, Italy. It's graffitti on a wall somewhere - and a large centrepiece (i doubt if it was done by a graffiti artist, but at least those vandals spared it) features Asimov.

Isaac Asimov and Relative Insanity

2012-01-19T01:05:00.002-07:00

From John C. Wright's Journal: Isaac Asimov and Relative Insanity

I was pondering Isaac Asimov’s NIGHTFALL the other night, and meditating on how odd is the assumption on which it is based. The same assumption appears in a number of other Asimov stories

I will not summarize the tale, nor will I avoid spoilers, as I assume you know it (If not, rush right out and buy a copy of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame edited by Bob Silverberg, in order to repair your deficiency in Sci-Fi street cred).

According to Asimov, John W Campbell Jr prompted Asimov to write the story after discussing a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote:

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!

Campbell’s contrariwise opinion was: “I think men would go mad.”

The story itself is well-constructed as a mystery yarn, as each separate scientist, a psychologist, an archeologist, and an astronomer, discovers disturbing clues: man has an innate fear of darkness; the civilization of planet Lagash suffers regular and periodic collapses; that Lagash is a multiple star system which, only once in the thousand years, has all her suns set or eclipsed. The ending is a climax of what can only be called Lovecraftian despair: as the last light dies in the sky of a world which has never known nightfall, the scientists (going mad themselves from the horror of the darkness) see the buildings and monuments of their great city being lit afire by panicked mobs seeking some source of light in a world where no lamp has ever been invented.

Brilliant story, and all the more disturbing because it is based on an assumption never explicitly mentioned by Asimov, nor by Campbell, but which, once named, cannot be denied is present in their thoughts.

Mr Asimov enjoyed great success with this short story, and the theme is one he revisits again. In CAVES OF STEEL, for example, overpopulation on Earth requires the mass of the population to crowd into buried warrens, and the main character, as most Earthmen, having never seen the sky, are subject to agoraphobia. In THE NAKED SUN, the natives of Solaria are raised by robots and born in test tubes, and so are subject to a phobia against human contact, or even being in the same room as a living person.

In a less obvious way, even as story like ‘Its Such a Nice Day’ affirms the unspoken assumption, even though the story itself resolves itself differently.

In that story, in a society where all travel is done by instantaneous teleportation, a little boy discovers by accident that he enjoys walking outside. His mother, fearing for his sanity, calls in a psychologist who is something of a curmudgeon, not enamored of the impositions of allegedly useful technology into life, goes for a walk with the boy, and is dazed to see running water, beasts and butterflies, and the outside of his own house. He tells the mother not to fret, and he joins the boy in an act of nonconformity by deciding himself to walk from time to time.

All of them are good stories, solidly built, well crafted. Let no one say otherwise.

But, like any story no matter how well built, when you get up from your comfy reading chair after and are poking around in the fridge looking for leftovers, certain distracting thoughts must intrude. Did no one in the world of inexpensive teleportation go big-game hunting? No one hiked or biked or wanted to frolic in the flowers with a blushing maiden? No one owned a window, or had one of those calendars showing snow scenes or waterfalls? No one?

The story mentions ‘Africans’ who do not possess this technology, so the implication is we are dealing with an insular gated community, the suburbanites who are the subject of such scorn by lovers of progress, but (as we bend into the fridge seeing if there is a frosty can of beer left behind the ungainly open can of Spaghetti-Os ) the thought must strike us: wait. Really? They hold boot camp indoors in this world? Robots do all the outdoor maintenance work?

The same stray thoughts will perturb the placid science fiction reader at the close of any tale, merely because, once the drama and glamor of the suspension of disbelief fades, the dream seems more dreamlike. The image of a world burning itself to death while shrieking in fear at the fall of night is magnificent and terrifying. Only when you are wondering, head in the fridge, if that but of stray cheese is still good will you stop and think: wait. Did they have no mines on the world of Lagash, or miners who went underground to work them? Were there no window shutters and no bed curtains? No one ever put a bag over his head? Or closed his eyes?

Now, it is an open question in any of these stories, or any science fiction story at all, how seriously the author means for the reader to take the conceit of the story. Are we actually supposed to believe, for example, in THE SLEEPER WAKES by H.G. Wells that mesmerism can place a man in suspended animation for decades without aging, and that compound interest on his bank account would one day consume the entire economy?

Like most yarns, I think the conceit made at the beginning of any tale of speculative fiction is something the reader takes on faith, like the conceit of a hypothetical question. The reader says tacitly, “Yes, I will accept the false-to-facts conceit of the hypo if you can spin out an entertaining yarn that keeps faith with the conceit!” For the moment the writer shows he is not keeping faith with the conceit, the story breaks like glass.

But when Campbell says “I think men would go mad” he is not spinning out a hypothetical conceit, he is criticizing the view of human nature of Emerson.

Campbell is backhanding what he sees as a saccharine piety in Emerson. Campbell thinks man is not, after all, a rational animal, but is the product of the evolution and environment of his birth and upbringing. Man is not the crown of creation, but a blind by-product of atomic and electrochemical forces in motion since the Big Bang. Man is plastic.

Any man who believes in God, who believes Man is made in the image of God, thinks man has a human nature, and, absent the disaster of Eden, a permanent nature.

This is blasphemy to the the zealous technocrat who preaches Better Living Through Technology, of which John W Campbell Jr was not merely an exemplar but a paragon. Nothing was clearer in his editorial policy than his thought that Man should conquer nature, and put the stars is his grasp and the future under his feet, through Yankee ingenuity, elbow grease, mother wit, grit and the occasional flash of genius, and working that slipstick.

Tales of techno-optimism take progress for the driver of the theme, and anything commonly thought to impede progress becomes what the lazy (or efficient) writer will wrap in the cloak of the antagonist.

This is more clear in Heinlein than in Asimov or Clarke, perhaps because he was a more efficient (or lazier) writer than Asimov, and more often had recourse to lazy stereotypes. The stereotyped foes of progress include the folly of the common man (or “chumps” as Michael Valentine Smith calls us); of religious leaders (who range from gross hucksters like Foster to scary theocrats like Nehemiah Scudder); or of bureaucrats or politicians or high-ranking military officers. (Indeed, the only bureaucrat on the whole canon of Heinlein’s work I can call sympathetic is Mr Kiku, the undersecretary of Spatial Affairs, from STAR BEAST).

However, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke have their share of two-dimensional stereotypes fitting these categories. They don’t like commoners, godbotherers, and politicos.

Anyone who thinks the ills of Man are permanent, and the institutions (traditions of the commoners, faith of the godbotherers, laws and wars of the politicos) is a foe him who thinks the ills of man can be solved by a shiny new panacea.

There are exceptions, to be sure. I am thinking of THE GRAY PRINCE by Jack Vance, which contains the most bald-faced denunciation of any misgivings Caucasians owe conquered and displaced natives I have ever read. STARSHIP TROOPERS likewise announces the powerful theme that there will always be war, and therefore one must always be ready to fight it.

The Campbell brand of techno-optimism faded sharply in the late 60′s, but, oddly enough, the underlying assumptions did not fade in the popular mind, but took deeper root, until they seemed not assumptions but eternal truths.

One such assumption that hardened into an allegedly eternal truth is that human nature is infinitely plastic. Men are malleable. What is wrong in man can be fixed.

Human Nature, if it were only infinitely malleable, can be cured through Yankee ingenuity, elbow grease, mother wit, grit and the occasional flash of genius, and working that slipstick: such is the optimistic cry echoing through too much modern writing, both science fiction and writing that perhaps does not realize it is science fiction, or rather, pure fantasy.

Stately baldly, the conceit is absurd. The same technician who cannot free my computer of spam is going to reach into my infinitely more complex human brain and cure my various and vicious addictions to pride, envy, greed, sloth, malice, ire and lust? Really? Some clever new method of counting votes or deciding civil broils will curb the ambitions of demagogues and dictators, and sooth the deep seating malice of ancient wrongs?

Step aside, if you can, dear reader, from Campbell’s simplistic BF Skinner assumptions about what drives men mad.

Think instead of men born blind who are, through some miracle or miracle of science, cured. Are they driven mad by their first sight of stars? Or think of some mountain villager who has never seen the sea. Is he driven mad at his first sight of the ocean? Or think of someone who has never been underground. Is he certain to be bereft of his wits the moment he realized a cave roof is above him?

Do not get me wrong. I am not claiming that there are no agoraphobes or thalassaphobes or claustrophobes. I am not claiming a man who never saw rainfall in his life would not be frightened by a storm. But would he go mad? If you say he would, what does that say about your faith in the sanity of your fellow man, or of you yourself?

The conceit that the flaws innate in human nature can be cured by human ingenuity is as absurd as Campbell’s smirking backhanded slap at Emerson. What does it say about the techno-optimism of Campbell that he thinks a man would not be awed and full of wonder and touched with an intimation of the divine at his first sight of stars?

Now, as a story conceit, the malleability of human nature is of prime interest to the science fiction reader. How much indeed can be changed if our technology changes, or our laws, manners and customs?

I suggest that any story addressing that theme is science fiction, and that science fiction is not simply confined to those relatively few stories that propose all things in man’s nature are subject to change.

Can any creature who is not awed at the sight of stars really be called a human being?

—————————

ADDED LATER: I was describing ‘Nightfall’ to my thirteen year old son when it came up in the conversation turned to other things, unexpected, unthinkable, which human beings had never seen before or imagined but which science revealed. I told him about the invention of the microscope, and how, up until then, no one had even suspected the existence of ‘animacules’.

I will point out that if Leeuwenhoek had been from Lagash, upon seeing microscopic life that swarms in every drop of water, living beings too small to see, all around us, everywhere, instead of being awed at the intricacy and bounty of the natural world, he would have run in circle screaming ‘Get them off me! Get them off me!’

Had he been from Lagash, Carl Sagan would have said, “Observe the splendor of the cosmos! It is billions and billions of — AAAAAaaaargghh!”

Honestly, Campbell’s wry little joke shows very little faith in his science. Everyone I know is awed, rather than terrified, to discover there is more to Creation than he once thought, greater deeps and higher heights.

How Isaac Asimov helped me embrace atheism

2012-01-18T22:04:00.001-07:00

From Mad Mike's America: How Isaac Asimov helped me embrace atheism
I have long been an admirer of Isaac Asimov. I knew of his fiction for years, first being introduced to him through his brilliant short story Nightfall. Here is a memorable Asimov quote to start out our story:

I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I’ve been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually disrespectful to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn’t have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I’m a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that god doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.” –Isaac Asimov

It wasn’t until a few years later that I encountered one of his books on religion. The book, In The Beginning, pulled me in and I soon found I could not get enough. In it, Asimov took the book of Genesis and looked at it from three different angles: how the religious see it, how such writings came to be as they are now, and what science says about the idea in question.

I had known for a long time that something was seriously wrong about religion; that it didn’t fit quite with reality, but I was still something of a deist bordering on agnostic. But this book helped me along the road to leaving belief in the past. Finally someone else who saw what I did and didn’t try to give some lame excuse as to why religion didn’t match up with reality.

Years later I discovered that not only was the whole thing ridiculous, but it could actually be damaging and rather terrifying. It was not just for the harm it does to the vulnerable mind, but how it views those who do not believe in their specific brand of magic. Not to mention the often downright rage they would express to those who dared to actually doubt the concept all together!

These people had made not believing in an invisible man in the sky such a terrible thing that to consider it openly was one of the deepest of taboos. It was so strong that someone who had such a powerful mind and, through much of his life, was such an open atheist, was pushed to hide his own views. Views that he knew made sense, that were the only ones that really did make sense in light of the evidence. But still he hid them because they were frowned upon.

If someone such as Isaac Asimov could be bullied into such a belief then what does it mean about so many others, including myself?

But instead of the ‘dangerous’ view that far too many often claim it is, atheism is, to me, as it was to Asimov, freeing. It was the universe laid open for us to scrutinize and wonder over. It was finally no longer being afraid of one’s lack of belief and openly saying “there isn’t enough evidence to support the view and it isn’t one that is important enough to waste any more time considering further”. It is finally being able to look at religious belief in the same way one does believers in the Loch Ness Monster and not think that one has to suppress such views.

The quote that I offered is a prime example of these views. It is his looking back and realizing that he had been silly the whole time and should have just been open with himself from the very start.

To be clear, when Isaac Asimov says that he is an “emotional atheist,” he is not meaning what so many theists claim. He is not someone who ‘believes’ atheism is accurate like a theist believes in their particular patented version of a deity. It is the feeling of elation you feel when you realize that the universe works without the need for a ‘man behind the curtain.’

It is seeing the workings of a cell or the life cycles of stars and realizing “I can understand this!” followed soon after by “Wait…what? I can understand this?” A critter that evolved as an overly complex way of replicating strands of amino acids can look at the universe and say, “OK, I see how that works!” If that does not instill within you a sense of awe then I pity you.

Some theists may cling to the end of the quote where Asimov says “I don’t have the evidence to prove that god doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.” They point their finger and go “Aha! You don’t have any evidence and you still believe there is no god? Where is your science now!” Then feel rather pleased with themselves and wager Jesus would give them a high five.

We then go on to ask whether they have evidence that the tooth fairy does not exist. Our imaginary theist might respond saying the idea is absurd, they have never seen a tooth fairy and that parents are the ones who hoard discarded dentition.

“Exactly” is the only needed response. The believer might not see it, but I do. It is obvious to the point of absurdity and to paraphrase Asimov, to waste any further time with it seems like an exercise in futility.

So here is to you religious extremists. You are the reason we have to step away from the adult conversations and deal with such silly ideas as invisible sky daddies. Let’s get to talking about things like evolution, stellar formation, the big bang, quantum physics, and the possibilities for xenobiology. Not to mention other things more important than whether their deity exists or what I’m going to have for breakfast.

Evoking Isaac Asimov, scientists unveil hydrogen-propelled microrockets capable of navigating the stomach

2012-01-18T20:57:00.001-07:00

Whoever wrote this article evoked Asimov in the headline, and he's not mentioned in the rest of the article. Nevertheless...

From Knovel.com: Evoking Isaac Asimov, scientists unveil hydrogen-propelled microrockets capable of navigating the stomach

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, are developing miniature machines capable of entering and moving throughout the bloodstream – without fuel.

Researchers from the California university said that they had designed "microrockets" that could easily travel in acidic environments without the need for a fuel source. They noted that physicians and other medical professionals could one day use such microrockets to more thoroughly study a patient's digestive tract, among other potential uses.

The breakthrough technology does not need a fuel supply to operate, Popular Science reports. It moves, rather, by manipulating hydrogen bubbles produced by a chemical reaction. The microrockets are made from zinc, and they react naturally with acidic solutions, which are naturally present in the stomach.

The microrockets have a lifespan ranging between 10 seconds and two minutes, according to the scientists. They affirmed that their lifespan varied depending on the rate of zinc dissolution. They are tiny tubes approximately 10 micrometers in length, but their diameters range from two to five micrometers. The researchers affirmed they crafted the tubes out of polymer polyaniline, inserting a thin layer of zinc in their inside surface.

While the microrockets currently navigate throughout acidic environments autonomously, the team of scientists contended it is possible to control their trajectory. What's more, they said they could program them to pick up and drop off "cargo" through the use of magnets.

The tiny vessels react readily in the hyper acidic environment of the stomach, creating hydrogen bubbles that form inside the rocket. Eventually, the hydrogen bubbles reach a critical mass, propelling the microrockets at speeds surpassing 100 body lengths per second, roughly equivalent to 1,050 micrometers per second.

PhysOrg reports that the scientists, Wei Gao, Aysegul Uygun and Joseph Wang, noted the microrockets could have far-reaching applications in both biomedical and industrial engineering research. They said that they envision physicians and engineers utilizing the devices in the future, molding them to perform specific tasks.

"This is the first reported example of chemically-powered microrockets that can be self-propelled without an external fuel," Wang asserted. "Such acid-powered microrockets could greatly expand the scope of applications of nano and microscale motors toward new extreme environments, and could thus lead to diverse new biomedical or industrial applications ranging from targeted drug delivery or nanoimaging to the monitoring of industrial processes."

They published their findings, "Hydrogen-Bubble-Propelled Zinc-Based Microrockets in Strongly Acidic Media," in the journal of the American Chemical Society.

Isaac Asimov's Five Best Short Stories

2012-01-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

This is a blog entry from Jan 2, 2012

From Forbes.com: Isaac Asimov's Five Best Short Stories

by Alex Knapp
My colleague Erik Kain reminds us that today is Isaac Asimov’s birthday – and I’m wholly on board with renaming January 2nd Asimov Day. Isaac Asimov is one of my all-time favorite writers. I love his science-fiction , his mysteries, and above all, his science writing. I’m personally of the opinion that he’s the greatest writer about science who has ever lived. My copy of Asimov on Science, which collects his best essays on science, is what I read to teach myself how to make my own writing accessible and clear. He was a master at it.

When it comes to his fame, however, I daresay that most people think of Asimov as a science-fiction writer. And while I love his novels, even better are his short stories. So in honor of Asimov Day, let me present the Good Doctor’s five best short stories. (And one honorable mention.) Asimov mystery fans may note that these are all sci-fi stories – and that’s true. I’m a huge Black Widowers fan, but his mysteries are clever, not powerful. I just couldn’t think of one that made the cut.

At any rate, without further ado, here are the stories.

Honorable Mention – “A Feeling of Power”

“A Feeling of Power” isn’t nearly as well-written as some great stories that didn’t make this list, but it’s near and dear to my heart for its central conceit. “A Feeling of Power” takes place in a future where pocket calculators are so handy that people don’t even bother to learn basic math skills anymore because the calculator does just fine. So when someone “reverse engineers” math so he can do it with a pencil and paper, it’s a revelation. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve generally preferred to do most of my math in my head. (And I’ve amused students in the past by solving problems more quickly than they could type them into their calculators.) I think having a solid grasp of math is essential for understanding the world, and so this story has always appealed to me.

5. “The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline”

Okay, so this isn’t a short story so much as it is a fake scientific research paper. But it’s awesome. In this journal article, Asimov discusses the the chemical properties of thiotimoline, a water soluble organic molecule that actually dissolves one second before it makes contact with water. The tone, discussion of the research, and everything else is dead on. It reads just like any other journal article of the period. But it discusses, in an interesting way, something about the physics and chemistry of time, which makes it worth reading.

4. “Nightfall”

One of the classics, and for good reason. The conceit is terrific – taking place on a world orbiting six suns, it turns out that once every 2,049 years, none of the suns appear in the sky at all. And so people see darkness and the stars for the first time in their lives. The result? They go mad, of course. But it’s the getting there that’s fascinating. And the religious antagonists themselves are fascinating – not the single-minded ignoramuses you so often encounter in this type of story.

3. “Evidence”

It would be a cardinal sin to not include one of Asimov’s robot stories in this list, but I didn’t have to think hard about which one to include. “Evidence” is by far my favorite of them all, which is the story of a political candidate who’s desperate to prove that his opponent is not human, but is rather a humanoid robot. The problem with proving this, of course, is Asimov’s great Susan Calvin points out, it’s hard to tell the difference between a robot who follows the Three Laws and an exceptionally ethical human being…

2. “The Last Question”

The titular question, of course, being ”How can the net amount of entropy of the universe be massively decreased?” Or in other words, how can we stop the universe from ending? How can we conquer death? I get a kick out of the ending every single time.

1. “The Dead Past”

Personally, I think that this is Asimov’s best piece of writing, period. Not only does it feature some great characterization, the conceit is sheer genius. Here are our intrepid heroes, working to strike a blow against the oppressive government which dares to inhibit scientific progress! Except that in the end, we realize that the government was doing its best to make sure civilization itself didn’t collapse… And failed. I love this story.

***

So that’s my personal ranking of best Asimov short stories. What’s yours?

4 new ways to solve the energy challenge

2012-01-09T01:51:00.002-07:00

I share only the 3rd of 4 ideas, as it's the one that references Asimov.

From CNN Money: 4 new ways to solve the energy challenge

3. Creating electricity in space

The idea of beaming solar power down to Earth from space was popularized in a 1941 Isaac Asimov short story in which the machinery was controlled by a robot called Cutie. Today, solar space stations still sound far-fetched, but scientists in the U.S. and Japan are pursuing modern versions of the system, which are becoming more feasible as space flight and solar panels promise to become more affordable.

How would it work? The panels would orbit in space -- immune from rain, clouds, and nighttime --gathering solar energy 24/7. The panels would be 43 times more efficient than land-based ones, says Col. M.V. "Coyote" Smith, who has studied the concept for NASA. The satellites would then beam the energy to Earth in the form of microwave radiation. Implausible? John Mankins, the former head of advanced concept studies at NASA, has conducted successful tests in Hawaii, sending wireless electricity between two islands.

The hang-up is cost. Building a big space solar operation would cost billions, Mankins says. While a couple of universities are working on it, skeptics abound. "If a potential investor sat down and penciled out the costs, they would stop returning your phone calls," says Seth Masia, editor of Solar Today magazine. Still, new projects like Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Paul Allen's aircraft, which one day could affordably launch satellites, and the fact that solar panels are getting cheaper, are making this technology suddenly seem more science than fiction. --A.V.

March 20, 2012, NY: 2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Faster Than the Speed of Light

2012-01-08T13:50:00.002-07:00

From the American Museum of Natural History: 2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Faster Than the Speed of Light

Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity has been tested with ever-increasing precision since its publication in 1905. One of its key predictions is that only light itself can travel at the speed of light. While the theory does not forbid particles from moving faster, such particles must be traveling backward in time.

Two recent papers by a large consortium of physicists using the world's most powerful accelerator are claiming the discovery of neutrinos moving at speeds slightly in excess of the speed of light. If confirmed, this would be one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of physics. Our understanding of space, time, mass, and energy all hang in the balance until we know who is right.

This year's Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate will pit some of the experimentalists who claim to have discovered faster-than-light neutrinos against their strongest critics, as well as other teams that are racing to replicate or disprove the extraordinary claims.

Café on One will offer refreshments for purchase before the event from 6 to 7:15 pm.

The late Dr. Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific and influential authors of our time, was a dear friend and supporter of the American Museum of Natural History. In his memory, the Hayden Planetarium is honored to host the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate-generously endowed by relatives, friends, and admirers of Isaac Asimov and his work-bringing the finest minds in the world to the Museum each year to debate pressing questions on the frontier of scientific discovery. Proceeds from ticket sales of the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate benefit the scientific and educational programs of the Hayden Planetarium.

Isaac Asimov talks about NASA’s Apollo Program and Future of Space Travel

2012-01-01T12:31:00.002-07:00

You need to go to Youtube, via a computer as opposed to your Kindle, to see the following Video:

a 22-minute video

Five Quotes from Asimov

2011-12-28T13:15:00.002-07:00

And, as usual, the quotes are provided but not the source - the book, the essay, the speech, the year? These are things I'd really like to know! [Having sad that, these quotes certainly do sound like Asimov].

http://thombeau.blogspot.com/2011/12/five-from-isaac-asimov.html

The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.

~~~~~

Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.

~~~~~

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

~~~~~

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.

~~~~~

People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.

Respects and Mutuality

2011-12-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

From Oman Observer: Respects and Mutuality

AT MY WORKPLACE! -

Majid Said al Suleimany -
FOR people to respect you — you must respect yourself first! Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers! — Isaac Asimov The desire to write grows with writing! — Desiderius Erasmus In all my articles I keep hammering on the same point and focus always — It is in the offices and in offices dealings — where people are at their worst forms — and how they actually behave, act and interface with each other!

I'm not sharing the entire article, just the first paragraph. I thought it was interesting that knowledge of the works of Isaac Asimov extends even to Oman!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-24T09:15:00.001-07:00

Regular blog postings begin on DECEMBER 26, Monday.

The Ugly Little Boy - free audio book

2011-12-20T10:13:00.001-07:00

Check out this website via your computer: http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=34780

Perhaps Isaac Asimov’s most famous novella, certainly one of his best, Lastborn (aka The Ugly Little Boy) is in the public domain and narrated by the wonderful Gregg Margarite!

Lastborn (aka The Ugly Little Boy)
By Issac Asimov; Read by Gregg Margarite
2 MP3 Files – Approx. 1 Hour 35 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: The Drama Pod
Podcast: November 2011
ETEXT from Archive.org
A scientific experiment or not, the patient was her responsibility … and all the more
so for having died so many centuries ago! First published in the September 1958 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.

From this website you can also download a PDF of the story.

Mother Earth, by Isaac Asimov

2011-12-20T10:02:00.002-07:00

From Headed for Alien Territory (a fun blog)
http://alienterritory.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/mother-earth-by-isaac-asimov/

“Mother Earth” by Isaac Asimov
December 16, 2011

The Book: “Mother Earth” by Isaac Asimov. Originally published in May 1949 by Astounding Science Fiction, the story was read in the anthology 3 from Out There published by Crest Books in 1959.

The Setting: A distant planet. Earth. In the distant future.

The Story: Planets colonized by Earthmen tell Earth where to stick it. Earth gives them the finger and takes the long view. Political intrigue, war, and robots.

The Science: This is what happens when you don’t blog for a long time. Let me go check the book…. Ah, okay. SO. Working from home. In the outer planets, the population is very spread out. Everyone has a lot of room. More than that, everyone is crowd averse. So non-family interaction is usually done by “community wave” which involves projecting a 3D hologram thingy of oneself to a common location to interact with other 3D hologram thingies and get business done. Sounds like the internet to me! Just more cumbersome. And it would, I think, discourage trolls.

The Reaction: I recall being bored and kind of confused by this even as I read it. I had trouble keeping characters straight and I wasn’t sure what was going on most of the time, or why. Not Asimov’s best.

The Cover: See above.

Etc: Oh. Hi reddit. Nice of you to stop by. And here I thought most of my traffic came from panicked high school students who didn’t read their assigned Bradbury stories.

Next Up: Secret of the Black Planet by Milton Lesser.

The Foundation Trilogy from BBC Radio

2011-12-12T00:08:00.002-07:00

You need to go via computer to this site to listen to BBC Radio's version of The Foundation Trilogy.

http://www.archive.org/details/IsaacAsimov-TheFoundationTrilogy

New laws of robotics to be explored at upcoming confab

2011-12-11T20:05:00.001-07:00

From Smart Planet: New laws of robotics to be explored at upcoming confab
The pace of innovation in robotics in recent years has been stunning, with robots performing many tasks requiring some degree of human intelligence, from assembly to driving cars to flying aircraft. Robots are also interacting with humans on an increasingly sophisticated level.

n fact, the pace of robot innovation is far outpacing any legal and moral implications that may arise from machine interactions. There hasn’t been a lot of progress on this front since the time Isaac Asimov first published his “Three Laws of Robotics” in 1942:

1. “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. “A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. “A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.”

As we rely on robots for more and more of the tasks of business and society, there needs to be a legal framework to address the legal and moral questions that may come up. For example, if a robot injures somebody, or if a questionable or ethically challenged decision is left to a machine. It’s a wide open frontier, legally.

To start the process of building such a framework, the University of Miami School of Law announced it plans an inaugural conference on legal and policy issues relating to robotics. The event, dubbed seeks submissions for “We Robot” (a play on words on Asimov’s I, Robot), will be held in Coral Gables, Florida in April 2012.

The aim of the conference is to host presentations on “reports from the front lines” of robot design and development, and “encourage conversations between the people designing, building, and deploying robots, and the people who design or influence the legal and social structures in which robots will operate.”

Conference organizers seek to explore the role of robotics to examine how the increasing sophistication of robots and their widespread deployment everywhere from the home, to hospitals, to public spaces, and even to the battlefield disrupts existing legal regimes or requires rethinking of various policy issues.

Of course, hopefully things won’t go too far the other way, and the robotics or artificial intelligence industry gets overrun with lawyers and mandates.

The call for papers is still out, but topics to be covered will likely include the following areas:

* Effect of robotics on the workplace, e.g. small businesses, hospitals, and other contexts where robots and humans work side-by-side.
* Regulatory and licensing issues raised by robots in the home, the office, in public spaces (e.g. roads), and in specialized environments such as hospitals.
* Design of legal rules that will strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safety, particularly in the context of autonomous robots.
* Issues of legal or moral responsibility, e.g. relating to autonomous robots or robots capable of exhibiting emergent behavior.
* Issues relating to robotic prosthetics (e.g. access equity issues, liability for actions activated by conscious or unconscious mental commands).
* Relevant differences between virtual and physical robots.
* Relevant differences between nanobots and larger robots.
* Usage of robots in public safety and military contexts.
* Privacy issues relating to data collection by robots, either built for that purpose or incidental to other tasks.
* Intellectual property challenges relating to robotics as a nascent industry, to works or inventions created by robots, or otherwise peculiar to robotics.
* Issues arising from automation of professional tasks such as unauthorized practice of law or medicine.

Time keeps on slipping into the future

2011-12-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the dearth of posts recently...I've been working on a project, wanted to devote all my time to it, and kept telling myself...it'll be done today so I can get back to blogging here tomorrow.

The next day it was... okay, it's definitely going to get done today....

Well, today it is done... so back to posting here on a daily basis tomorrow. (With the first post appearing tomorrow afternoon while I'm watching football!)

Thanks for your patience.

The Waldorf Astoria Park City | New Amenities, New Dimensions

2011-12-07T10:56:00.001-07:00

Another article in which someone ascribes a quote to Isaac Asimov, but doesn't tell from whence it comes! So frustrating!

After traveling to The Waldorf Astoria Park City last week, I was reminded of an old Isaac Asimov quote: "Life is pleasant — death is peaceful — it’s the transition!" This saying returned to me as I saw so much of this resort in a positive transition.

Of course, there was no sawdust or construction inside the hotel, but the restaurant renovations combining new gastronomic concepts, a new golf course moving from concept to construction, and a new lobby boutique, expanded the hotel’s ambiance with an even happier, pre-holiday anticipation. To get the sense of what is happening here, it’s important to know a little hotel history.

The Waldorf Astoria Park City is the first ski resort added to Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts. The property has 175 guest rooms, suites, and wholly owned residences, and is ski-in/ski out, with a gondola adjacent to the hotel. The units all have exceptional views of ski slopes or the Wasatch Mountain Range. The resort is also home to the exceptional 16,000-square-foot Golden Door Spa, only one of five in the world.

Last year in 2010, The Waldorf Astoria Park City was purchased by Talisker, a privately held 25-year-old Toronto-based international real estate company. Talisker is the largest mountain real estate and resort operating company in Park City, Utah and has already developed three of Park City’s significant family-oriented residential communities — Tuhaye, Empire Pass and Red Cloud — collectively called the Talisker Club. In the summer of 2008, Talisker acquired Canyons Resort, then in 2010, the Waldorf Astoria Park City, so that now, the Canyons and the Waldorf Astoria Park City are also part of the Talisker Club enclave.

The newer Talisker brand coupled with the well-seasoned, traditional Waldorf Astoria’s has produced a new group of amenities: three restaurants, one retail, all opening within the next two weeks. They will include Slopes by Talisker, a renovated restaurant, with a new restaurant concept; Crave Café, a new eatery located off the main lobby; Scoop, a new poolside option; and Palette, the new lobby boutique. All are slated to open in mid-December 2011. And, in late 2013, a new 18-hole Gene Bates Signature Golf Course will be completed. It will be built around the hotel, with the Waldorf being the midpoint between the first nine and the last nine.

Book this hotel now with confidence! Personal Service. Best Rate Guarantee. 100% Luxury Hotels. Book Now! "These new interior and exterior options combine to create a greater sense of "living well" the mantra associated with our Golden Door Spa, and living well means to us, living well outside and inside," said Kerry Hing, general manager. "Outside, with skiing, hiking, golfing, biking, fly-fishing, and hot-air ballooning, and inside, with the creation of new dining options. For example, Slopes is a new restaurant concept. John Murcko our chef, and our Executive Chef is Clement Gelas, will use ingredients that are less heavy, often without butters or cream, and full of nutritional balance. Executive Chef Gelas was previously the Club Chef at Tuhaye Table Café, which is part of the Talisker Club. Both executive chef and chef understand how important vegetarian and vegan choices are now, and are interested in bringing these ideas, as well as more traditional, yet still healthy, fare to the table. Slopes will pay special attention to dietary needs and preferences of our guests — and that will include gluten free also."

On a personal note, I met Chef Gelas and had dinner from his personally prepared sampling menu. There was something for everyone, from the most avid vegetarian and non-vegetarian alike: warm olives, house made goat cheese, roasted Squash Soup with Rockhill Gruyere and Burgundy Truffles. Then the second course, Waguy Beef Salad, cucumber, herb salad, pickled harvest green beans; third course, a palate cleaner, Green tea sorbet, Gin fizz Cappuccino; then, local Elk, Garlic-Eggplant caviar, Bulgur "risotto," with Cardamom jus; finally, dessert, a Ginger-Lemon Verbena Creme Brulee.

The beef salad was a personal favorite, as it had as an ingredient some small, yellow female cucumber flowers. They were picked at a time when tiny cucumbers were at the base of this striking yellow flower. I lingered over those cucumber flowers as I had never seen them or eaten them before. They seemed like such an unexpected harbinger of early summer in the darkening days of late November.

Slopes will have 120 seats indoors and additional outdoor seasonal seating with views of the pool and outdoor courtyard. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and will also feature an extensive wine program created by Talisker’s Director of Wine & Spirits Sean Marron.

The other new eating venues are Crave Café, a quick snack/coffee/take out lunch item venue. In addition, a selection of freshly prepared meals will be available for guests who would like to enjoy a meal in the privacy of their own suite. Crave Café will be located off the main lobby, and Scoop, a poolside area where guests can enjoy drinks, gelato, and ice cream. Finally, a new luxury boutique, Palette, will be located in the hotel lobby. It will specialize in designer apparel, accessories and gifts for men, women and children, and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The Waldorf Astoria Park City lies at the base of The Canyons Talisker’s ski resort with over 100 ski trails. These Waldorf amenities will be open soon after the winter ski season at the Canyons opens Friday, November 25 at 9 a.m. So, for those anxious skiers who could care less about Black Friday shopping, they can finally indulge in their sport, on white Friday, 2011.

Daring Fireball Quote of th e Day: Cult of ignorance

2011-12-01T14:34:00.003-07:00

From Daring Fireball: Isaac Asimov: Cult of Ignorance

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge”.

I can't tell you where Asimov said this, as the person doing the quoting didn't give the attribution. Very likely he got it from somewhere else - I saw this a couple of days ago on a Flickr account, but surperimposed over a pic of Asimov himself - still without info on where it came from

Why is it important to know where it came from - the essay collection or the book?

Because it might not be from Asimov at all!

Yesterday, a blogger for the Los Angeles Times got in a dig at Sarah Palin, saying she'd credited basketball coach John Wooden for saying something he never said. But within the body of this snarky little article, the author did point out that *several* people have said Wooden said, what Palin quoted. So, gee, Palin found a quote she liked, saw that it was credited to John Wooden, and quoted it herself.

And now she's taking the flack because "she" misattributed it?

So, I'm sharing the quote here...but I'll be looking for it in my reading of Asimov, and I'll let you know what I find.

5 Unusual Things I Learned from Isaac Asimov

2011-11-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

From James Altucher: 5 Unusual Things I Learned from Isaac Asimov

The second time the police were called to pick me up I was fifteen years old. I was originally going to type “the first time” but then I realized that I had gotten in serious trouble one time before. But that’s another story. First I have to confess to my kids about it.

But back to this second time. I was with Robert Levinson and we had just gone to see Isaac Asimov speak. We were both fans of Asimov. I loved his “Foundation” series. The series is about the decline of the Galactic Empire and a group of people who use statistics (“psychohistory”) to determine that the decline will last 30,000 years and so they need to store up as much intelligence as possible before the end comes. The series was three books and written in the early 1950s and is still a great series. I reread it in 2003 but more on that in a second. His other major series, that I was not really interested in, resulted in the movie , “I, Robot” starring Will Smith:

(scene from I, Robot)

I can’t remember what Asimov spoke about. It was the first time I was in the room with such a personality and I think I was overwhelmed by it.

Afterwards, Rob and I went to Rob’s house. He had just gotten a mo-ped. I had never ridden one so we were riding around on it when the police stopped us and asked if I was “James Altucher”. If the same thing happened to me now I know my auto-reflex answer would be, “No, but I think I saw him going in the other direction.”

In any case, my grandparents had called the police when I didn’t report in instantly after the Asimov talk. There were worried I had gone and joined some Asimovian cult, as if there were one. They couldn’t stop talking about it all night. I only wanted to ride a mo-ped for ONCE IN MY LIFE.

I wasn’t even that into science fiction other than that Foundation series and a few stories. I was more into the Fantasy Genre.Tolkien and Zelazny were my heroes. Not Asimov.

But I recently read his memoir and some of his shorter works and it brought back memories and how much I really learned from him:

A) Prolific-ness. Asimov wrote 467 published books. Some of them were anthologies. But even on those he wrote in-depth intros and intros to each story. Most of his books were non-fiction which I think he viewed as easier than novels. He estimated that after the invention of the word processor he published 1700 words a day on average. Most people have a hard time writing even 500 words a day, let alone 1700 words a day.

So I’ve decided. I want to write a 100 books. As long as I have something to offer I’m going to try to write at least 1000 words worth publishing each day. A lot of great authors sacrifice quantity for perceived quality. Like Thomas Pynchon’s meager portfolio of books or JD Salinger’s. But Asimov shows you can do both (and I would take the Foundation series over Pynchon’s “Gravity’s Rainbow” any day).

B) A sense of Wonder. In his memoir he writes that his favorite short story that he wrote was “The Last Question.” I couldn’t remember whether or not I had ever read it. I went to the bookstore at the Grand Central train station in NYC and picked up a collection of his stories. On the trainride I noticed “The Last Question” was in it so I started reading. Within a few lines I remembered – I had read it at least thirty years earlier. And I even remembered what the last line of the story was going to be. And it was true. It was his best story. It was one of my favorite stories ever and I had constantly recalled it over the past thirty years even though I had long forgotten the title. It was beautiful, and re-reading it again brought back that initial sense of wonder I felt thirty years ago.

I felt like a 13 year old again. It washed off all the sense of dirty responsibility I have now – to family, kids, bills, colleagues, investors – to myself and the goals I’ve set for myself now that the hopes of youth get tinged with regret and the regrets I’ll feel in the future are my meager hopes now. What goals? What hopes? They all disappeared for a split second into that last line and into the question that spit it out – The Last Question.

C) A Group to Grow Up With. In the 1940s, my three favorite science fiction writers: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein (probably my favorite of the three), were “the big three” of science fiction. They were the three best then and probably the three best ever. And they were all friends who challenged each other, competed, saw each other whenever possible, and built up a companionship with each other that lasted for decades. It reminds me of how Burroughs, Kerouac, and Ginsberg formed a literary bond that became the Beat Generation of writing. In almost any science, art, culture, literature, you can find these groups. We won’t know now, or for decades even, but I wonder if the same thing will happen in the relatively new genre of “blog-ature.” Doing more with a blog than “10 tips to get more blog users” or “Here’s what happened today to my five year old.”

(Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg, at the beginning of their rise to fame)

A good quality blog post has particular qualities that make it different from any other literary genre:

* - It has to capture you from the first sentence. Short stories written in the New Yorker don’t, for instance. The New Yorker has a captive audience: someone bought the magazine and they are going to sit and read that story no matter how bored they are. When someone reads a blog they probably already have ten tabs open on their browser. They can flip away in a microsecond if you don’t grab them and hold them.
* - You have to tell a story. A simple list is no good. Nobody is going to believe “10 ways to make a million dollars” if you don’t tell your personal and painful story about how you made it.
* - You have to solve a problem. People historically use computers to solve problems. They don’t read fiction on computers, for instance. A blog, even if it’s a blog told in mostly story format, has to provide a solution to some personal problem or world problem.
* - Honesty. Blogs from day one are personal and honest. The best ones bleed all over the screen. A good story has an underdog. A good blog has someone that the predators have targeted. Does the blogger come out alive? Does the reader find catharsis with the bloggers rescue?

When I write “10 reasons to quit your job” its not because I want you to quit your job. It’s because I’ve had jobs and they have made me sick: the backstabbing, the subservience, the insignificance of being one cog in a meaningless machines that grinds away to produce…what? More Americana? Who did I help? Who are you helping?

D) Humble Vanity. Asimov has a quote in his memoir and I can’t find it at the moment but he basically says, “I’m the most brilliant man there is. And this is not being vain. It would only be vanity if you can find someone more intelligent than me!” And he’s only half-joking but then throughout the book we see that he is horrible at chess, not the most smooth with women, not the best husband or father, and on and on he admits to all his foibles while still grasping onto his one trophy, that he’s is basically thebest at whatever he wants to be the best at. And why not think that way? Why suffer from a false humility which we all know is the worst kind of vanity. His vanity is honest and earned. But he is also half-joking because he doesn’t care what we think. But he does care! Its only a half-joke. Which makes it even more funny. Or not. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. But you get it. I got it.

E) Trading. Yes, Isaac Asimov saved my financial life. I was losing everything I ever worked for. I needed to make some money. I had a lot of time on my hands because I had no job. The dot-com boom had busted. Nobody would even talk to me or have anything to do with me. I had been a quick solar flare in the supernova of dot-com finance and now I had been absorbed back into the black hole at the center.

So I re-read the “Foundation” series by Asimov. The premise is that with the use of statistics (he called it “psychohistory”) you can gather up all the prior history and use it to predict the future. So that’s exactly what I did. I loaded up all the historical data of the stock market into some software and wrote programs to figure out what would happen next. So, for instance, what happened the prior 90 times that MSFT opened up 5% down? Oh, if you buy at the open, then 89 out of 90 times it went up 2% before 10am. Ok, I’m a buyer. And that’s how I would do all my trades and made money almost every day trading for the next three years.

During this time I went to Las Vegas to visit with Jack Binion, the owner of BInion’s casino and a bunch of riverboat casinos on the Mississippi. A stayed at his house and it was the first and only time I was ever in Las Vegas without staying at a hotel. He was in the process of selling all his casinos for a cool $3 or $4 billion. I wanted him to invest some money with me.

(Binion's Casino)

I remember three things about that visit, other than that Binion ultimately did not invest with me:

* 1) It was so hot in May in Las Vegas that you had to basically wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning to get some outside pool time. Then a little later in the day we drove out into the desert, which I had never done before.
* 2) Jack said, “ok, lets go eat at my favorite restaurant.” Jack Binion was a billionaire, everyone in Las Vegas knew him, and we were going to go to his favorite restaurant. I assumed gourmet food, expensive wine, and high-priced hookers hanging all over us at whatever top-secret restaurant in the best casino was going to host us that evening. We get in the car and head straight for…Cheesecake Factory. And then he gave his name and WE WAITED ON LINE for forty five minutes. Nice, humble guy. And the food was amazing.
* 3) I started to describe what I did. How I made my trades. His nephew piped up, “It sounds like a book I’m reading, Foundation by Isaac Asimov.” “You’re right!” But, billionaires stay billionaires by not handing out their money to any kid who comes in with a science fiction book strategy for trading the markets.

Asimov’s dead now. Unfortunately dying of AIDS from a blood transfusion. And my grandparents are dead. So they can’t call the police on me anymore (twice was enough). Jack Binion sold all his casinos and made billions. Rob Levinson graduated from mopeds to now doing highly specialized mechanic work on fancy race cars. I don’t daytrade anymore.

But I still want that sense of wonder that hit me for only a few moments in my childhood. I want it back. I want to know the answer to the Last Question over and over again, forever. I want it now. I don’t want it to ever leave me again.

Remembering Isaac Asimov's Election Day

2011-11-30T11:07:00.001-07:00

From Read Write web: Remembering Isaac Asimov's Election Day

By David Strom / November 29, 2011

Watching the elections in Egypt this week and as one of the few Americans who are planning on voting next week in our off-year election, I am reminded of one of my favorite science fiction stories by the master Isaac Asimov called "Franchise". The story was written in the 1950s and takes place ironically in 2008 on election day. Computers and exiting polling have gotten so accurate in predicting the winner that only one person is needed to actually cast their vote.

The person is chosen by the all-powerful Multivac computer and asked a series of seemingly random questions that have nothing to do directly with politics or even addressing the candidates themselves. After this person casts his vote, the winners of the election are announced.

The story is interesting because the candidates still purchase TV ad time and appear at various campaign events, but it made me think those many years ago when I first read it how ridiculous our whole political process is. And no matter what party affiliation you might have at the moment, you probably agree that things could be improved. Though I am not sure that a Multivac automating the voting process as Asimov foretold would be much of an improvement.

It does seem as if the computers, or at least the predictive process, has taken a front seat to the actual plebiscite itself. We limit the predictions by the networks until after the polls close in each time zone, with the curious result that at the top of each hour on election night there is a rash of races that have been called by each network's computers. Some of these predictions proved spectacularly wrong, as was the case of Florida during the 2000 election. All that matters is what is produced for our viewing pleasure.

In Asimov's story, Norman, our "typical" voter, has a conflict. He has to tell the truth (Multivac of course monitors his bio-signs to ensure that he isn't lying). He is physically ill the night before the election, realizing his burden is large. His family is terrified, because police surrounds his house. This is to ensure that he isn't harmed on the way to the polling place, where he can discharge his civic duty.

Now, embarrassingly among modern democracies, we Yanks are at the very bottom of voter turnout. Wikipedia lists us below 50% here. There are some countries, such as Australia and Brazil, where voting is compulsory. Austria and Italy, where it isn't, have better than 90% turnout rates. And given the number of governments in Italy, they vote fairly often too.

So think about the Egyptians who are voting for the first time in their lives this week and if you aren't yet registered to vote, take some time to do so. Consider yourself fortunate that Norman and the Multivac haven't replaced you quite yet.

And you can find "Franchise" in a variety of short story collections if you want to give it a read.

"A Fine Romance" Takes a Look at the Jewish Influence in Science Fiction

2011-11-25T16:14:00.001-07:00

It's a few days old - but the fact that they're doign it is interesting.

From Urban Citizen: "A Fine Romance" Takes a Look at the Jewish Influence in Science Fiction

URBANA, Ohio (November 15, 2011) - Urbana University Associate Professor of English, Tom Smith, will present "Davids Among the Goliaths: The Jewish Presence in Science Fiction" on Thursday, November 17 at 4 p.m. in the Swedenborg Memorial Library on the Urbana University campus, 579 College Way. The presentation is part of the lecture series accompanying the national traveling exhibit "A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, 1910 - 1965" which is in the University library until December 14. The presentation and exhibit are free and open to the public.

Smith will describe the significant contributions made to science fiction literature by Jewish writers, including Isaac Asimov, Hugo Gernsback, Robert Silverberg, and Harlan Ellison. He reports that Gernsback is credited with naming the "science fiction" genre. In April 1926, an oversized pulp magazine, titled Amazing Stories hit the newsstands. Gernsback, a Jewish immigrant from Luxembourg, was its editor and publisher and he combined the words "scientific" and "fiction" to create "scientifiction." Finding this too awkward to pronounce, the term was changed to "science fiction."

The prize for science fiction writing is called a "Hugo" in honor of Gernsback. The first science fiction novel to receive a Hugo was The Demolished Man, written by Alfred Bester, a Jewish writer and magazine editor. Robert Silverberg, a prolific author, won his first Hugo in 1956 as "Most Promising New Writer" and went on to win three additional Hugo awards during his career.

Harlan Ellison was thrown out of The Ohio State University and was told by his creative writing teacher that he would never get anything published. He has since received ten and a half Hugos. His first award was for "'Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman" in 1966. He also edited the groundbreaking science fiction anthologies Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). Ellison has written more than 1700 short stories, novellas, and screenplays and has won multiple Hugos, Nebulas and Edgar awards.

Isaac Asimov, who received six Hugo awards, was trained as a biochemist. Asimov, at the age of 18, published his first story in Amazing Stories. His first Hugo award was in 1973 for the novel, The Gods Themselves. Asimov wrote a series of nonfiction works with the series title Asimov's Guide to .... Among other topics, he covered astronomy, physics, chemistry, math, biography, Shakespeare, and the Bible. By the time Asimov died in 1992, he had published 470 books.

Smith has a bachelor's and master's degree of English from The Ohio State University. He specializes in science fiction, nineteenth and twentieth century British and American Fiction, and creative writing. An Ohio native (born and raised in Springfield), Smith resides in Urbana with his wife Jill (a 1992 graduate of Urbana University) and their three teenaged daughters.

The "A Fine Romance" exhibit can be viewed in the Swedenborg Memorial Library, located on the Urbana University campus, 579 College Way, Urbana, during the month of November: Monday - Thursday 8am - 10 pm; Friday 8am - 4:30 pm; Saturday 12 noon - 4pm and Sunday evenings 7 pm - 10 pm. The exhibit will be closed from Wednesday, November 23 - Sunday, November 27 for Thanksgiving. In December, the exhibit will be open for viewing Monday - Friday 8am - 4:30 pm until December 14. The exhibit is free and open to the public. A series of programs continues throughout November looking at the role of Jewish Americans in American culture. For additional information, please contact library@urbana.edu or 484-1409.

"A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, 1910-1965" was developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture, and ideas, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The national tour of the exhibit has been made possible by grants from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, and an anonymous donor, with additional support from Tablet Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life.

New posting schedule

2011-11-21T19:45:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting - had some family issues.

The posting schedule for this blog - starting this Wednesday, Nov 23, will be Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Thanks for your patience!

saac Asimov and Bunk

2011-11-15T01:42:00.001-07:00

From Planet 3.0.org: Isaac Asimov and Bunk
Two Short Essays, Loosely Connected
Asimov

I have had a lifelong ambition to have Isaac Asimov’s job (which Carl Sagan more or less took over at one point.)

One wonderful thing about Asimov was his discipline, no matter what else befell him, to write a monthly science tutorial of some sort for Fantasy and Science Fiction. For most of my teenage years I read these faithfully and diligently.

So I just picked up one of the old F&SF issues I managed to hold onto, and did an approximate word count. It seems the essay was about 3500 words.

Perhaps 800 or 900 words a week. That really isn’t very much for a not entirely failed techno-bunny. Yet the teenage me was very grateful for it, as I recall.

Thoughts of Isaac Asimov came up today as I worked my way through the very accessible introduction to ocean acidification at Skeptical Science, in no less than 18 parts of about 500 words each. These seemed exasperatingly small chunks to me, but the whole collection amounts to perhaps a double or triple a standard Asimov pop science article.

But what does the web want? I’m thinking a science piece of 1000-1200 words might be long enough to advance an argument and short enough to avoid too much “tl;dr”, and that 1/3 of an Asimov piece should be our target pop science article size.

So anyone wanting to make an extended argument (based on high-school level maths) around here should plan on writing say three pieces a month of 1000-1200 words and a few equations and diagrams.

I am looking into these articles because of a specific question. If CO2 has been so much higher than today, why is ocean acidification a problem now? I know most of the answer but I haven’t seen an accessible version of it anywhere. I am not sure the answer will be clear enough for my taste in the SkS piece. I’ll report back on this, one way or the other. Any assistance would be welcome.
Bunk

Amusingly, (given that I think the climate community spends way too much time on the defensive), the Asimov piece that I picked up was specifically about debunking a pernicious piece of nonsense of the time. This bunk is something which a few of my fellow boomers will recollect and everyone else has duly forgotten, as is the fate of all bunk.

The piece was about the work of one Immanuel Velikovsky, a fundamentalist and a pseudoscientific crank, whose thesis was basically that all of the miracles reported in the bible were a consequence of the erratic orbit of Venus and its interaction with a passing comet, or something of the sort. One of Velikovsky’s tomes was called “Worlds in Collision” and Asimov’s essay (in the October 1969 issue) was called “Worlds in Confusion”.

Among the ruefully familiar observations:

I said… “the reaction of astronomers varied from amusement to anger, and the Velikofskian theory has never, for one moment, been taken seriously either by scientists or by Biblical scholars.” That’s all I said, and it seems to me that I spoke gently and without undue heat. Nevertheless the vials of wrath were opened upon me and I received a number of letters from ardent Velikofskians denouncing my innocent statement with a great deal of emotional fervor.

Which just goes to bear out my feeling that there is no belief, however foolish, that will not gather its faithful adherents who will defend it to the death.

It isn’t even difficult to see why Velikofskianism would be attractive to certain groups. Velikofsky uses his theories to try to show that certain of the miracle tales in the Bible …are more or less true. To be sure, he removes those events from the miraculous by taking away the hand of God and substituting a set of weird natural phenomena instead, but that makes no difference.

Velikofsky’s book made the headlines as the work of a “scientist” (which Velikofsky is not). It was ballyhooed as demonstrating that “science” was proving the Bible true – though the amount of real science in the book could be placed in the eye of a needle without making it more difficult to thread.

Still, to all those who were brought up with traditional beliefs concerning the Bible, it was a great relief that science (the great enemy) had finally “proved” all those miracles, and the book became a best-seller.

Secondly, Velikofsky’s views tended to make orthodox astronomers look foolish. Imagine those stupid professors not seeing all those things that Velikofsky presented so plainly!

There is always something pleasant about seeing any portion of the “establishment” come a cropper, and the Scientific Establishment in particular. Scientists, these days, are so influential, so far out of the ordinary clay, so supreme in their self-confidence, and (to put it in a nub) so “smarty-pants” that it is a particular pleasure to see them stub their toes and go flat on their faces.

Letters of Note: Asimov to Horn Book

2011-11-15T00:30:00.002-07:00

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/11/please-no-preferential-treatment.html
There is an absolutely wonderful blog called Letters of Note which shares jpgs of interesting letters sent by a variety of people. One letter they shared was from Isaac Asimov. (The Horn Book is a children's magazine, and Asimov wrote reviews for them).

The Thought Slavermasters

2011-11-14T01:39:00.000-07:00

A political commentary

From Canada Free Press: The Thought Slavermasters
Most would call it inhuman slavery of the mind. Liberals call it ‘better living through science’.

Liberals have used science at the service of their ideology for a long time. Consider Sigmund Freud, whose theories were so destructive to Western sexual morality, or the work of Margaret Mead which propagated the false belief in the infinite malleability of human nature and advanced the Free Love Movement. Mead has been shown by Derek Freeman to be spectacularly wrong, and likely purposefully so.

Liberals have advanced their worldview through countless acts of subversion through science. The DDT ban. The nuclear freeze movement. Global Warming.

We have witnesses the abuse of science for well over a century.

And that abuse has always extended to the human mind. Psychology, psychoanalysis, sociology have all been attempts to understand the human thought process, and frequently to alter it. Consider the rise of modern propaganda; the work of people like Edward Bernays would be seized upon by Joseph Goebbels in Nazi Germany to control the thoughts of the populace. New techniques utilizing recording technology, radio, (later) television, gave those who seek to inculcate their views powerful new ways to not just compel behavior but to control thought itself.

Thought control is the ultimate end for Progressives; they have always wanted to fundamentally alter human nature. And now they may be at the point where they can do it.

According to Roger Pielke Jr.:

“Chris Mooney, the author and blogger who once alleged a Republican “war” on science, is going back to that well one more time with a new book. In it he “explores brain scans, polls, and psychology experiments to explain why conservatives today believe more wrong things.”

Mooney writes:

”[T]here might be a combination of genes acting together that somehow predispose us to have particular politics, presumably through their role in influencing our brains and thus our personalities or social behaviors ..,”

Mooney promises to explain:

”[T]he real, scientific reasons why Republicans reject the widely accepted findings of mainstream science, economics, and history—as well as many undeniable policy facts.”

Gee, with an understanding of the “real, scientific reasons” behind such a disability, perhaps scientists might develop some sort of medicine or gene therapy for “Republicanism.” The search for such a cure would not occur for political reasons, of course, but for humanitarian reasons. The obvious mental impairments suffered by these misguided and genetically inferior people are, of course, not their fault, but perhaps aided by science, we can help them.

The Left has been using this old saw for a long, long time; I direct your attention here. The Soviet Union frequently used the psikhushka, or psychiatric hospital, to break dissidents; the claim was that anybody who couldn’t see the benefits of the glorious socialist revolution and who did not have some sort of privilege to protect must be crazy.

There is great merit for the Left in calling the other side insane. Remember, the fundamental underlying assumption in Liberal thought has always been that Man is inherently good, and Liberalism is rational—and if that is so then those of good will MUST be liberals! Either that, or they must either have some personal benefit to gain, or be insane. Nobody could actually oppose their worldview sincerely without being insane or self-serving! And, of course, if they are insane, they must be treated medically.

Which is precisely why socialized medicine is so important to the advancement of the leftist agenda; if the medical profession is a government service then it is easy to suppress your enemies on medical grounds. Doctors could report “latent right wing tendencies” to the authorities as they might note latent schizophrenia. Efforts could be undertaken to suppress this dangerous malady before it metastasizes.

A few years back I wrote about a junk science study (which no doubt figures into Chris Mooney’s book) which claimed that liberal brains are more flexible than those of conservatives.

This poorly conducted research by a group of political liberals illustrated that it is possible to manipulate science to say what one wants. But the point is it is intended to establish a medical distinction which lays the grounds for later suppression of conservatives.

Citing an earlier study from 2003 (which included a member of the later team) I quoted the press release;

“Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include: Fear and aggression, Dogmatism, and intolerance of ambiguity, Uncertainty avoidance, Need for cognitive closure, Terror management”

If this is hardwired into the brain, if such bad things as resistance to change and tolerance for inequality and aggression Dogmatism are biologically driven, would it not be incumbent upon medical science to find a cure? Why not use medicine to “cure” such a psychosis?

And given the increasing understanding of the human brain, the ability to “cure” conservatives becomes terrifying. It is fast becoming possible to medically circumvent free will.

In point of fact, these possibilities have been understood by those coming out of the Left; consider the science used to shape individuals in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

Consider this fun little gadget. Invented by the Saudis, it is essentially a tiny GPS system designed to be inserted into the body and thus allowing the government to track the “registered” person’s movements. A slight modification would allow this device to inject a lethal substance into the subject with the push of a button (thus making it similar to the slave control device from Star Wars Episode One-the Phantom Menace).

Cutting edge technology will soon make it possible to control the populace at the neurological level, giving the ultimate power to leftist tyrants.

Consider this research into using ultrasound to remotely affect human brains. Improvement in sonic lenses and the use of pulsed sonic waves opens the door to tampering with previously mapped portions of the brain. These sound waves can excite or inhibit certain brain functions, meaning that it should be possible to develop a neural remote control, possibly with a receiver on a person’s forehead. (Does anybody remember the remote control in the remake of The Stepford Wives?)

Now, the mind and the brain are different things, and fine control of a person’s thoughts seems unlikely, but control of the ancient, mammalian portions of the brain—those portions controlling motor functions and emotions—may be entirely possible. This is scary stuff.

Here is another disturbing development; neuroscientists have mapped out the areas associated with social relationships. Apparently, these lie in the left and right inferior temporal lobes, orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum, and the left putamen and pallidum, as well as lower gray matter in the left and right cerebellum.

According to one of the researchers:

“Professor Simon Baron Cohen, of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, said: “This is an important study in showing that the degree to which we find socializing rewarding is correlated with differences in brain structure.

“It reminds us that for some people, socializing is an intrinsic reward, just like chocolate or cannabis. And that what you find rewarding depends on differences in the brain.”

So, scientists now know what parts of the brain tie in with sociability. Liberals, as we all know, are very social critters. Perhaps conservatives require some brain alterations to make them more amenable?

Apparently this isn’t as impossible as it sounds; researchers have found that deep brain electrode stimulation can trigger the generation of new neurons in mice.

Here is the pertinent point about all this:

“After the electro-stimulation therapy, they injected the mice with iododeoxyuridine, a substance that allows experts to analyze which neurons are active, and which are not. After training the animals to a simple task, Stone looked at their brains, searching for a protein called Fos. This protein is associated with learning, and takes only 90 minutes to form. He learned that the Fos levels in both natural and artificially-produced neurons were the same. “These new neurons aren’t just sitting around doing nothing,” he concluded. ”

In short, electrode stimulation can generate new brain tissue that will allow people to learn far certain things far more quickly.

So, what will our future overlords require of us? Perhaps our wise and noble leaders in Washington can develop this technology to turn us all into tofu-loving, granola-eating, hybrid-driving liberals through better science? Children could have their brains manipulated to make them more “sociable” i.e. more liberal. Wouldn’t a man like Richard Dawkins advocate eradicating “superstitions” like God, through manipulations of the brain? With psychic manipulation, coupled with a reinforcement machine like that sonic brain gadget, it should be possible to create the ultimate voting public.

And why would anyone on the Left object? Liberals have always seen free will as an inconvenience to their plans, and they have traditionally labored to devise methods to control what people think and how they feel. The old Soviet Union had many techniques for brainwashing individuals, including sleep deprivation, propaganda, drugs.

To the Left—especially to the materialistic atheists on the Left—Man is but a series of conditioned responses, and free will is merely an illusion, the product of random, deterministic processes. Modern neuroscience has been used to buttress this position, since we have been learning about the different areas of the brain and how they relate to thought and behavior. At the core of all Leftism is the notion that human beings are ultimately mere cogs in a grand machine, and that they are the engineers who design this machine. Free will is relegated to a dusty notion from the past. That is why liberals are soft on crime; criminals act solely on the basis of their biological drives and the conditions under which they were raised. It isn’t their fault! Attempts to reform them have failed thus far, but if they had machines such as these…

This materialism is the heart and soul of liberalism, and all of the Left’s seemingly crazy ideas stem from this central concept. The welfare state, weakness on national security, monetary policy, all stem from a lack of faith in human free will. Liberals believe Man is inherently good, yet they think Man is incompetent because of poor planning and leadership. If they could find a way to impose their views, not just grudgingly, but to insert them into the hearts and minds of the individual…

The late science fiction writer and biologist, Isaac Asimov, dealt with the concept of mind control in his Foundation series. He argues that actually sensing and controlling thoughts—those little voices in our heads—is not something that could be done, at least not for a long time. Asimov believed that the more fundamental aspects of the brain could be manipulated. In his Foundation stories there was a type of sense possessed naturally by the character of the Mule and induced in people with natural proclivity by the Second Foundation whereby the “telepath” could “see” emotions in other people, much as sharks can “see” neural activity in their prey (sometimes by as much as 50 miles). Not only could these people sense emotions, but they could reach out and manipulate those emotions, setting them where they wanted them. Asimov explains that this is a result of magnetic resonance; the telepath’s brains could enter into magnetic resonance with the brain of the victim, then could alter the neural flow by changing their own flow in a special organ inside their brains.

And in the Foundation series this was a mighty ability; the most hated enemy could be made into the most loyal friend, people could be motivated to achieve higher intellectual states, anything was possible (including execution through emotional control for the most horrific death that could be meted out.)

But this power was a natural function of the human brain in Asimov, and obviously the amount of energy that the human brain could project would be limited. We could do a far better job with a mechanical device and a power source. We could create the ultimate horror.

Which is why it is not so much a matter of if as of when; tyrants have always wanted this power, and with the help of irresponsible science and materialistic liberals, this power will be theirs. It will be sold to the public as a matter of great good; a device to control depression or bi-polar or obsessive-compulsion. Later, it could become a vehicle for giving pleasure aka science fiction writer Larry Invents wireheads. But the time will come when these techniques will be used to control the public, control the hearts and minds of people. This would be slavery beyond any in human history.

And there is a tendency towards this in so many new technologies; “smart meters” to tell electric customers about their energy usage habits can easily be adopted to control energy usage and give this information to the government, for example. (In Britain they have overflights of neighborhoods with infrared viewers to see who is wasting energy.) Liberals are always willing to tell people how to live for their own good. People frequently do not listen. They will have to be made to obey, nay, to BELIEVE!

Communist countries have long treated anti-communists as mentally ill, and put them in sanitariums. A machine that could make a person into a liberal would be a Godsend, if they believed in God. I fear He will be the first casualty of these new technologies.

But then, God Himself does not make people think the way He wants. Only Liberals do that.

New Science Channel series celebrates Prophets of Science Fiction

2011-11-13T23:35:00.001-07:00

From Borg.com: New Science Channel series celebrates Prophets of Science Fiction
This week the Science Channel, part of the Discovery family of networks, premiered a new series, helmed by producer Ridley Scott (Aliens, Blade Runner), celebrating the scientific foresight of masters of classic science fiction literature. Prophets of Science Fiction will explore both the literary accomplishments of authors such as Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and Philip K. Dick, as well as their influence on ongoing scientific advancement.

The series begins with a profile of Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), credited with creating the science fiction genre as a whole. With commentary from Shelley scholars and historians, the series premiere offers parallel storylines of Shelley’s life and literary career, the plot and themes of her seminal novel, and the scientific underpinnings that inspired her immortal work. Interviews with scientists on the cutting edge of electrical medicine, genetics, and artificial intelligence round out the episode, with Shelley’s tale of science-without-responsibility providing the cautionary undercurrent.

A centerpiece of Science Channel’s rare original programming, Prophets of Science Fiction is getting due attention on their website. Check out interviews with contributors including Ridley Scott, historical notes on the authors, and an episode guide, showing eight episodes that will air at least through February.

Future episodes will profile Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and borg.com favorite George Lucas. Although the series begins with genre progenitor Mary Shelley, Episode 2 will feature Philip K. Dick, so it appears the series creators don’t plan a chronological exploration of their subject. Watch on Science Channel Wednesdays at 10 pm (Yes, borg.com is aware this is the same time as Psych. That’s why you have a DVR.).

Words From the Myths, by Isaac Asimov

2011-11-09T14:41:00.003-07:00

The writing of Words from the Myths
In Joy Still Felt (1954-1978), pg 190
"There were still tow chapters of The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science remaining to be written, but if Svirsky were planning to eviscerate the book, I had no intention of writing them. Nor, of course, would I return the advance. Nor would I discuss the matter with him and subject myself to the temptation of compromise.

On March 1, [1960] I simply started another book altogether, Words from the Myths. It was my intention to retell the Greek myths and point out that many English words were obtained from them or were reminiscent of one or another aspect of those myths.

The writing of Words from the Myths was perfect balm for my wounded spirit. It was forty thousand words long and took just 12 days to do.

It was the first book I wrote without any preliminary discussion with any editor. I was getting confident enough of my ability to assume that some publisher or other was bound to want any book I cared to write.

On March 14, 1960 I took it to Austin Olney, since it was he who had done Words of Science, and this new book could be viewed as a companion piece. There was no trouble at all. He liked it, asked for a few very minor changes, and then I got my contract.

I purchased Words From The Myths form Amazon.com's used-book program a few days ago, received it today.

Description:

In Words of Science, which went into three large printings during its first year of publication, Isaac Asimov described the odd histories and derivations of hundreds of scientific terms. Now in this book, he explores the Greek myths to discover the roots of hundreds of words that have entered into our daily language and the results are equally fascinating.

These ancient legends have always been an integral part of our culture. But even those who are familiar with Greek mythology will be surprised to see how Professor Asimov's approach adds fresh meaning and depth both to the stories and to the words we have inherited from them.

Words from the myths surround us from the time we eat our Cereal in the morning to when we sink into the arms of Morpheus at night; when we are Saturnine or Jovial; when we hear a siren or listen to music. They are particularly important scientific vocabulary, especially in the field of Astronomy and it is not without accident that our missiles bear such names as Atlas and Titan.

The dull and boring cover with the yellow stripe across the top is the hardback, the all black cover is paperback.

Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Beginning
2. The Titans
3. The Olympians
4. The Children of Zeus
5. Demigods and Monsters
6. Tales of Men
7. The Heroes
8. The Siege of Troy
Epilogue
General index
Mythological index

Out of This World: Little Lost Robot (7 July 1962)

2011-11-07T01:41:00.004-07:00

For my Kindle readers: You can't watch this on your Kindle. Go to Youtube and do a search for Little Lost Robot:

This is the only surviving episode from a British TV series called 'Out Of This World', hosted by the great Boris Karloff. 'Little Lost Robot' was written by Isaac Asimov and adapted by Leo Lehmann. The story editor was Irene Shubik, producer of 'Out Of The Unknown'. Aired on 7 July 1962 (season 1, episode 3), 'Little Lost Robot' starred Maxine Audley, Clifford Evans, Murray Hayne and Gerald Flood.

Lost Asimov TV: The Caves of Steel

2011-11-06T22:12:00.003-07:00

John Carson as R. Daneel Olivaw and Peter Sellers as Lije Bailey

Here's the text from the YouTube summary showing a very few, very brief clips from The Caves of Steel:

The Documentary - Time Shift Machine Men provides an extended scene towards the end of the clip and a further scene pruned from the documentary series Future Fantastic I Robot.

This was a BBC 2 production that was broadcast as part of "Story Parade" which specialized in adaptations of modern novels. It was broadcast on June 5, 1964 and repeated on August 28, 1964. The teleplay was by Terry Nation (who invented "Blake's 7" and the Daleks in Dr. Who), and Elijah Baley was played by the late Peter Cushing. It also starred John Carson as R. Daneel Olivaw and Kenneth J. Warren. The master tapes of the program were erased, however a few clips from the production have turned up in various documentaries about Isaac Asimov's work.

In the UK, a BBC documentary series hosted by Gillian Anderson titled "Future Fantastic" was broadcast in 1997. One particular edition was titled "I, Robot", and focused a great deal on Asimov's work. It also contained some of the rare clips from "Liar!" and "The Caves of Steel".

Asimov presented an episode titled "Robot", about developments in robotics, in December 1967 as part of the BBC documentary series "Towards Tomorrow". This is thought to be the original source of surviving clips from the Out of the Unknown teleplay "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and the BBC teleplay of "Caves of Steel". If you have a copy of this please get in touch!!!

The adaptation was the brainchild of Story Parade story editor Irene Shubik, who was an enthusiast of science fiction and a fan of Isaac Asimov in particular, once referring to him as one of the most interesting and amusing men I have ever met.[1] Shubik had previously devised and story edited the science fiction anthology series Out of This World, which had adapted Asimov's short story "Little Lost Robot" in 1962. The adaptation of the novel was handled by Terry Nation, who at this time had recently found fame and fortune as the creator of the popular Dalek monsters for the science fiction series Doctor Who.

The screenplay was generally faithful to the plot of the novel. The only major deviation was the conclusion in the television version the murderer commits suicide when he is unmasked, although in the novel he agrees to work to convince the Medievalists to change their ways. The other major change is that the roboticist Dr. Gerrigal is a female character in the television version.

Director Peter Sasdy later directed a number of Hammer horror films as well as the Nigel Kneale television play The Stone Tape. The Caves of Steel garnered good reviews: The Daily Telegraph said the play proved again that science fiction can be exciting, carry a message and be intellectually stimulating while The Listener, citing the play as the best of the Story Parade series, described it as a fascinating mixture of science fiction and whodunit which worked remarkably well.

The play was repeated on BBC1 on 28 August 1964. As was common practice at the time, the master tapes of "The Caves of Steel" were wiped some time after broadcast and the play remains missing to this day. A few short extracts survive: the opening titles and the murder of Sarton; Elijah and Daneel meeting Dr. Gerrigel (Naomi Chance) and Elijah and Daneel confronting the Medievalist Clousarr (John Boyd-Brent).

The success of "The Caves of Steel" led Irene Shubik to devise the science fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown, during which she oversaw the adaptation of six more Asimov stories, including The Caves of Steel sequel The Naked Sun. Please support the BBC in any release of this series.

Layman’s perspective of the 7 billionth

2011-11-03T12:45:00.002-06:00

For most of his adult life, Isaac Asimov preached about the dangers of over-population. In one of his essays, he said something along the lines of the fact that most people would be starving by the year 2000.

Well, it's the year 2000. Are most people starving? Why, yes, they are. There are various areas in Africa that have been under drought conditions for decades, and the people who live there are starving, not helped by the fact that they are in the middle of warzones and their own governments are letting them twist in the wind. They're getting food - occassionally - sure - brought in as charity from other countries.

What about people in the US. 50% of people in the US are on some form of welfare, including food stamps. Without that welfare, without "fortunate" (or should that be, industrious) people giving them charity, those people would be starving because they have no way of making a living for themselves - no education, too many children.

Florida has a little something called the Everglades. It used to be a big something, it's now a little something, and its becoming littler every day as thousands of people move to Florida every year - either legally or illegally - and the water table just can't cope.

There are states in the US that have to import their water from other states, as they have no water of their own. What happens when those other states run out of water?

The author below has read Asimov's fiction. Too bad she hasn't read his non-fiction.

From The Alchemists' Blog: Layman’s perspective of the 7 billionth
When I heard Nargis of India was born, and Danica of Philippines was born and Alexander of Russia was born, I felt strange. Oh, 7 billion? Well, ok!

I felt strange, because it had nothing to do with the overwhelming opinions regarding the huge population of the world. It had nothing to do with the adequacy of resources. It was about the attitude of all the 7 billion.

Heck, Earth was over staffed when it reached the 1 billion mark, I would say. Oh, do you remember this long forgotten statistic of the 1 billionth baby? This will happen with the 7 billionth too.

Who knew, we loved to procreate? My husband says, early earthlings had no other way to pass time. I neither agree nor disagree and vehemently state that is not the object of this post. I just want to voice my tiny little opinion that, this is not the end of the world, err… earth, literally.

Ever read the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov? Asimov created robots in his stories to be helpers of the humans, and then goes on to colonize other worlds –Trantor, Terminus, Solaris, Aurora, the list is endless. If you have happened to read those amazing series, you would feel strangely awesomely delightful about the possibilities. I think now is the time for our very dear NASAites to think about this. No, I am not giving orders, but subtle suggestions like the second foundationers from Asimov’s book. Lol!

Spread love, like the evangelists preach, like the philosophers ruminate, like the spiritualists will, like everyday people (you and me) wish. Stop war abruptly. Eradicate anger, hatred, racism and intolerance, like you press the “Shift+Del” key of your computer. Compassion and Understanding are two huge tasks. This possibility sounds even more difficult than colonizing worlds, huh?! I know, it’s the same for me too. But ah, well, definitely worth a try what do you think? If you have to see those billion faces again and again and again for at least 70 odd years (assuming mother earth decides not to get rid of her burden sooner lol ), then at least learn to tolerate them. Perhaps, eventually, we can understand the billions and learn to ‘pretend’ to love. See, I am again being realistic by only requesting us to pretend (for starters, at least :p ).

Oh, there is another prospect too. Keep cribbing about earth’s burden, ecology, global warming, population per square mile (or whatever else the math works out to), inadequacy of resources, possibilities of future penury, starvation, wastage of food, other statistics, incomprehensible ratios and such. I leave it to the statisticians, economists, mathematicians, planners, and whoever else is responsible of these things. And with all that, welcome the endless blogs, endless newspaper articles, endless debates and discussions on the media. And everyone’s tiny and shrieky voices about population EXPLOSION and all the ‘earthly’ mumbo jumbo. Scary, huh?!!

But, we are all here to stay, all 7 billion of us, unless we resort to civilized, planned man slaughter. And well, I don’t foresee that weird situation. So, let us work towards making a better world for today and tomorrow and evolve into better people. The rest of the statistics, scares, and environmental/ecological trivia will either fall into place or all of us collectively, lovingly, egregorically will out an idea.

And possibly (*wink wink*) discover many many worlds outside of our stellar systems.

Love the Asimov guy! The possibilities never end!

Asimov in the News: Change is Good

2011-11-02T12:41:00.002-06:00

From Financial Post: Change is Good
Investors may not like the direction the stock markets are heading, nor company execs, but it should be viewed as an opportunity to look at things in a new, perhaps more profitable, light. Many of the country’s top 100 CEOs are already doing just that

The only constant is change. It’s been said in one version or another since about 500 BC, although it’s a line typically credited to 20th century author Isaac Asimov. But some might be feeling that perhaps we could use a little less change right about now.

At the start of 2011, economists were relatively bullish on the future, noting the world had, more or less, recovered from the most recent recession. Now we’re on the edge of a double-dip downturn, even here in Canada. The dollar, once an albatross because of its low value relative to the greenback, reached parity again this year and became an albatross of a different sort. And investors who watched their portfolios dwindle during 2008 and 2009, are watching them dwindle again as we approach the end of 2011.

But change is good. Change presents opportunities to examine things in a different light. It’s a chance to surrender what you are for what you could become. With that in mind, Financial Post Magazine has changed its annual CEO Scorecard to better reflect how corporate executives at some of Canada’s biggest revenue-generating companies are handling change. In short, to qualify for this year’s scorecard, a CEO must have been with a company (or predecessor) for at least 18 months as of the end of Aug. 2, 2011, a fair period of time for an executive to implement new policies or get rid of bad old ones. In other words: change things up, for better or worse.

Fortunately, almost all the execs that made the grade this year managed to eke out a positive two-year total return for their company shareholders. Overall, the average two-year return for the 100 executives on this year’s scorecard was 23.8%, a very decent return given that the S&P/TSX Composite Index returned 15.7% during the same time period.

The Top 100 is led by J. Michael Pearson at biotech firm Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., which has been on an acquisition spree (the 2010 purchase of Biovail Corp. being perhaps the most notable) that investors seem to like, nearly doubling the company’s stock value. Close behind is another life-sciences exec, Mark Thierer, whose SXC Health Solutions Corp. posted a two-year return of 87.7%. For their efforts both execs are handsomely rewarded by mere mortal standards. Pearson was paid more than $1.1 million in salary, bonus and other fixed compensation during 2010, while Thierer was paid $3.4 in fixed compensation, plus he could cash in on a swing of $8.3 million in the value of his outstanding stock options.

But while both executives are paid well by most standards, they earn less than the average $4.1 million that companies paid the top executives on our Top 100 Scorecard, led by the $12.5 million Onex Corp.’s Gerry Schwartz took home. (Both Valeant and Magna International paid more in total compensation, but both had two chief executives during the period under consideration.) At the bottom of the payscale is Murray Mullen, the chairman and CEO of transportation firm Mullen Group, who in April 2010 following a round of company layoffs decided to cut his annual salary to just $1. Mullen’s decision, certainly an admirable one, belies the fact that most executives are getting about what they deserve, according to our Bang for the Buck index, which makes a return following a one-year hiatus.

Check out the index on page 52. Any executive scoring around $1 is getting what they should be getting, according to a proprietary algorithm that takes into account a CEO’s comparative compensation and company revenue as well as their performance in their related TSX index. By that measure, Fairfax Financial is getting a bargain by paying V. Prem Watsa only $622,000 per year. He’s worth more than eight times that amount, or about $5.5 million, if Fairfax was paying market value.

Another “value” executive is Paul Sobey, who took home an average of $1.3 million during the past two fiscal years at Empire Co., but his company brought in almost $7 billion in revenue and had a 10% shareholder return. Both execs have substantial ownership stakes in their respective companies, proving the value of Warren Buffett’s old aphorism of having some skin in the game.

On the flip side, some companies likely overspent on executive compensation, although there are solid reasons for some of the companies at the bottom of the Bang for the Buck index. Take Valeant. It paid its execs an average of $8.7 million, but a big chunk of that was a severance package for Bill Wells, who was the CEO of Biovail and did not stay on when it merged with Valeant. The same goes for Magna International, which paid two CEOs until Siegfried Wolf departed on Nov. 15, 2010.

Most companies that did make the cut aren’t spending more on their chief execs than you might expect given the market for management talent. Overall, 75 of the Top 100 executives are getting paid what might be considered a normal salary, (that is, within the average deviation of 0.59) based on corporate performance, casting doubt on whether say-on-pay resolutions are really necessary. Say-on-pay resolutions received an average of 94% support at 67 Canadian companies holding votes this year, according to a study by Hay Group, but it also has concluded that corporate performance is not a particularly key factor in shareholder say-on-pay voting nor is it a big consideration in boardrooms.

Compensation levels vary by sector. In financials, eight of the 12 companies paid their executives more than the Top 100 average, but their index was the only one to report a negative two-year return, albeit just a 0.7% decline. The reason for the extra pay: Banks and financial services firms bring in more revenue and employ more people than the average company and likely affect more people. The telecom industry is also a big payer, but it’s dominated by some giants, BCE, Rogers Communications and Telus, who pay far more than the minnows, Bell Aliant and Manitoba Telecom Services. Again, the larger the company, the higher the executive pay and the greater the increases, as might be expected.

But many governance proponents suspected that as more compensation information was disclosed and debated, the more likely salaries would be held down. That doesn’t seem to be the case — at least not so far. Revenue at the 100 companies on the Scorecard increased 8% to $5.7 billion between fiscal 2008 and 2010, while executive salaries jumped 19.8% to $908,000, certainly more than the average worker could expect. Overall, the average executive’s fixed compensation package (excluding options) rose 23% in the past three years. And executive options have increased by an average of almost $6 million during each of the past two years.

In previous iterations of the Scorecard, options were included in a CEO’s compensation and calculated as the change in their value during the fiscal year. This led to the rather curious result that some executives’ compensation was reported as negative, which was clearly not the case. For example, the value of Patrick Daniel’s options declined by almost $20 million in 2010, but they grew by $27.1 million the previous year. Don’t feel too bad for the Enbridge CEO: He still took home $6.7 million. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan CEO William Doyle’s options, meanwhile, grew by $113 million in value during 2010, but his take-home pay was a paltry (by comparison) $7.9 million. Both examples illustrate that the value of options can swing wildly, but they can often make up a substantial portion of a CEO’s potential compensation, which is why we have listed them.

Our Scorecard, however, shouldn’t be read as a list of winners and losers, although it’s certainly tempting to read it that way. It’s a snapshot of a point in time, a time some investors are likely longing for. If the equivalent data was pulled today, it’s likely a lot of company returns would not be so heady; quite a few might even be negative given the stock-market swoon in September. But as long-term investors and successful corporate executives know, it’s always better to be prepared for things to change.

How did Asimov justify his existence?

2011-10-31T02:43:00.002-06:00

In Asimov's Black Widower's story, each dinner guest us asked, "How do you justify your existence. An editor asked this question of Asimov:

"How do I justify my existence? By my writing, I amuse people and make them happy. My writing style is simple, straight-forward and upbeat - nothing nasty or horrid or violent or perverse. In this sad world, I think that anyone who spreads happiness automatically justifies there existence."

How could Asimov write so much?

2011-10-31T02:39:00.002-06:00

From Yours, Isaac Asimov, pg 12

"Rightly or wrongly, I rarely wade through primary material. My references are generally a variety of encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, etc.,-in other words, predigested stuff and secondary material.

This would hurt myconscience if I ever pretended to be contrinuting anything to scholarship, but I don't. I cheerfully admit that I never present anything new. What I have to sell is arrangement and style.

I was once stopped by someone when I was writing one of my books on words because I had a Webster's Unabridged open before me. He said, "Why, you're just getting your material out of Webster's."

And I said, "That's right. Here's Webster's and here's what I've written so far. Do you want to continue?""

How did Asimov write so clearly?

2011-10-30T02:35:00.002-06:00

He explains this in an essay he wrote called "The Mosaic and the Plate Glass," but in short form, here's the principle (from Yours, Isaac Asimov(:

"I simply make use of the English language. I never use a long word when a short one will do or literary trickery when plain-speaking will do. Doing all that, I am capable of convincingly treating my readers as my intellectual equals, and in return for that, they will go to all lengths to understand me."

How did Asimov learn to write?

2011-10-30T02:32:00.002-06:00

From Yours, Isaac Asimov

pg 9

"I honestly don't know how to write or how to advise anyone else to write. I can do it, but that doesn't say I know how to do it. I also synthesize DNA in every cell of my body, but I don't know the exact details of how I do that, either."

Asimov actually learned how to write first by reading voraciously as a young child, and having a desire to tell stories himself.

When he first started trying to break into John W. Campbell's magazine, Campbell would give him detailed advice, and in his autobiography Asimov says that he learned a lot from that.

Why did Asimov write?

2011-10-29T02:29:00.002-06:00

From Yours, Isaac Asimov:

"I write in order to teach and in order to make people feel good (for I am wedded to the theory that learning is the most enduring pleasure.) It is nice to make money doing so. However, my chief reason for writing is to please myself, because I myself learn by writing. And that it my pleasure, too."

Sprague de Camp and Cliff Simak

2011-10-29T02:21:00.005-06:00

On 16 September, 1955, Asimov wrote a letter or postcard to someone. (The one flaw in Yours, Isaac Asimov is that we usually are not told to whom Asimov was writing.)

From this letter, we may take it that by 1955 de Camp and Simak were good friends who exchanged letters...but of course that Asimov was more prompyt than they.

From pg 4
"Writing at once and answering at once is one of my many compulsions. I do not expect it of others. The pattern of my regular correspondences (as with Sprague de Camp, Cliff Simak and so on)is a letter from them, an answer from me by return mail, an answer from them any time from a month to a year later, an answer from me by return mail and so on. I virtually never write out of turn, so I end up never bothering anyone."

___________________
Bibliography
Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters, edited by Stanley Asimov. Doubleday, 1995

Crazy Ideas #1: His Accountant

2011-10-26T18:46:00.002-06:00

All writers - of fiction anyway - are asked where they get their ideas.

Asimov got many of those from his Black Widower mystery stories from real life.

For example, in "The Family Man," a Black Widowers story which appeared in a 1976 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, the Black Widower's guest is an IRS investigator. His presence prompts Thomas Trumbull to say, "Good God. And you offer that as justification for your existence? Horse-whipping with barbed wire is what it justifies."

Later on in the story, Trumbull says, ""What the hell has 'unwilling' got to do with it? You enforce your own interpretation of the rules, act as prosecuting attorney and judge, hound us relentlessly, treat us as guilty till we prove ourselves innocent, and are perfectly ready to jail us if you can. What do you care if we're unwilling?"

and you know Asimov was thinking about the IRS when he had Geoffrey Avalon say this:
"I don't conscientiously pad, but I must admit that the IRS and I might not agree on just what constitutes a deductible expense in the first place."

And he has his IRS character say, "Then you deduct it till we tell you otherwise. That's the tax man's version of keeping you innocent until proven guilty."

Asimov never got in trouble with the IRS, but he was questioned about a deduction he took when he donated his papers to Boston University in 1968. (8 years before the events of "The Family Man."

From Yours, Isaac Asimov (a collection of Asimov's letters and postcards to people):

In late 1968, Isaac got a notice from the IRS that it had questions about his 1966 tax return.

1 November 1968
My accountant kept calming me and calming me and telling me he knew I was honest and the tax people knew I was honest and he would tell them flatly that it was a waste of time to question a man of my integrity, etc., etc. Then he looked through my tax return and said, "Aha-a-a-a." And I said, "What, what, what, what, what?" Then, to make it perfectly clear, , I said "What?" (That's a Wodehousian touch.

In 1966, I was giving my manuscripts and papers to BU, and for the first time, I received a note from them which included a notarized statement from some expert in such matters which gave an evaluation of the worth of my contribution. He placed it at $3,500. BU informed me I could deduct this from my income for tax purposes and so I did.

My accountant said, "Any sunstantial contribution in something other than money sets off an alarm in the computer and everyone comes running."

I said, "But I had nothing to do with it. I didn't ask for it. BU sent it of their own accord, and this guy is a recognized expert employed by them and this is a notarized letter."

And he said, "It doesn't matter. They want to argue it. They're going to question whether the material is worth that much."

I said, "For my part, it isn't worth anything. I used to burn it all before I started giving it to BU. But the university says its worth a great deal to them and to future generations of scholars."

He said, "I'll argue it with them and we'll see what happens."

Anyway, I'm not mad anymore because I think this is a legitimate investigation. In my case, I think the deduction is reasonable enough, but I can see where this sort of thing could lend itself to great abuse and the government should investigate it. And I'd rather be investigated myself in a careful guard against abuse than to escape it out of the general corruption and inefficiency of the government. Because, to be selfish about it, a rotten government would be far more expensive to me in the long run than the enforced (even unjustly enforced) payment of a few hundred dollars.

Brave New Words

2011-10-25T00:43:00.002-06:00

From I09: 10 Brave New Words
10 Words You Might Think Came from Science (But Are Really From Science Fiction  )
Last week it came to our attention that the phrase "blast off" was coined—not in a purely scientific context, but a science fictional one—by E. E. Smith, an early science fiction author often referred to as "the father of space opera." The term appeared in Smith's 1937 story Galactic Patrol, when one character inquires of another, "How long do you figure it'll be before it's safe for us to blast off?"

And it turns out blast off isn't the only scientific word or phrase with science fictional origins; here is a list of nine more, originally composed by Jeff Prucher—editor for the Oxford English Dictionary's Science Fiction Project and author of the Hugo Award—winning Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction—for the Oxford University Press Blog.

9. Robotics
This is probably the most well-known of these, since Isaac Asimov is famous for (among many other things) his three laws of robotics. Even so, I include it because it is one of the only actual sciences to have been first named in a science fiction story ("Liar!", 1941). Asimov also named the related occupation (roboticist) and the adjective robotic.

8. Genetic engineering
The other science that received its name from a science fiction story, in this case Jack Williamson's novel Dragon's Island, which was coincidentally published in the same year as "Liar!" The occupation of genetic engineer took a few more years to be named, this time by Poul Anderson.

7. Zero-gravity/zero-g
A defining feature of life in outer space (sans artificial gravity, of course). The first known use of "zero-gravity" is from Jack Binder (better known for his work as an artist) in 1938, and actually refers to the gravityless state of the center of the Earth's core. Arthur C. Clarke gave us "zero-g" in his 1952 novel Islands in the Sky.

6. Deep space
One of the other defining features of outer space is its essential emptiness. In science fiction, this phrase most commonly refers to a region of empty space between stars or that is remote from the home world. E. E. "Doc" Smith seems to have coined this phrase in 1934. The more common use in the sciences refers to the region of space outside of the Earth's atmosphere.

5. Ion drive
An ion drive is a type of spaceship engine that creates propulsion by emitting charged particles in the direction opposite of the one you want to travel. The earliest citation in Brave New Words is again from Jack Williamson ("The Equalizer", 1947). A number of spacecraft have used this technology, beginning in the 1970s.

4. Pressure suit
A suit that maintains a stable pressure around its occupant; useful in both space exploration and high-altitude flights. This is another one from the fertile mind of E. E. Smith. Curiously, his pressure suits were furred, an innovation not, alas, replicated by NASA.

3. Virus
Computer virus, that is. Dave Gerrold (of "The Trouble With Tribbles" fame) was apparently the first to make the verbal analogy between biological viruses and self-replicating computer programs, in his 1972 story "When Harlie Was One."

2. Worm
Another type of self-replicating computer program. So named by John Brunner in his 1975 novel Shockwave Rider.

1. Gas giant
A large planet, like Jupiter or Neptune, that is composed largely of gaseous material. The first known use of this term is from a story ("Solar Plexus") by James Blish; the odd thing about it is that it was first used in a reprint of the story, eleven years after the story was first published. Whether this is because Blish conceived of the term in the intervening years or read it somewhere else, or whether it was in the original manuscript and got edited out is impossible to say at this point.

Video: Isaac Asimov on Humanism, Making Bigger Circles

2011-10-24T19:39:00.001-06:00

My kindle readers can't see the video - but if you go to Youtube via your computer (Or via your Kindle Fire, when that's available) you can see plenty of vids of Asimov talking about everyhting under the sun.

The Next Mars Rover Is Nuclear-Powered

2011-10-24T19:34:00.002-06:00

This is what my newscrawler told me would be said in this article:
The Next Mars Rover Is Nuclear-Powered
PCWorld

It almost sounds like something out of Isaac Asimov's Foundation where nuclear energy power everything from ships to handguns, but it's true. A few days before the rover's scheduled launch on November 25, NASA scientists will install the Multi-Mission ...

But in the article itself, Asimov's name isn't mentioned.

Nevertheless it's interesting.

From PCWorld, Geektech: The Next Mars Rover Is Nuclear-Powered
If you’ve seen the next Mar’s rover, named Curiosity (part of the Mars Science Laboratory--or MSL as it's called for short), you’ve probably noticed that it’s does not have solar panels, and that’s because it does not need them. NASA has opted for a more reliable miniature nuclear battery to serve as Curiosity’s main power source.

A few days before the rover's scheduled launch on November 25, NASA scientists will install the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. The generator is equipped with thermocouples that convert the heat generated from the natural decay of the plutonium dioxide into electricity. The power supply can provide Curiosity with a constant 110 watts of electricity that will allow the rover to travel farther than previous rovers and use more powerful analytical tools, all while continuously recharging its batteries.

NASA decided to use this alternative power source in place of solar panels because the Curiosity rover is like a compact car in comparison to its RC-car predecessors, Opportunity and Spirit. Curiosity weighs in at 2,000 pounds and measures 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall, which makes it twice as heavy and five times larger than the last two rovers.

The scientists also hope that the internal power system will also be more reliable in the dusty Martian environment than the solar panels on earlier rovers that were rendered useless in the planet’s winter.

The craziest thing about these radioisotope power sources is that they have been in use since the Apollo moon missions.

Scrabble superseded Asimov

2011-10-23T15:27:00.001-06:00

I just put on a Scrabble tournament yesterday here in Cheyenne - not as successful as I'd hoped. There are 8 people in my club - they showed up, and that was it. Despite the fact that we'd gotten a nice write up in our Wednesday paper - it generated no new people and no new spectators. Very disappointing.

But preparing for the tournament had taken up all my time, and that's why I've been lax here.

Regular posting starts tomorrow.

Asimov TV Watch: CSI.

2011-10-20T16:24:00.003-06:00

I was watching a re-run of CSI yesterday - Gus Grissom says that Isaac Asimov is one of his favorite writers, and quotes:

"I believe that only scientists can understand the universe. It is not so much that I have confidence in scientists being right, but that I have so much in nonscientists being wrong."

(Can't tell you what episode title it is. It's the one where a young genius attempts to hill his parents because they won't give him money so he can go to college, and they make to much money for him to get a scholarship, but his dad was wearing a nicotine patch which saved his life.)

Thing is, I doubt if Asimov really said this. It just doesn't sound like him.

I searched the web for the quote, and its on a lot of sites - but none of them say from which essay or book it comes! I wonder if they are all just quoting Gus Grissom?

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The Top 10 Robot Movies

2011-10-17T10:13:00.000-06:00

From Shockya.com: The Top 10 Robot Movies

Robots are back at the box office! Since “Real Steel” is making the box office rounds, let’s take a small retrospective into the subgenre of sci-fi that always popular with audiences, robot movies. These movies aren’t in any particular order; the only requirement is that they have a robot in them.

“I, Robot”: The 2004 Will Smith film probably upset some Isaac Asimov fans, but the film was a fun romp, if you will, into the world of the future where robots are now the norm for humanity, but they are also the bane of the humans who fear the imminent uprising of sentient robots. The main robot character, Sonny (Alan Tudyk) is a compassionate being the audience can sympathize with, and his journey to find himself–as well as the journey Smith’s character, Del Spooner, takes to come to terms with technology–is entertaining, even if it’s not entirely accurate to the Asimov story.

“The Iron Giant”: The 1999 animated film based on the Ted Hughes book and directed by Brad Bird was given the short end of the stick by the marketing department, as the film was robbed the gross it should have received if it had much better teaser trailers. However, the film itself is a modern classic about a boy and his robot, a being from another planet that was originally meant to be a weapon. The film is all about honest storytelling, and voicing the robot is possibly the best role Vin Diesel has played yet.

“Metropolis”: The 1927 film is possibly the best example of early sci-fi works in cinema. An epic of its time, “Metropolis” features not only a sprawling futuristic city divided between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, but also one of the best designs of a robot in cinema, in my opinion–an art deco androgynous being that looks as mysterious as it does scary and intimidating. In fact, the The Machine Man does do some bad things by impersonating the heroine, Maria. Even if silent films aren’t your cup of tea, the visuals alone will keep you enthralled.

“Blade Runner”: “Blade Runner”, based on the book “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick, is a film that has now reached cult status even though it was derided when it first premiered in 1982. Similar to “I, Robot,” the androids (or, as they are called in this film, “replicants”) in this futuristic Los Angeles used to be used for everyday chores, but eventually became intelligent beyond the scope of their programming and are now outlawed from Earth. There are several androids in the film, but out of all of the most popular androids–Daryl Hannah as Pris and Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty–the star is Sean Young as Rachael, the replicant with the 1940s Victory Rolls hairstyle. Again, the same type of epic scope is used here just as it was used in “Metropolis,” so you feel entrenched in the world even when you see the first shot.

“A.I.: Artificial Intelligence”: I think 2001′s “A.I.” was a weird film for several people, but the big draw about this film about androids was the Stanley Kubrick-esque style of storytelling and visuals brought to screen by Steven Spielberg. In fact, this was Kubrick’s pet project before the project fell to Spielberg after the visionary director’s death. Some others might have gotten miffed if they read the short story the film is based on, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss, but overall, the film is one that is an intriguing watch.

“Bicentennial Man”: Personally, I found “Bicentennial Man” to be weird. Maybe it was because it was a Robin Williams film where he was playing the role straight instead of being funny. But still, the 1999 film based on Isaac Asimov’s novella is an interesting film to watch because of Williams’ character Andrew Martin slowly acquiring emotions in order to become human.

“Terminator” series: These films have made legions of people afraid for what might happen if and when androids (which are being developed now) develop the ability to think. Another element of these films involve time travel, something we haven’t developed yet, despite the various string theory ideas surround such travel. But aside from the science part, the draw to the film is Arnold Schwarzenegger being the big action hero and saying the iconic line, “I’ll be back”.

“Robots”: The 2005 CGI film about a world of robots isn’t anything dealing with the end of humanity; it’s dealing with happiness (or, at the very least, the end of humanity has been over for eons in order to make way for some happiness). The film is simple–a small-town robot (Ewan McGregor) wants to go to the big city in order to become an inventor. One link this film has with “Bicentennial Man” is that Robin Williams is playing another robot. Like with “Cars,” inevitable plot-hole questions come up, like how do the robots have children or grow up, but if you don’t think too much, the movie is fine. Also, it has great visuals, great character design by the children’s storybook author/illustrator William Joyce (who’s also behind children’s shows “Rolie Polie Olie” and “George Shrinks” and the Disney film “Meet the Robinsons”), and fun action scenes.

“Star Wars” films: I don’t think there’s much I have to say about this entry. Everyone knows a lot about this series even if you haven’t seen the films, but these films are on the list because they have two of the most famous robots, C-3PO and R2-D2.

“Star Trek: The Next Generation” films: Again, the television show is so ingrained in the collective consciousness that I don’t have to say much about the show or the films, but both the show and film versions contain one of the most famous androids, Data, the android who, like The Bicentennial Man, wants to become human. His character received a few dents in the films, but he’s still one of the most beloved characters ever created in “Star Trek” history, I think.

Book Revew: I, Robot: To Protect by Mickey Zucker Reichert

2011-10-17T10:07:00.001-06:00

From BLog Critics Books: Book Revew: I, Robot: To Protect by Mickey Zucker Reichert

Review by Michael Jones
I know I tend to hyperbolize when I come across a good book or music release, but Mickey Zucker Reichert's I, Robot: To Protect flabbergasts me at how much I enjoyed it despite my every intention to dislike it.

Perhaps annoyingly a fan of Isaac Asimov and his works, you see, I tend towards the belief that his works and worlds are things that should be left well enough alone and enjoyed for the wonderful things they are…no sequels or prequels are needed or wanted.

Then I get the chance to read this new Reichert book, which is the first of a planned trilogy of novels not only set up in Asimov's world of I, Robot but are novels meant to be official prequels to the work as they are authorized by the estate of Asimov himself, and so, even if only to "slam it," i picked up the book and began reading.

That's when I cursed Reichert's name. Why? Because the story was wonderful and in no way was an attempt at recreating Asimov's writing style or techniques, it totally got everything on point and magically made me think I was learning something new about his stories.

I, Robot: To Protect made me feel as if I were being given a chance to see Asimov's character of Dr. Susan Calvin in a new way. For a moment I nearly said in a new light, I'll admit, but that didn't feel like the right way to get across what I'm trying to say here.

A new light would only show you things that were already there, only in the shadows and perhaps unrecognized. Reichart's book, instead, reads like we are privy to a part of Calvin's life that Asimov simply never had time to put down on the page. It reads and feels completely true to the character and gives her new shades of dimension that will now alter how I think of Asimov's originals

It made me fall in love with Susan Calvin and with Isaac Asimov's writing all over again.

Seeing Dr. Calvin as a freshly graduated "resident" at a hospital gives you the chance to see how she thinks as she gets to know what being a doctor fully means as opposed to studying to become one. If you are a fan of Asimov you know how brilliant he portrayed her as being, but Reichert allows you to see that the diamond did not spring full formed but instead had to endure all the pressures of being unproven coal for a while.

It's…well, it's a lot clearer and entertaining than maybe my writing is making it out to be. This is, in the end, a wonderful book that i enjoyed tremendously. Reichert not only manages to be true to Asimov's vision but manages to write one hell of a story that is enjoyable even if you had never heard of Isaac before.

She is one hell of a good writer, and I cannot wait for the other two volumes of this story to be published so I can read and reread them.

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On travel til Wednesday

2011-10-08T17:31:00.001-06:00

I'm visiting elderly relatives in Box Elder, SD who do not have internet.

Will try to sneak out now and again to an internet cafe to post, but more than likely will not be posting until Wedneday.

July 1962: Hot Stuff

2011-10-04T04:02:00.000-06:00

In the July 1962 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, asimov makes another personal reference:

It is the life's ambition of every decent, right-thinking scientists or near-scientist (I use the latter noun as an excuse to include myself) to influence the course of science. For the better, of course.

Most of us, alas, have to give up that ambition; I did so long ago. Never (so my heart told me) would there be an "Asimov's law to brighten the pages of a physics textbook, or an "Asimov reaction" to do the same for those of a chemistry textbook. Slowly, the possibility of an "Asimov theory" and even an "Asimov conjecture" slipped through my fingers, and I was left with nothing.

With nothing, that is, but my electric typewriter and my big mouth, and the hidden hope that some idle speculation of my own might spark better minds than mine into some worthwhile accomplishment.

And he goes on to tell the story of Hong Yee Chiu, at ther time of Asimov's writing a post-doctoral research worker at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, who wrote a paper on his theory of supernova formation after having been inspired by one of Asimov's essays.

March 1962: That's Life!

2011-10-03T04:12:00.002-06:00

In this essay, Asimov mentions his son David for the first time. He will reference him perhaps twice more, before never mentioning again and focusing on his "blond-haired blue-eyed daughter Robyn" for the rest of his anecdotes.

My son is fiendishly interested in outer space. This is entirely without reference to his father's occupation, concerning which he is possessed of complete apathy. Anyway, in honor of this interest of his, we once bought a recording of a humoruos skit entitled "The Astronaut" (which was soon worn so thin as the result of repeated playings, that the needle [of the vinyl record] delivered both sides simultaneously.

At one point in this recording, the interviewer asks the astronaut whether he expects to find life on Mars, and the astronaut answers thouhtfully, "Maybe...if I land on Saturday night."

January 1962: The Modern Demonology

2011-10-02T03:52:00.004-06:00

The next essay Asimov wrote which featured a personal anecdote was "The Modern Demonology," which appeared in theJanuary 1962 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

You would think, considering my background, that had I ever so slight a chance to drag fantasy into any serious discussion of science, I would at once do so with neon lights and fireworks blasting.

And yet, in [the previous essay] on entropy, I completely ignored the most famous single bit of fantasy in the history of science. Yet that was only that I might devote another entire essay to it.

Okay, that's not a personal anecdote, just Asimov referring to himself and his reputation. So it's more of a personal "reference" than an "anecdote," but in the Encyclopedia Asimova we include everything.

The "most famous single bit of fantasy in the history of science" to which he refers is "Maxwell's Demon." Mathematician James Clerk Maxwell, in an effort to explain to the layperson how entropy works.

Isaac Asimov’s ‘Caves of Steel’ Getting The Hollywood Treatment

2011-09-28T11:19:00.001-06:00

From The Stool Pigeon: Isaac Asimov’s ‘Caves of Steel’ Getting The Hollywood Treatment

20th Century Fox is moving forward with an adaptation of Isaac Asmiov’s ‘The Caves of Steel’ – with the writer/director pair behind the upcoming zombie flick ‘Maggie’ attached to the project.

The literature of sci-fi icon Isaac Asimov has been adapted for the big screen many a time before – though, previous Hollywood big-budget treatments have generally amounted to very loose adaptations, at best (see: Bicentennial Man, I, Robot).

Hence why Asimov fans might have mixed feelings about 2oth Century Fox moving ahead with a film version of The Caves of Steel – a sci-fi/murder mystery novel that was originally published in serial form in 1953.

Deadline says that John Scott 3 and Henry Hobson – the writing/directing duo behind the upcoming low-budget zombie drama, Maggie – have been recruited to realize Caves of Steel on the big screen. Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Elysium) is onboard to produce the project.

Caves of Steel is an interesting specimen, seeing how Asimov reportedly wrote the novel in part to demonstrate that science fiction genre tropes could be mixed with other genres. That’s not exactly a revolutionary concept today – seeing how sci-fi elements have been combined with those from genres ranging from Film Noir (Blade Runner) to even the classic western (Cowboys & Aliens) – but it was a fairly innovative concept for writers, back in the mid-20th Century.

Asimov’s original book revolves around the murder of Roj Nemmenuh Sarton – a space ambassador who has long struggled to convince the futuristic governments of Earth to do away with anti-robot legislation. When Roj is discovered dead, human detective Elijah Baley is recruited by the New York police department to solve the crime – with the assistance of the humanoid robot R. Daneel Olivaw. Those two questing characters (who would also be featured in later Asimov stories) struggle to discover the identity of Sarton’s killer – partly, due to Elijah’s own prejudices towards his mechanized partner.

If there are plot points in that synopsis that seem more than a bit reminiscent of the I, Robot adaptation… don’t worry, it’s not just you.

Hobson has previously worked as a visual artist – serving as the effects director on Julie Taymor’s The Tempest adaptation – and designing the stylized credits in films such as Sherlock Holmes and the Fright Night remake (not to mention, the Walking Dead TV series). Scott, by comparison, works for NASA and develops command systems for the organization’s flagship X-ray satellite.

In other words: the two are anything but tried-and-true filmmakers, but they certainly have the ability to realize Caves of Steel as a visually creative – and scientifically sound – piece of cinematic art. Perhaps some fresh blood is exactly what this project needs, given its overt similarities to other sci-fi titles.

We will keep you posted on the status of The Caves of Steel as more information is released.

Robot small talk: Humans need not fear progress in artificial intelligence

2011-09-22T10:37:00.003-06:00

The author below references Arthur C. Clark and Isaac Asimov, but clearly has never read their work. They have no "doomsday scenarios" in their work, at least as regards artificial intelligence! At least, not as a constant theme.

From the Financial Times: Robot small talk: Humans need not fear progress in artificial intelligence

Forget the doomsday scenarios of science fiction writers Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, or the optimism of Marvin Minsky, a founding father of artificial intelligence. Woody Allen turns out to have predicted most accurately the development of robot brains, and the good news is that we humans have little to fear.

An experiment by two Cornell University PhD students has revealed the shortcomings of computer intelligence – and they are distinctly human. Two chatbots – online computers designed to hold plausible conversations with humans – were asked to talk to each other. Within minutes, these screen-bound avatars engaged in a match of infantile argument, in scenes remarkably similar to the ill-tempered exchange between Mr Allen’s robotic Jewish tailors in his classic 1973 comedy Sleeper.

A rapid acceleration in the power of computing may have led to huge advances in artificial intelligence. But researchers have not yet found solutions to address the human weaknesses that we inevitably hand on to our creations. These robots are, after all, merely a mirror of their masters.

By 2008 personal computers were able to handle 10bn instructions per second, on a par with the brain of a guppy. Experts estimate that within 30 years robots will be capable of processing roughly 100 trillion instructions per second – about the same as the human brain. And when robot brains begin to rival human intelligence, the theory is that the era of post-human evolution will begin. Technology will develop at an exponential rate, taking human knowledge to places never dreamt of.

That may be true. But only if we overcome our own flaws. Otherwise Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator may be too busy rowing with his wife either to overthrow the human race or to deliver the answer to life, the universe and everything. To paraphrase Woody Allen’s bickering robots: “We got simple. We got complicated.” And we got just plain human.

Could you really predict crime with a computer program?

2011-09-22T10:28:00.001-06:00

From Io9: Could you really predict crime with a computer program?
In new JJ Abrams show Person of Interest, airing tomorrow night on CBS, a mysterious man named Finch (Lost's Michael Emerson) has become disenchanted with his government job designing a system that sifts through massive amounts of data to find terrorism suspects. Now Finch is a rogue outsider with a backdoor to the system he created — nicknamed "the Machine." He's able to pilfer hints about upcoming (non-terrorist) crimes from his Big Data creation when it feeds him the social security numbers of people who are soon to be at the center of a crime. Along with his partner Reese (Jim Caviezel), Finch tries to stop these crimes before they happen.

The Machine is based on real Big Data technologies, software that can sift through huge volumes of information from security cameras, social networks, credit records, or anything else to find patterns. But could a software program, even a really sophisticated one, actually spit out the social security number of a person at the heart of a future crime?

We asked Arnab Gupta, CEO of Opera Solutions, a Big Data company that designs software for the government and industry that in some ways resembles what Finch creates in Person of Interest. Gupta said the idea for his company came from reading about "trying to find patterns in human behavior" in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. And in some ways, Asimov's dream in those novels has come true: datamining tools can already predict some kinds of future events. But they don't do it the way Finch's Machine does.

Gupta's company helps intelligence agencies discover what he calls "a signal," or pattern, in publicly-available data from social networks and other sources. That data is then combined with the government's classified data, from surveillance or communication records. Then his company's software looks for what he calls "anomalous patterns." Gupta elaborated:

How do you know if a threat is emerging if you don't know what the threat is? We look for pattern anomalies, after we've established what typical patterns are from a dataset. We can say if something is off kilter.

For example, software like Gupta's might be able to predict social unrest before a series of events like Arab Spring. But, Gupta cautions:

The machine alone cannot predict what's going to happen. Only a human can draw that conclusion. You have to have human insight to understand that signal we're getting from the data.

So could Finch's machine exist in real life? Gupta says no. Certainly there are programs that can predict crime, but not at the granular level we'll see on Person of Interest. You'd never have a program that could offer a specific person's social security number as a clue to a future crime. And, says Gupta, you can't forget the human factor. "This kind of data analysis will become more and more powerful, as we integrate our data sources," he says. "But in the end you'll always need a human analyzing the patterns you find. A machine couldn't do it on its own."

In other words, Person of Interest is doing what science fiction has always done. Show creators Jonathan Nolan (Memento, Dark Knight Rises) and JJ Abrams are taking an existing technology and extrapolating what it might do sometime in the future, or in a parallel present

Isaac Asimov's Row-buts

2011-09-20T01:33:00.001-06:00

Another Video from Youtube.

For my kindle readers - sorry, but you'll have to go to your computer to view this.

Basically it's just a young Asimov saying the three laws of Robotics...but he pronounces Robot (row-bot) as Row-but.

I myself prefer the Robot pronunciation...

Space Exploration and the Mind

2011-09-19T01:28:00.002-06:00

From Government Book Talk, 9/13/2011: Space Exploration and the Mind
by Jim Cameron

Many years ago I read “Ideas Die Hard,” a memorable story (at least to me) by Isaac Asimov. In the story, a crew of astronauts is on a flight to the moon under very tense circumstances. They go too far and see the dark side of the moon. SPOILER AHEAD: When they view the dark side, it’s a gigantic wood-and-paper stage set, the sight of which causes the crew to have a collective mental breakdown. At the end of the story, it’s revealed that the flight was a simulation and the simulator went just a bit further than intended. I think the story has stayed with me because it addresses the psychological dimensions of space exploration – an aspect I haven’t really seen addressed in news accounts or books.

NASA has filled this gap quite nicely with Psychology of Space Exploration, an engrossing new collection of articles on this theme. After an initial focus on the psychological effects of space travel, for many years the American space program paid only minimal attention to them, perhaps because the military background of the astronauts militated against what they perceived as the possibly career-retarding discussions of such matters. Interestingly, theSoviet Union paid much more attention to the psychological health of its cosmonauts during the same period. These days, however, NASA is more cognizant of the importance of mood, morale, the psychological effects of weightlessness, and other mind-body issues.

As a history buff, I was intrigued to read about the comparison of voyages in space to the epic journeys of Arctic explorers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Even now, wintering over inAntarctica is a kind of model of the prolonged stays in close quarters that characterize the International Space Station.

In a section on the interplay of astronauts from different countries working together, I was amused to learn that Soviet cosmonauts were not totally enthralled the space cuisine enjoyed by a French counterpart: “one of them later expressed his relief at going back to black bread and borscht after a menu of canned French delicacies, including compote of pigeon with dates and dried raisins, duck with artichokes, boeuf bourguignon, and more.”

Another fascinating essay described a space flight simulation experience in which people who knew that they were not really in space still got great enjoyment from their “trip.” It sounded so interesting that I was ready to sign up myself. Also, the special effects sound much better than those in Isaac Asimov’s story!

I really enjoyed reading Psychology of Space Exploration – I had no idea of the range of psychological issues that can crop up in space travel and the ways in which NASA has tackled them. Space buffs and students of the human mind will find much to ponder in this book. You can read it here, get your own copy, or find it in a library.

Has Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy science finally come true?

2011-09-19T01:25:00.002-06:00

From BlastR: Has Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy science finally come true?

Sci-fi has predicted reality before (think Star Trek's communicators and The Prisoner's ubiquitious surveillance). But now there's a science fiction concept that we never thought we'd see in real life: psychohistory.

Psychohistory is a concept found in Isaac Asimov's epic series Foundation—which beat out Lord of the Rings in 1965 for the Hugo award for best all-time series—about using sociology, history and statistics to predict the future of large groups.

Now the BBC reports that "Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events."

Could it help? Actually, it already has. Believe it or not, a computer predicted the revolutions in Libya and Egypt, as well as the approximate location of Osama bin Laden.

Kalev Leetaru, senior research scientist of the University of Illinois' Institute for Computing in the Humanities, Arts and Social Science, first had to gather more than 100 million articles and feed them into an SGI Altix supercomputer. "The machine's 1024 Intel Nehalem cores have a total processing power of 8.2 teraflops (trillion floating point operations per second)," the BBC writes.

According to the BBC:

Mood detection, or "automated sentiment mining" searched for words such as "terrible", "horrific" or "nice".
Location, or "geocoding" took mentions of specific places, such as "Cairo" and converted them in to coordinates that could be plotted on a map....

Based on specific queries, Nautilus generated graphs for different countries which experienced the "Arab Spring".

In each case, the aggregated results of thousands of news stories showed a notable dip in sentiment ahead of time - both inside the country, and as reported from outside.

And as for bin Laden:

While many believed the al-Qaeda leader to be hiding in Afghanistan, geographic information extracted from media reports consistently identified him with Northern Pakistan.
Only one report mentioned the town of Abbottabad prior to Bin Laden's discovery by US forces in April 2011.

However, the geo-analysis narrowed him down to within 200km, said Mr Leetaru.

Leetaru told the BBC that his prediction system works better than the one the U.S. government was working with. He is currently working on fine-tuning his analysis, particularly when it comes to geographic location and individual groups.

In the first book of the Foundation series, psychohistorian Hari Seldon predicts the galaxy-wide collapse of civilization. Knowing that this event—which will lead to 30,000 years of barbarism—cannot be averted, Seldon seeks to reduce the collapse to a mere 1,000 years.

Whether or not Leetaru will manipulate events for the benefit of civilization, or even to predict the rise and fall of his stocks and bonds, remains to be seen.

But he'll probably be the first to see it.

Isaac Asimov on Changes in Science Fiction After 1949

2011-09-18T10:22:00.002-06:00

For my Kindle readers, you'll need to get on a computer and go to Youtube and do a search on "Isaac Asimov on Changes in Science Fiction after 1949".

(Or indeed, just on Isaac Asimov - there are a handful of videos featuirng him there.)

They are fun to watch and listen to, not the least because of his Brooklyn accent!

Asimov or George Lucas?

2011-09-18T10:11:00.003-06:00

I've got a Google Alerts set up for Isaac Asimov, but sometimes it acts kind of wonky. For example, I got an alert that says that Asimov had been referenced in a story about the recent finding of a planet with two suns, but when I click on the link, the story is focusing on Star Wars' Tatooine with its double sun.

Well, I'll share it anyway.

From UK Daily Mail: 'Science fiction has turned into reality': Astronomers hail extraordinary discovery of 'Star Wars' planet with two suns
It is one of the most memorable images from Star Wars, Luke Skywalker gazing into the distance while walking on Tatooine, a planet with two suns.
And more than three decades after the movies came out the real life version has been discovered - a freezing cold planet named Kepler-16b, which is about the size of Saturn and 200 light years away.
American researchers using observations from NASA's Kepler spacecraft detected the distant planet, which is treated to a double sunset every evening.

'This discovery is stunning,' Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Terrestrial Magnetism said.
'Once again, what used to be science fiction has turned into reality.'

Binary stars -- two suns turning around each other -- have been seen before, and astronomers have suspected planets exist around them, but Kepler's observations are the first to confirm it.

The gravitational pull of two stars, even stars like the relatively small ones at the heart of this stellar system, would be quite different from the gravity exerted by just one star, Mr Boss said.

Kepler's mission is to scour our section of the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets in the so-called 'habitable zone' that is not too close and not too far away from the stars they orbit.
The spacecraft does this by finding stars whose light periodically gets dimmer, which means there is a planet passing between the star and Kepler's instruments. This is known as a planetary transit

What made this find so eye-popping was that the stars were eclipsing each other as first one and then the other got in the way. And then a third eclipse indicated a planet was part of the system.
If the notion of a planet with two suns was displayed in the earliest Star Wars film on the fictional planet Tatooine, home of Luke Skywalker.
Tatooine was a rocky, desert planet, but Kepler-16b is a cool gas giant, Boss and other researchers said.
Because both of its suns are smaller and cooler than our sun, Kepler-16b would be quite cold, with a surface temperature of around minus 100 to minus 150F (minus 73 to minus 101C).

Kepler-16b is similar to Saturn in size and mass, a cold gas giant that orbits its two suns every 229 days at a distance of 65 million miles (104.6 million km).

That is roughly the same distance as Venus's orbit, compared to Earth's 365-day orbit around the sun at a distance of about 93 million miles (149.7 million km).
The newly detected planet is 200 light-years from Earth and is not thought to harbour life. A light-year is about six trillion miles (10 trillion km).
'Kepler-16b is the first confirmed, unambiguous example of a circumbinary planet - a planet orbiting not one, but two stars,' said co-author Josh Carter.
'Once again, we're finding that our solar system is only one example of the variety of planetary systems nature can create.'

December, 1961: "The Trojan Hearse"

2011-09-13T01:48:00.001-06:00

After an anecdote in two straight months, Aug and Sept, Asimov skips Oct and Nov and we get an anecdote in December 1961.

"The very first story I ever had published (never mind how long ago that was) concerned a spaceship that had come to grief in the asteroid zone. In it, I had a character comment on the foolhardiness of the captain in not moving out of the plane of the ecliptic (ie the plane of the earth's orbit, which is close to that in which virtually all the components of the solar system move) in order to go over or under the zone and avoid almost certain collidion.

The picture I had in mind at that time was of an asteroidal zone as thickly strewn with asteroids as a beach is with pebbles. This is the same picture that exists, I believe, in the mind of almost all science-fiction writers and readers. Individual miners, one imagines, can easily hop from one peice of rubble to the next in search of valuable minerals. Vacationers can pitch their tents on one world and wave at vacationers on neighboring worlds. And so on."

He then goes on to debunk this picture.

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September 1961: "Not As We Know It"

2011-09-12T01:55:00.001-06:00

"Even unpleasant experiences can be inspiring.

For instance, my children once conned me into taking them to a mobster-movie they had seen advertised on TV.

"It's science fiction," they explained. They don't exactly know what science fiction is, but they have gathered it's something daddy writes, so the argument is considered very powerful.

I tried to explain that it wasn't science fiction by my definition, but although I had logic on my side, they had decibels on theirs.

So I joined a two-block line consisting of every kid for miles around with an occasional grown-up who spent his time miserably pretending he was waiting for a bus and would leave momentarily. It was a typical early spring day in New England - nasty drizzle whipped into needle-spray by a howling east wind - and we inched slowly forward.

Finally, when we were in six feet of the ticket sellers and I, personally, within six inches of pneumonia, my guardian angel smiled and I had my narrow escape. They hung up the SOLD OUT sign.

I said, with a merrylaugh, "Oh, what a dirty shame," and drove my howlingly indignant children home."

He then goes on to talk about "life as we don't know it" and how it might develop on other planets.

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August 1961: The Evens Have It

2011-09-11T01:41:00.002-06:00

Asimov's next anecdote will come in the August 1961 issue. They are coming more frequently now, but they are not yet used in every essay.

"Some time ago I was asked (by phone) to write an article on the use of radioisotopes in industry. The gentleman doing he asking waxed enthusiastic on the importance of isotopes, but after a while I could stand it no more, for he kept pronouncing it ISS-o-topes, with a very short "i."

Finally, I said, in the most diffident manner I could muster, "EYE-so-topes, sir," giving it a very long "i".

"No, no," he said impatiently, "I'm talking about ISS-o-topes."

And so he did, to the very end, and on subsequent phone calls, too. But I fooled him. I eventually wrote an article about EYE-so-topes.

Yet it left a sore spot, for having agreed to do the article, I was forced to deal with only the practical applications of isotopes, a necessity which saddened me. There is much that is impractical about isotpes that I would like to discuss, and I will do here."

And he goes on to do so.

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May 1961: Heaven on Earth

2011-09-10T00:40:00.000-06:00

It would not be for another 4 months that Asimov would use another anecdote, in "Heaven on Earth."

"The nicest thing about writing these essays is the constant mental exercise it gives me. Unceasingly, I must keep my eyes and ears open for anything that will spark something that will, im my opinion, be of interest to the reader.

For instance, a letter arrived today, asking about the duodecimal system, where one counts by twelves rather than by tens, and this set up a mental chain reaction that ended in astronomy and, what's more, gave me a notion which, as far as I know, 12 has never been used as the base for a number system, except by mathematicians in play."

He then goes on to talk about numbering systems.

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January 1961: "Here it Comes, There it Goes"

2011-09-09T00:36:00.000-06:00

The next time Asimov employs a personal anecdote ddoesn't come until several months later, January, 1961.

"There's a rumor abroad that I never read any books but my own, but of course that is only a canard. For instance, I have recently read a book called Towards a Unified Cosmology, by Reginald O. Kapp (Basic Books, 1960) which I enjoyed every bit as much as one of my own."

Asaimov then goes on to talk about a unified cosmology. This is the first time, and the only time, in which Asimov talks about someone else's book and then exands on it.

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Space Songs album, released 1959

2011-09-08T02:19:00.003-06:00

Space Songs is an album in the "Ballads For The Age of Science" or "Singing Science" series of scientific music for children from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Songs were written by Hy Zaret (lyrics) and Lou Singer (music). "Space Songs" was released in 1959 by Hy Zaret's label "Motivation Records," and was performed by Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans.

Some of the songs from this album - and the early scientific music records - are available to listen to at YouTube.

Other albums in the "Ballads for the Age of Science" series were: "Energy and Motion Songs," performed by Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans; "Weather Songs," performed by Tom Glazer and The Weathervanes; "Experiment Songs," performed by Dorothy Collins; "Nature Songs," and "More Nature Songs," both performed by Marais and Miranda.

Track listing"Zoom A Little Zoom"
"What Is The Milky Way?"
"Constellation Jig"
"Beep, Beep"
"Why Does The Sun Shine?"
"What Is A Shooting Star?"
"Longitude And Latitude"
"It's A Scientific Fact"
"Ballad Of Sir Isaac Newton"
"Friction"
"Why Are Stars Of Different Colors?"
"Why Do Stars Twinkle?"
"What Is Gravity?"
"Planet Minuet"
"Why Go Up There?"

Space Songs in Popular Media
The song "Zoom a Little Zoom" has notably been used in the popular online vlog Rocketboom as its theme song.

On September 27, 2005 episode of Rocketboom featured the songs "Why Do Stars Twinkle?" and "Beep,Beep".

The band They Might Be Giants has recorded cover versions of two Space Songs, "Why Does The Sun Shine?", and "What Is A Shooting Star? (A Shooting Star Is Not A Star)", as well as a reply to the former called "Why Does the Sun Really Shine?" which corrects scientific errors in the original.

In 2008 Chloé Leloup, Miss LaLaVox und Achim Treu reworked the album under the title "The Space Songs - Ballads for the Age of Science". The album was released on the label Sopot Records.

The lyrics of the first stanza of "Why Does the Sun Shine?" also appear verbatim in the book Stars: A Golden Guide, apart from the omission of "its core is" before "a gigantic nuclear furnace.

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Sir Philip Sidney

2011-09-08T02:10:00.002-06:00

Asimov references Sir Philip Sidney in this quote from "Catskills in the Skies":

"Realizing, unlike Sir Philip Sidney, that my need was greater than theirs, I quietly added it to my own record collection..."

Sir Philip Sidney was a soldier, and during one battle was shot in the thigh. While waiting for rescue he gave his water bottle to a fellow wounded soldier, saying, "Thy need is greater than mine."

Sidney would be rescued and receive medical treatment, but would die 21 days later.

Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age. His works include Astrophel and Stella, The Defence of Poetry (also known as The Defence of Poesy or An Apology for Poetry), and The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia.

Life and family
Born at Penshurst Place, Kent, he was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney and Lady Mary Dudley. His mother was the eldest daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and the sister of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. His younger sister, Mary Sidney, married Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Mary Sidney, who upon her marriage became the Countess of Pembroke, was a writer, translator and literary patron. Sidney dedicated his longest work, the Arcadia, to her. After her brother's death, Mary Sidney Herbert reworked the Arcadia, now known as The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia.

Philip was educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1572, he travelled to France as part of the embassy to negotiate a marriage between Elizabeth I and the Duc D'Alençon. He spent the next several years in mainland Europe, moving through Germany, Italy, Poland, the Kingdom of Hungary and Austria. On these travels, he met a number of prominent European intellectuals and politicians.

Returning to England in 1575, Sidney met Penelope Devereux, the future Lady Rich; though much younger, she would inspire his famous sonnet sequence of the 1580s, Astrophel and Stella. Her father, the Earl of Essex, is said to have planned to marry his daughter to Sidney, but he died in 1576. In England, Sidney occupied himself with politics and art. He defended his father's administration of Ireland in a lengthy document. More seriously, he quarrelled with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, probably because of Sidney's opposition to the French marriage, which de Vere championed. In the aftermath of this episode, Sidney challenged de Vere to a duel, which Elizabeth forbade. He then wrote a lengthy letter to the Queen detailing the foolishness of the French marriage. Characteristically, Elizabeth bristled at his presumption, and Sidney prudently retired from court.

His artistic contacts were more peaceful and more significant for his lasting fame. During his absence from court, he wrote Astrophel and Stella and the first draft of The Arcadia and A Defense of Poetry. Somewhat earlier, he had met Edmund Spenser, who dedicated the Shepheardes Calendar to him. Other literary contacts included membership, along with his friends and fellow poets Fulke Greville, Edward Dyer, Edmund Spenser and Gabriel Harvey, of the (possibly fictitious) 'Areopagus', a humanist endeavour to classicise English verse.

Sidney had returned to court by the middle of 1581 and was MP for Kent. That same year Penelope Devereux was married, apparently against her will, to Lord Rich. Sidney was knighted in 1583. An early arrangement to marry Anne Cecil, daughter of Sir William Cecil and eventual wife of de Vere, had fallen through in 1571. In 1583, he married Frances, teenage daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham. In the same year, he made a visit to Oxford University with Giordano Bruno, who subsequently dedicated two books to Sidney.

Both through his family heritage and his personal experience (he was in Walsingham's house in Paris during the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre), Sidney was a keenly militant Protestant. In the 1570s, he had persuaded John Casimir to consider proposals for a united Protestant effort against the Roman Catholic Church and Spain. In the early 1580s, he argued unsuccessfully for an assault on Spain itself. In 1585, his enthusiasm for the Protestant struggle was given a free rein when he was appointed governor of Flushing in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, he consistently urged boldness on his superior, his uncle the Earl of Leicester. He conducted a successful raid on Spanish forces near Axel in July, 1586.

Later that year, he joined Sir John Norris in the Battle of Zutphen. During the siege, he was shot in the thigh and died twenty-six days later, at the age of 31. According to the story, while lying wounded he gave his water-bottle to another wounded soldier, saying, "Thy necessity is yet greater than mine". This became possibly the most famous story about Sir Phillip, intended to illustrate his noble character.

Sidney's body was returned to London and interred in St. Paul's Cathedral on 16 February 1587. Already during his own lifetime, but even more after his death, he had become for many English people the very epitome of a courtier: learned and politic, but at the same time generous, brave, and impulsive. Never more than a marginal figure in the politics of his time, he was memorialised as the flower of English manhood in Edmund Spenser's Astrophel, one of the greatest English Renaissance elegies.

In Zutphen, the Netherlands, a street has been named after Sir Philip. A statue for him can be found in the park at the Coehoornsingel, where in the harsh winter of 1795 English and Hanoverian soldiers were buried who had died while on retreat for advancing French troops. A memorial at the location where he was mortally wounded by the Spanish can be found at the entrance of a footpath at the Warnsveldseweg, southeast of the Catholic cemetery.

August 1960: Catskills in the Sky

2011-09-08T00:45:00.000-06:00

Asimov shares this anecdote:

Once I received, as a gift, a record entitled "Space Songs." It was intended for my children and so I called them both to my record player and we listened. They liked it, but as it happened, I liked it even more than they did. Realizing, unlike Sir Philip Sydney, that my need was greater than theirs, I quietly added it to my own record collection and have listened to it periodically ever since.

Anyway, to get to the point, one of the songs on the record is entitled "Why Go Up There?" and the words are:

Why do we all want to be
up there - up there?
What is there to do or see
up there - up there?

Outer space
Is a place
Where we'll trace the future

There's a lot
Of who knows what
away - up there.

As you see, the reasons given to go up there are a bit vague, and I intend to correct that now."

And he goes on to list the reasons why we need to get out into space.

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Jan 1960: Those Crazy Ideas

2011-09-07T00:23:00.000-06:00

The next essay in which Asimov tells a personal anecdote doesn't come until 7 months later, with "Those Crazy Ideas" in the Jan 1960 F & SF.

"Time and time again I have been asked (and I'm sure others who have, in their time, written science fiction have been asked too): "Where do you get your crazy ideas?"

Over the years, my answers have sunk from flattered confusion to a shrug and a feeble smile. Actually, I don't really know, and the lack of knowledge doesn't really worry me, either, as long as the ideas keep coming.

But then some time ago, a consultant firm in Boston, engaged in a sophisticated space-age project for the government, got in touch with me.

What they needed, it seemed, to bring their project to a successful conclusion were novel suggestions, startling new principles, conceptual breakthroughs. To put it in a nutshell of a well-turned phrase, they need "crazy ideas."

Unfortunately, they didn't know how to go about getting crazy ideas, but some among them had read my science fiction, so they looked me up in the phone book and called me to ask (in essence), "Dr. Asimov, where do you get your crazy ideas?"

Alas, I still didn't know, but as speculation is my profession, I am perfectly willing to think about the matter and share my thoughts with you.

The question before the house, then, is: How does one go about creating or inventing or dreaming up or stumbling over a new and revolutionary scientific principle?"

He then goes on to give the history of a few such scientists who discovered these principles, like Charles Darwin and Louis Pasteur.

August 1959: The Ultimate Split of the Second

2011-09-06T01:04:00.002-06:00

After his July 1959 anecdote, he gives an anecdote in the August 1959 essay as well...but this does not indicate that he's going to be doing it every time, as the next anecdote won't show up until Jan 1960.

"Occasionally, I get an idea for something new in science; not necessarily something important, of course, but new anyway. One of these ideas is what I will devote this chapter to.

The notion came to me some time ago, when the news broke that a subatomic particle called xi-zero (with "xi" pronounced "ksee" if you speak Greek and "zigh" if you speak Engish) had been detected for the first time. Like other particles of its general nature, it is strangely stable, having a half-life of fully a ten billionth (10 to the 10th power) of a second or so.

...

My idea is intended to make split-seconds more visualizable, and I got it from the device used in a realm of measurement that is also grotesque and outside the range of all common experience - that of astronomical distances."

And he goes on to explain his idea.

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December, 1960: "Now Hear This"

2011-09-05T13:11:00.003-06:00

Asimvo's next anecdote comes in the December 1960 issue of F & SF:

"The ancient Greeks weren't always wrong.

I am taking the trouble to say this strictly for my own good, for when I trace back the history of some scientific concept, I generally start with the Greeks, then go to great pains to show how their wrong guesses had to be slowly and painfully corrected by the great scientists of the 16th and 17th centuries, usually against the strenuous opposition of traditionalists. By the time I had done this on several dozen occasions, I began, as a matter of autohypnosis, to think that the only function served by the ancient philosophers was to put everyone on the wrong track.

And yet, not entirely so."

Asimov then goes on to talk about dolphins and porpoises, and the then new research going on with them.

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Asimov on Education, part 2

2011-09-05T12:12:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I talked about Asimov's essay, "Battle of the Eggheads."

His comments in this 1959 essay are pretty prescient, when you look at the status of American education today, and the view of Americans toward intellectuals. (The only TV show that has scientists is a sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. And of course the scientists are all men - the female character, while not a "dumb blond" will nevertheless drive a car even thought the engine light is on and not comprehend why she shouldn't do it...)

Anyway, Asimov continues in this essay to point out that the literati have always looked down on the scientists, and some scientists have bought into this as well, viewing themselves as uncultured if they've never read the "classics."

(Although that, too, is dying out. Very few folks in the US have read the classics these days.)

Asimov, writing in 1959 over the backlash against an "over-emphasis" on the sciences:

"And what would happe to a man, a really cultured man, who had read Proust in the original French and Dostievski in the original Russian, but who had never quite sullied himself with calculus and protons and things like that. Was he to be a mere layman? Was he to be a person with a second-class education?"

Now we get to today, 2011, and we (the US) lag behind most countries in math and the sciences. Those folks who are excelling in our schools in those topics are immigrants from other countries - typically the Asian countries where education in the sciences is highly valued.

Asimov ends his essay with a slogan that we need today more than ever, "Eggheads Unite!"

Asimov''s Life As Revealed in His Essays: July 1959

2011-09-04T22:49:00.003-06:00

One of Asimov's signatures in his non-fiction was that he would open up his essays with a paragraph or two featuring a personal anecdote.

He did not always do this. He wrote at least a dozen articles for Amazing, and about a dozen for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, before he began using that personal touch.

The first essay of his that I can find in which he started with a personal anecdote was:

"Battle of the Eggheads," F&SF, July 1959.

However, this particular telling of a personal anecdote did not start the trend. It woudl be several more months before he started doing it on a regular basis.

Asimov starts out "Battle of the Eggheads" by saying:

"After the Soviet Union placed Sputnik I into orbit on October 4, 1957, the egghead (to use a term invented by a blockhead) gained a sudden, unaccustomed respect here in the United States. Suddenly everyone was viewing American anti-intellectualism with wildalarm.

It has therefore always tickled my vanity that I wrote an article deploring anti-intellectualism in America a year and a half before Sputnik.*

*"The By-Product of Science Fiction," Chemical and Engineering News, August 13, 1956.

In it, I disapproved vehemently of those factors in American culture which seemed to me to be equating lack of education with virtue and to be making it difficult for young people to reveal intelligence without finding themselves penalized for it.

I said all this without mentioning missiles or satellites, without any talk of a "scientific race" with any nation. In fact, I never mentioned the Soviet Union at all. As I said, this was one and a half years before Sputnik I, and before the flood of Monday-morning quarterbacks, wise after the event, that followed hard upon Sputnik I's launching.

Of course, I must hastily disavow any intention of trying to imply that I'm smarter or more prescient than the next fellow. I did not foresee Sputnik I. An astronomer I know warned me in the spring of 1957 that the Soviet Union might beat us to the punch and I laughed heartily and confidently. "Never," I said.

But that only means I never thought intelligence was important just because we had to keep ahead of the Soviet Union. I thought intelligence was important for various other good and sufficient reasons, and sounded the trumpets on its behalf even when I was convinced that the United States was safely ahead of all comers in all branches of science.

So after I recovered from my amazement that October day, I sat back to marvel at the sudden prestige that brains fell heir yo; and to wonder at the spectacle of congressmen discussing spaceflight learnedly, just as if they had been reading up on science ever since they kissed their first baby. For a while, it seemed to me that brains had grown so respectable that I thought I could detect congressmen trying to speak grammatically, even though that meant losing their All-American flavor of rough-hewn backwoods virtue.

In those days everyone talked about revising our system of education, and introducing the revolutionary system of actually encouraging the brighter schoolboys and paying them some attention.

But then, initial panic subsided. We sent up a number of satellites of our own and "Yankee know-how" was a phrase to conjure with again. That left room for the thought that, after all, better schools cost money and who can afford to throw money away by paying teachers full-scale janitorial type salaries?

What's more, something else was added. Complacency and false economy are nothing over which to be shocked, for anyone who is surprised by theexistence of either had better turn in his sense of cynicism for a sharper edged model.

The "something else" to which I refer (and which is shocking) is a definite counter-attack against any changes in our basic educational philosophy and against the whole notion of increasing emphasis on science on the part of some of the eggheads themselves.

After all, there are eggheads and eggheads, in a variety of genera and species. We can make a broad classification, however, and divide them up into the humanists and the scientists (which doesn't mean, of course, that one man can't be a member of both groups."

Asimov then continues his essay in impersonal style, by giving the history of the search for knowledge, starting with the Greeks who worked only by theory, not soiling their hands by doing any actual work to see if their observations were correct.

As Asimov stated: "Perhaps this was because Greece was a society founded on human slavery, so that there grew to be something disgraceful about manual labor. Experimentation, after all, was a kind of manual labor and therefore fit only for slaves, really. Applied science meant bending the glories of the universe to those things that should interest slaves. The very expression "liberal arts" comes from the Latin liberi meaning "free men." The liberal arts were suitable for free men, the mechanical and technical arts for slaves.

A great thinker such as Archimedes, who couldn't resist working in applied sciences (and doing it superlatively well, too) was nevertheless ashamed of himself and would publish only his theoretical work.

... And the attitude persists today, even among the experimental scientists themselves. The more theoretical a science, the higher it is in the scientist's social scale.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Eugene Sue

2011-08-31T12:04:00.002-06:00

Joseph Marie Eugène Sue (20 January 1804 – 3 August 1857) was a French novelist.

He was born in Paris, the son of a distinguished surgeon in Napoleon's army, and is said to have had the Empress Joséphine for godmother. Sue himself acted as surgeon both in the Spanish campaign undertaken by France in 1823 and at the Battle of Navarino (1828). In 1829 his father's death put him in possession of a considerable fortune, and he settled in Paris.

Overview
His naval experiences supplied much of the materials of his first novels, Kernock le pirate (1830), Atar-Gull (1831), La Salamandre (2 vols., 1832), La Coucaratcha (4 vols., 1832-1834), and others, which were composed at the height of the Romantic movement of 1830. In the quasi-historical style he wrote Jean Cavalier, ou Les Fanatiques des Cevennes (4 vols., 1840) and Lautréaumont (2 vols., 1837). His Mathilde (1841) contains the first known expression of the popular proverb "La vengeance se mange très-bien froide", lately expressed in English as "Revenge is a dish best served cold".

He was strongly affected by the Socialist ideas of the day, and these prompted his most famous works, the "anti-Catholic" novels: Les Mystères de Paris (10 vols., 1842-1843) and Le Juif errant (tr. "The Wandering Jew") (10 vols., 1844-1845), which were among the most popular specimens of the roman-feuilleton.

He followed these up with some singular though not very edifying books: Les Sept pêchés capitaux (16 vols., 1847-1849), which contained stories to illustrate each of the Seven Deadly Sins, Les Mystères du peuple (1849-1856), which was suppressed by the censor in 1857, and several others, all on a very large scale, though the number of volumes gives an exaggerated idea of their length. Some of his books, among them Le Juif Errant and the Mystères de Paris, were dramatized by himself, usually in collaboration with others. Les Mystères was later plagiarized by Maurice Joly.

His period of greatest success and popularity coincided with that of Alexandre Dumas, père, with whom he has been compared. Sue has neither Dumas's wide range of subject, nor, above all, his faculty of conducting the story by means of lively dialogue; he has, however, a command of terror which Dumas seldom or never attained.

After the revolution of 1848 he sat for Paris (the Seine) in the Assembly from April 1850, and was exiled in consequence of his protest against the coup d'état of 2 December 1851. This exile stimulated his literary production, but the works of his last days are on the whole much inferior to those of his middle period. Sue died at Annecy (Savoy) in 1857.

George McDonald

2011-08-31T11:37:00.002-06:00

George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.

Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle.

It was C.S. Lewis who wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master": "Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I began to read. A few hours later," said Lewis, "I knew that I had crossed a great frontier." G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence."

Elizabeth Yates wrote of Sir Gibbie, "It moved me the way books did when, as a child, the great gates of literature began to open and first encounters with noble thoughts and utterances were unspeakably thrilling."

Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.

Biography
George MacDonald was born on 10 December 1824 at Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His father, a farmer, was one of the MacDonalds of Glen Coe, and a direct descendant of one of the families that suffered in the massacre of 1692. The Doric dialect of the Aberdeenshire area appears in the dialogue of some of his non-fantasy novels.

MacDonald grew up by his Congregational Church, with an atmosphere of Calvinism. But MacDonald never felt comfortable with some aspects of Calvinist doctrine; indeed, legend has it that when the doctrine of predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as Robert Falconer and Lilith, show a distaste for the idea that God's electing love is limited to some and denied to others.

He took his degree at the University of Aberdeen, and then went to London, studying at Highbury College for the Congregational ministry.

MacDonald was the pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, Arundel from 1850.In 1850 he was appointed pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, Arundel, but his sermons (preaching God's universal love and the possibility that none would, ultimately, fail to unite with God) met with little favour and his salary was cut in half. Later he was engaged in ministerial work in Manchester. He left that because of poor health, and after a short sojourn in Algiers he settled in London and taught for some time at the University of London. MacDonald was also for a time editor of Good Words for the Young, and lectured successfully in the United States during 1872–1873.

His best-known works are Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and Lilith, all fantasy novels, and fairy tales such as "The Light Princess", "The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman". "I write, not for children," he wrote, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five." MacDonald also published some volumes of sermons, the pulpit not having proved an unreservedly successful venue.

MacDonald also served as a mentor to Lewis Carroll (the pen-name of Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson); it was MacDonald's advice, and the enthusiastic reception of Alice by MacDonald's many sons and daughters, that convinced Carroll to submit Alice for publication. Carroll, one of the finest Victorian photographers, also created photographic portraits of several of the MacDonald children.

MacDonald was also friends with John Ruskin and served as a go-between in Ruskin's long courtship with Rose la Touche.

MacDonald was acquainted with most of the literary luminaries of the day; a surviving group photograph shows him with Tennyson, Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Trollope, Ruskin, Lewes, and Thackeray. While in America he was a friend of Longfellow and Walt Whitman.

In 1877 he was given a civil list pension. In 1900 he moved into St George's Wood, Haslemere, a house designed for him by his son, Robert Falconer MacDonald and the building overseen by his eldest son, Greville MacDonald. He died on 18 September 1905 in Ashtead (Surrey). He was cremated and buried in Bordighera.

As hinted above, MacDonald's use of fantasy as a literary medium for exploring the human condition greatly influenced a generation of such notable authors as C. S. Lewis (who featured him as a character in his The Great Divorce), J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. MacDonald's non-fantasy novels, such as Alec Forbes, had their influence as well; they were among the first realistic Scottish novels, and as such MacDonald has been credited with founding the "kailyard school" of Scottish writing.

His son Greville MacDonald became a noted medical specialist, a pioneer of the Peasant Arts movement and also wrote numerous fairy tales for children. Greville ensured that new editions of his father's works were published. Another son, Ronald MacDonald, was also a novelist. Ronald's son, Philip MacDonald, (George MacDonald's grandson) became a very well known Hollywood screenwriter

Theology
MacDonald rejected the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement as developed by John Calvin, which argues that Christ has taken the place of sinners and is punished by God in their place, believing that in turn it raised serious questions about the character and nature of God. Instead, he taught that Christ had come to save people from their sins, and not from a Divine penalty for their sins. The problem was not the need to appease a wrathful God but the disease of cosmic evil itself.

George MacDonald frequently described the Atonement in terms similar to the Christus Victor theory. MacDonald posed the rhetorical question, "Did he not foil and slay evil by letting all the waves and billows of its horrid sea break upon him, go over him, and die without rebound—spend their rage, fall defeated, and cease? Verily, he made atonement!"

MacDonald was convinced that God does not punish except to amend, and that the sole end of His greatest anger is the amelioration of the guilty. As the doctor uses fire and steel in certain deep-seated diseases, so God may use hell-fire if necessary to heal the hardened sinner. MacDonald declared, "I believe that no hell will be lacking which would help the just mercy of God to redeem his children." MacDonald posed the rhetorical question, "When we say that God is Love, do we teach men that their fear of Him is groundless?" He replied, "No. As much as they fear will come upon them, possibly far more. … The wrath will consume what they call themselves; so that the selves God made shall appear."

However, true repentance, in the sense of freely chosen moral growth, is essential to this process, and, in MacDonald's optimistic view, inevitable for all beings. He recognised the theoretical possibility that, bathed in the eschatological divine light, some might perceive right and wrong for what they are but still refuse to be transfigured by operation of God's fires of love, but he did not think this likely.

In this theology of divine punishment, MacDonald stands in agreement with the Greek Church Fathers St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and St. Gregory of Nyssa, although it is unknown whether MacDonald had a working familiarity with Patristics or Eastern Orthodox Christianity. At least an indirect influence is likely, because F. D. Maurice who influenced MacDonald knew the Greek Fathers, especially Clement, very well. MacDonald states his theological views most distinctly in the sermon Justice found in the third volume of Unspoken Sermons.

In his introduction to George MacDonald: An Anthology, C. S. Lewis speaks highly of MacDonald's theology:

"This collection, as I have said, was designed not to revive MacDonald's literary reputation but to spread his religious teaching. Hence most of my extracts are taken from the three volumes of Unspoken Sermons. My own debt to this book is almost as great as one man can owe to another: and nearly all serious inquirers to whom I have introduced it acknowledge that it has given them great help—sometimes indispensable help toward the very acceptance of the Christian faith.

… I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself. Hence his Christ-like union of tenderness and severity. Nowhere else outside the New Testament have I found terror and comfort so intertwined. … In making this collection I was discharging a debt of justice. I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him. But it has not seemed to me that those who have received my books kindly take even now sufficient notice of the affiliation. Honesty drives me to emphasize it."

Influence on pop culture
Rock group The Waterboys titled their album Room to Roam after a passage in MacDonald's Phantastes, also found in Lilith. The title track of the album comprises a MacDonald poem from the text of Phantastes set to music by the band. The works Lilith and Phantastes are both named as books in a library, in the title track of another Waterboys album, Universal Hall. The Waterboys have also quoted from C.S. Lewis in several songs including "Church Not Made With Hands" and "Further Up, Further In", confirming the enduring link in modern pop culture between Macdonald and Lewis.

A verse from The Light Princess is cited in the Beauty and the Beast song by Nightwish.

Contemporary new-age musician Jeff Johnson wrote a song titled "The Golden Key" based on George MacDonald's story of the same name. He has also written several other songs inspired by MacDonald and the Inklings.

Christian celtic punk band Ballydowse have a song called "George MacDonald" on their album Out of the Fertile Crescent. The song is both taken from MacDonald's poem "My Two Geniuses" and liberally quoted from Phantastes.

Jazz pianist and recording artist Ray Lyon has a song called "Up The Spiral Stairs" on his CD "Beginning To See" which was released in 2007. The song features lyrics from MacDonald's 26 and 27 September devotional readings from the book Diary of An Old Soul.

Novelist Patricia Kennealy Morrison has a fictional rock band of the Sixties named "Evenor" in her Rock & Roll Murders: The Rennie Stride Mysteries series.
On their 2008 release A Thousand Shark's Teeth the band My Brightest Diamond included a track titled "From the Top of the World" that was inspired by At the Back of the North Wind.

Christian ambient rock band The Sleep Design released their first full-length album titled All That Is Not Music is Silence, taken directly from a quote from MacDonald's Unspoken Sermons, first series.

Howard Pyle

2011-08-31T11:31:00.002-06:00

Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.

During 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University), and after 1900 he founded his own school of art and illustration, the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. The term Brandywine School was later applied to the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region by Pitz.

Some of his more famous students were Olive Rush, N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Elenore Abbott, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Allen Tupper True, Anna Whelan Betts, Ethel Franklin Betts, Harvey Dunn, Philip R. Goodwin, and Jessie Willcox Smith.

His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books, frequently with medieval European settings, include a four-volume set on King Arthur.

He published an original novel, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was made into a movie in 1954, The Black Shield of Falworth.

Pyle traveled to Florence, Italy to study mural painting during 1910, and died there in 1911 of a sudden kidney infection (Bright's Disease).

Major works
In addition to numerous illustrations done for Harper's Weekly, other periodical publications, and various works of fiction intended for children, Pyle wrote and illustrated a number of books himself.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood is Pyle's synthesis of many traditional Robin Hood legends and ballads, making of them a cohesive whole. He toned them down, however, to make them suitable for children. For instance, he modified the ballad "Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham", changing it from Robin killing fourteen foresters for not honoring a bet, to Robin defending himself against a band of armed robbers. Furthermore, Pyle has Robin kill only one man—who shoots at him first. Tales in which Robin steals all that an ambushed traveler carried, such as "Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford", are changed so that the victim keeps a third, and another third is dedicated to the poor.

Pyle did not have much more concern for historical accuracy than did the original balladeers, although he did alter the name of the queen-consort in the story "Robin Hood and Queen Katherine" to Eleanor (of Aquitaine), which rendered it compatible historically with the king with whom Robin eventually makes peace (King Richard the Lion-Hearted).

Indeed, none of the tales in the Robin Hood book were Pyle's own invention, with some dating back to the late Middle Ages. Rather, his achievement was in linking them to form a unified, illustrated story. "The Adventure with the Curtal Friar", for example, ceased to be a stand-alone tale, but was made part of the book's overall narrative by Pyle in order to reintroduce Friar Tuck, because a co-operative priest was needed for the wedding of outlaw Allan a Dale (Pyle's spelling of the original Alan-a-Dale) to his sweetheart Ellen. Again, in the original "A Gest of Robyn Hode", the life of an anonymous wrestler, who had won a bout but was likely to be murdered because he was a stranger, is saved. Pyle adapted it so that the wrestler is given the identity of David of Doncaster—one of Robin's band in the story "Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow". Several characters that had been mentioned in only one ballad, such as David of Doncaster or Arthur a Bland, are thus developed more fully by Pyle's novelistic treatment of the tales.

Pyle also wrote Otto of the Silver Hand, a story about the life of the son of a robber baron during the Medieval Period. In 1887 he wrote The Wonder Clock, a collection of twenty-four tales, one for each hour of the day. Each tale was prefaced by a whimsical verse telling of traditional household goings-on at that hour, illustrated by his sister Katharine. The tales themselves were written by Pyle based on traditional European folktales. A similar volume was Pepper and Salt, or Seasoning for Young Folk, which consisted of tales of traditional types for younger readers, also illustrated.

A number of pirate legends by Pyle, including some of his drawings, were collected as Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates, published in 1921, ten years after his death.

In 1903, Pyle published Rejected of Men: A Story of To-day, a re-imagining of the story of Jesus as if it had occurred during early twentieth-century America.

Critical response
Pyle was widely respected during his life and continues to be well regarded by illustrators and fine artists. His contemporary Vincent van Gogh wrote of Pyle in a letter to his brother, saying that Pyle's work "...struck me dumb with admiration".

E. Nesbitt

2011-08-31T11:24:00.002-06:00

From Wikipedia:
Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a precursor to the modern Labour Party.

Biography
Nesbit was born in 1858 at 38 Lower Kennington Lane in Kennington, Surrey (now part of Greater London), the daughter of an agricultural chemist, John Collis Nesbit, who died in March 1862, before her fourth birthday. Her sister Mary's ill health meant that the family moved around constantly for some years, living variously in Brighton, Buckinghamshire, France (Dieppe, Rouen, Paris, Tours, Poitiers, Angoulême, Bordeaux, Arcachon, Pau, Bagnères-de-Bigorre, and Dinan in Brittany), Spain and Germany, before settling for three years at Halstead Hall in Halstead in north-west Kent, a location which later inspired The Railway Children (this distinction has also been claimed by the Derbyshire town of New Mills).

When Nesbit was 17, the family moved again, this time back to London, living variously in South East London at Eltham, Lewisham, Grove Park and Lee.

A follower of William Morris, 19-year-old Nesbit met bank clerk Hubert Bland in 1877. Seven months pregnant, she married Bland on 22 April 1880, though she did not immediately live with him, as Bland initially continued to live with his mother. Their marriage was a ménage à trois: Bland also continued an affair with Alice Hoatson which produced two children (Rosamund in 1886 and John in 1899), both of whom Nesbit raised as her own.

Her own children were Paul Bland (1880–1940), to whom The Railway Children was dedicated; Iris Bland (1881-1950s); and Fabian Bland (1885–1900), who died aged 15 after a tonsil operation, and to whom she dedicated Five Children And It and its sequels, as well as The Story of the Treasure Seekers and its sequels.

Nesbit and Bland were among the founders of the Fabian Society in 1884. Their son Fabian was named after the society. They also jointly edited the Society's journal Today; Hoatson was the Society's assistant secretary. Nesbit and Bland also dallied briefly with the Social Democratic Federation, but rejected it as too radical. Nesbit was an active lecturer and prolific writer on socialism during the 1880s. Nesbit also wrote with her husband under the name "Fabian Bland", though this activity dwindled as her success as a children's author grew.

Nesbit lived from 1899 to 1920 in Well Hall House, Eltham, Kent (now in south-east Greater London), which appears in fictional guise in several of her books, especially The Red House. On 20 February 1917, some three years after Bland died, Nesbit married Thomas "the Skipper" Tucker, a ship's engineer on the Woolwich Ferry. She was a guest speaker at the London School of Economics, which had been founded by other Fabian Society members.

Towards the end of her life she moved to a house called "Crowlink" in Friston, East Sussex, and later to St Mary's Bay in Romney Marsh, East Kent. Suffering from lung cancer, she died in 1924 at New Romney, Kent, and was buried in the churchyard of St Mary in the Marsh.

E. Nesbit's grave in St Mary in the Marsh's churchyard bears a wooden grave marker made by her second husband, Thomas Terry Tucker. There is also a memorial plaque to her inside the church.

Literature
Nesbit published approximately 40 books for children, including novels, collections of stories and picture books. Collaborating with others, she published almost as many more.

According to her biographer Julia Briggs, Nesbit was "the first modern writer for children": "(Nesbit) helped to reverse the great tradition of children's literature inaugurated by [Lewis] Carroll, [George] MacDonald and Kenneth Grahame, in turning away from their secondary worlds to the tough truths to be won from encounters with things-as-they-are, previously the province of adult novels." Briggs also credits Nesbit with having invented the children's adventure story.

Noël Coward was a great admirer of hers and, in a letter to an early biographer Noel Streatfeild, wrote "she had an economy of phrase, and an unparalleled talent for evoking hot summer days in the English countryside."

Among Nesbit's best-known books are The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1898) and The Wouldbegoods (1899), which both recount stories about the Bastables, a middle class family that has fallen on relatively hard times. Her children's writing also included numerous plays and collections of verse.

She created an innovative body of work that combined realistic, contemporary children in real-world settings with magical objects and adventures and sometimes travel to fantastic worlds. In doing so, she was a direct or indirect influence on many subsequent writers, including P. L. Travers (author of Mary Poppins), Edward Eager, Diana Wynne Jones and J. K. Rowling. C. S. Lewis wrote of her influence on his Narnia series and mentions the Bastable children in The Magician's Nephew. Michael Moorcock would go on to write a series of steampunk novels with an adult Oswald Bastable (of The Treasure Seekers) as the lead character.

Nesbit also wrote for adults, including eleven novels, short stories, and four collections of horror stories.

Asimov's Readings, Continued

2011-08-31T11:13:00.002-06:00

Asimov continues to list the books he read as a youngster:

"I read E. Nesbitt's books and Howard Pyle's and George McDonald's. I even read Eugene Sue, which carries the Romantic Era to the extreme edge of indurability and had me constantly in tears.

But then I was crying all the time those days. I wept over Beth in Little Women, over Raoul, Athos and Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask, over Smike in Nicholas Nickelby, and eventually learned, in my frequent re-readings, which chapters to skip.

...

What I didn't read was what the libraries of the 1920s and 1930s were poor in, and that was contemporary fiction. Or, if the libraries did have them, then I discovered them too late, after my literary tastes had solidified. Most twentieth century serious fiction is beyond me."

Asimov continued:
Mysteries and humor are another matter, of course. Of all twentieth-century writers I should say the two I have read most carefully and thoroughly, and have reread most assiduously and with undiminished delight, and Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse.

Asimov's reading

2011-08-30T11:46:00.002-06:00

When Asimov was growing up, he had to spend most of his time - when he was not in scool - minding his father's candy store (in particular when his mom was pregnant with his brother Stanley.)

Asimov could have ended up doing many things - sitting around staring vacantly into space, playing with computer games (if only they'd been invented back then), watching TV (if only it had perfected - it had been invented) etc., but in fact "This forced me more firmly into the world of books, and I became an assiduous librarygoer."

He states in his autobiography:
"I read omnivorously and without guidance. I would stumble on books about Greek myths and fell in love with that world. When I discovered William Cullen Bryant's translations of the Illiad and the Odyssey I took them out of the library over and over."

He read Dumas and Dickens and Louisa May Alcott, "and indeed, almost the entire gamut of nineteenth century fiction." Because so much of it was by British authors, "I became a spiritual Englishman and a conscious Anglophile."

Dolphins, Aliens, and the Search for Intelligent Life

2011-08-29T16:14:00.001-06:00

From Astrobiology Magazine: Dolphins, Aliens, and the Search for Intelligent Life
How do we define intelligence? SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, clearly equates intelligence with technology (or, more precisely, the building of radio or laser beacons). Some, such as the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, suggested that intelligence wasn’t just the acquisition of technology, but the ability to develop and improve it, integrating it into our society.

By that definition, a dolphin, lacking limbs to create and manipulate complex tools, cannot possibly be described as intelligent. It’s easy to see why such definitions prove popular; we are clearly the smartest creatures on the planet, and the only species with technology. It may be human hubris, or some kind of anthropocentric bias that we find difficult to escape from, but our adherence to this definition narrows the phase space in which we’re willing to search for intelligent life.

Technology is certainly linked to intelligence – you need to be smart to build a computer or an aircraft or a radio telescope – but technology does not define intelligence. It is just a manifestation of it, perhaps one of many.

Astrobiologists see intelligence a little differently. The dictionary defines intelligence as the ability to learn, while others see it as the capacity to reason, to empathize, to solve problems and consider complex ideas, and to interact socially.

If we take these characteristics to be a broad working definition of intelligence, our view of intelligent life in the Universe suddenly looks very different. No longer are we confined to considering only life that has technology. To be fair to SETI, at this moment in time it cannot search for anything other than beacons – the vast distances across the cosmos coupled with our own baby steps into the Universe mean that we don’t have the capability to search for any other form of intelligent life other than those that can deliberately signal their presence. However, what a wider definition of intelligence tells us is that we are not alone, not even on our own planet Earth.

Professor Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist from the University of Oxford, was one of the first to put forward the theory that the evolution of intelligence is driven by social factors, allowing animals to survive, interact and prosper in large and complex social groupings. These include notions of reciprocal altruism (I scratch your back, you scratch mine), politics (forming sub-groups and coalitions within the larger group) and understanding the emotions of others (empathy, which in turn relies on theory of mind, the ability to be aware of one’s self and others). Looking at it that way, modern social networking on media such as Facebook may just be a symptom of what helped drive us to become intelligent in the first place, many tens of thousands of years ago.

Here’s the trick – to be social, you must be communicative. Staying quiet is anti-social. Personal interactions require communication, of some form, and the more complex the interaction, the more complex the communication. So if intelligence and social behavior is linked – and many people agree that it is – then the best place to start looking for intelligence is in animals that like to chat with one another. And that brings us to dolphins.

Ever since the 1960s, when John Lilly popularized the notion that dolphins may be cleverer than your average animal, dolphin intelligence has courted controversy, tempted us with tantalizing but thin evidence, and remained elusive. We know they are able to communicate by a variety of means, from whistles and barks to echo location, and researchers working with captive dolphins have discovered that they understand syntax, i.e. the difference between a statement and a question, or past and future tense. As Carl Sagan once famously said, “It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English – up to 50 words used in correct context – no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese.”

“Carl Sagan was right!” says Lori Marino, a biopsychologist from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “We still don’t understand the natural language system of dolphins and whales. We know a little bit more now, and there have been investigators working on this for decades, but we haven’t really cracked the code.”

In that case, how can we be sure they even have a language? Justin Gregg, a researcher at the Dolphin Communication Project in Connecticut, is skeptical. “Most scientists, especially cognitive scientists, don’t think that dolphins have what linguists would define as language,” he says. “They have referential signaling, which a lot of animals do – squirrels and chickens can actually do that, and monkeys – and they have names for each other. But you can’t then say they have a language because human words can do so much more.”

Nevertheless, some scientists continue to fight in the dolphins’ corner. Referential signaling involves tagging things with names, such as having a specific whistle to identify sharks, or fishing boats, or food. “That sounds like a good definition of language to me,” says Laurance Doyle, a scientist at the SETI Institute in California. “Put it this way: the first premise that I think everyone agrees on is that all animals communicate, so once you buy that the next question is, how complex is each communication system?”

It is this question that has prompted Doyle to reappraise what we define as intelligent complex communication, and what types of signals we should be looking for with SETI. He applies a statistical analysis technique called information theory to languages in order to determine their complexity. It turns out that, according to information theory, dolphin communication is highly complex with many similarities with human languages, even if we don’t understand the words they are saying to one another.

Information theory was developed in the 1940s by the mathematician and cryptologist Claude Shannon, mainly to be applied to the then-burgeoning technology of telecommunications. It operates on the knowledge that all information can be broken down into ‘bits’ of data that can be rearranged in myriad ways. George Zipf, a linguist at Harvard, realized that language is just the conveyance of information, and therefore could be broken down too.

Think of all the different sounds human beings make as they speak to each other, the different letters and pronunciations. Some, such as the letters ‘e’ and ‘t’ or words such as ‘and’ or ‘the’ will occur far more frequently than ‘q’ or ‘z’ or longer words such as ‘astrobiology’. Plot these on a graph, in order of the most frequently occurring letters or sounds, and the points form a slope with a –1 gradient. A toddler learning to speak will have a steeper slope – as they experiment with words they use fewer sounds but say them more often. At the most extreme a baby’s babble is completely random, and so any slope will be nearly level with all sounds occurring fairly evenly. It doesn’t matter which human language is put through the information theory test – be it English, Russian, Arabic or Mandarin – the same result follows.

What is remarkable is that putting dolphin whistles through the information theory blender renders exactly the same result: a –1 slope, with a steeper slope for younger dolphins still being taught how to communicate by their mothers, and a horizontal slope for baby dolphins babbling. This tells us that dolphins have structure to how they communicate.

Meanwhile, another feature of information theory, called Shannon entropy, can tell us how complex that communication is.

Doyle makes the analogy to marching soldiers. Imagine one hundred soldiers on parade, walking in all different directions across a field. Then they are called to attention, and form ten neat rows of ten. Prior to the call to attention, when they are marching randomly, they have maximum entropy, maximum disorder, maximum complexity. Once they are lined up structure is imposed on them; their entropy decreases as does their complexity when coupled with a corresponding increase in structure.

Language is the same. Write down one hundred words on one hundred pieces of paper and throw them into the air and they can be arranged in myriad ways. Impose rules on them, such as sentence structure, and your choices automatically narrow. It is a bit like playing hangman; you have a five-letter word where the first letter is ‘q’, so the rule structure of English necessitates that the second letter is ‘u’. From thereon there is a limited number of letters that can follow ‘qu’ and so you may have ‘que’ or ‘qui’ or ‘qua’ and you can predict that the word is ‘quest’ or ‘quick’ or ‘quack’. Shannon entropy is defined as this application of order over data and the resulting predictability of that order.

“It turns out that humans go up to about ninth order Shannon entropy,” says Doyle. “What that means is, if you are missing more than nine words then there is no longer a conditional relationship between them – they become random and pretty much any word will do.” In other words, there are conditional probabilities, imposed by the rule structures of human languages, up to nine words away.

Doyle has analyzed many forms of communication with information theory, from the chemical signals of plants to the rapid-fire radio transmissions of air traffic control. How do dolphins fare? “They have a conditional probability between signals that goes up to fourth order and probably higher, although we need more data,” says Doyle.

The problem with studying dolphin communication is being able to study them for any great length of time out in the wild, which requires patience and money. This is where Denise Herzing comes in. She is based at the Wild Dolphin Project in Florida, and has spent much of her time working with the same pod of wild dolphins for the past 27 years, documenting the complexity of their communication, acoustic signals and behavior over that time period.

“We know them individually, we know their personalities, we know their communication signals and we already do things together that seem to be of interest [to them],” she says. “What we’re now trying to do is develop an interface that takes advantage of those small windows where we have their attention and they want to interact with us.”

This interface, developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence specialist Thad Starner at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and marine cognitive scientists Adam Pack of the University of Hawaii and Fabienne Delfour at the University of Paris, is known as CHAT, the Cetacean Hearing and Telemetry device. It’s a smart phone-sized gizmo that can I.D a dolphin whistle in real time. It’s worn around the neck of a diver and connected up to a pair of hydrophones and a one-handed keyboard called a ‘twiddler’. By agreeing with the dolphins on a common artificial language, neatly side-stepping the problem of translation, it is hoped that CHAT will enable humans and dolphins to talk in real time. For instance, dolphins will be able to request toys such as a ball or a hoop from humans, and vice versa. Although it won’t be the most meaningful conversation in the world, it will be conversation and that in itself will be revolutionary.

Still at the prototype stage, Herzing sees CHAT as an extension of all the work done in communication studies with captive dolphins over the past few decades. “To have high-powered, real-time computer technology to help us recognize specific signals that the animals make could empower us to bridge that gap and allow humans into their acoustic world,” she says. The plan is to test the device this year, before getting it out into the wild in 2012.

How complex dolphin communication really is remains to be seen. We must be careful not to anthropomorphize. We know their communication has nuances that are incredibly complex, but so do other species of animal, from bees to plants. Do dolphins have language with the scope and breadth to converse about anything like we can with human language, or is it more basic? Justin Gregg would argue the latter case.

“Essentially they do behave in complex and interesting ways, but there are no great mysteries in what they do that can only be answered with language,” he says.

Herzing and Doyle are more optimistic. “Dolphins have exquisite sound and they have a lot of places they could potentially encode information – we just haven’t looked adequately yet,” says Herzing. She has worked with Lori Marino and the SETI Institute’s Douglas Vakoch on how we can recognize intelligence other than human intelligence.

Meanwhile, Doyle has suggested that SETI should search for signals with information content that has a –1 slope. We may find that an alien signal displays complexity up to ten, fifteen, of twentieth order Shannon entropy. What would such a language be like?

To explain, Doyle highlights the example of Koko, a captive gorilla that has learned sign language and can understand concepts like “tomorrow” or “yesterday”. But combine time tenses, and Koko doesn’t understand.

“If you say to her, ‘by this time tomorrow I’ll have finished eating’, Koko doesn’t understand the two time jumps, that at some point in the future there will be a point in the past,” says Doyle. “Now imagine an alien comes with more complex abilities. They may say, ‘I will have to be have been there’. Now there’s nothing wrong with that per se, but humans can’t handle three time jumps or more. An alien could just think in a more complex way.” So instead of double entendres, they might have triple or quadruple entendres.

What all this tells us is that intelligence is manifest in communication just as much as it is in technology and, if intelligence is truly derived from social behavior, then it may be far more prevalent than technology. If intelligence is defined as the ability to learn, then intelligence brings with it culture, which means something that is learned. We see baby dolphins learning from their mothers so, in the crudest sense, we might say that dolphins have culture and intelligence.

By escaping the assumption that intelligence must equal technology, we see that there are many other intelligences on Earth – ask Lori Marino, and she’ll tell you that even the simplest multi-cellular life could be considered intelligent to a degree, thanks to its nervous system.

But it also poses a problem for SETI – if the Universe is full of intelligent, social, communicative but non-technological dolphins and the like, then there will be no radio beacons to transmit signals. The Universe could be full of life, of intelligence, and we would never know it.

NASA’s backward view of aliens

2011-08-23T13:38:00.001-06:00

From NerdTrek: NASA’s backward view of aliens
Any of you that perform Google News searches as much as I do with the keyword “aliens” will know of NASA’s latest rant that reflects their A or B type logic, the same logic that has plagued the human race since the beginning of our short time on Earth. What NASA presents us with are either of two choices: A) aliens will wipe us out or B) save us from ourselves, i.e., alleviate global warming.

Firstly, both choices reflect the egocentric condition of humanity in that we think we are somehow the center of this known universe and that we are, by default, owed a visit by aliens even if they are just passing through. Isaac Asimov, one of my favorite sci-fi writers, once stated the following regarding aliens, “We can’t try to guess what the motives of these explorers [aliens] might be. What might seem logical to us might not seem so logical to them. They may not care if we see them, and they also may not care to say hello.” A good example of this logic is shown in the novel ‘Rendezvous with Ramma’ by Arthur C. Clarke in which a gargantuan alien vessel passes through our solar system only to draw energy from our sun, not to say hello to us (and talk about global warming).

What NASA has not taken into account is that if aliens have the technology to travel across vast light years of space, isn’t that alone a reason why we remain so infinitesimal in the grand scheme of Type I civilizations such as aliens? For those that may be unaware of the difference between galactic types of civilizations, physicist and futurist Dr. Michio Kaku explains it best:

* “Type I: this civilization harnesses the energy output of an entire planet.
* Type II: this civilization harnesses the energy output of a star, and generates about 10 billion times the energy output of a Type I civilization.
* Type III: this civilization harnesses the energy output of a galaxy, or about 10 billion time the energy output of a Type II civilization.”

According to Dr. Kaku, humans rank as a Type 0 on the class scale since we continue to rely on fossil fuels instead of shifting primary resources to renewable energy sources. So, if we were to liken ourselves with any kind of species, in comparison, we should view ourselves as ants while aliens are compared to humans. Here we [humans] are building, destroying, and rebuilding like ants in a windstorm while aliens would have the ability to control entire solar systems by stripping minerals or drawing direct fusion power from stars’ rays. What role do we play in their grand scheme of life?

In reference to choice B, if that were the only other choice, why would aliens save us from ourselves? What do we have to offer them beside our religions that would try to proxy them to being made by our gods, and our mediocre minerals? What good would diamonds do for aliens that have explored more types of bling across the galaxy than Jay-Z on Earth? More importantly, why would you provide a catalyst to a fast-growing organism without administering thorough, meticulous observation? Even humans have the ability to view microbes and parasites under microscopes without being detected with our technology which dates back less than a few thousand years; so why couldn’t they view us in the same manner considering they have the technology to travel throughout outer space?

Yes, I am talking about unknowingly being observed by aliens for those of you die hard conspiracy theorists out there. Human scientists have the ability to look at other stars even outside our own Milky Way galaxy (which is probably known by a million other names across the universe) – so why wouldn’t aliens be able to view us without ever leaving where they call home? NASA claims to have some of the smartest brains on this planet; so why don’t they consider taking that factor into consideration? Or have they taken it into consideration and have chosen to leave that ‘small’ detail out of the press releases?

I could go on and on regarding both NASA’s growing need to think more outside the box but I will stop (for now). Ultimately, I suspect these latest theories from NASA touch on an underlying theme that perhaps we fear ourselves so much that we would assume, by default, aliens would act in our own manner. Why should we wait for aliens to save us from ourselves when we should be responsible for our own affairs?

In order to bring this rant to a close, as a futurist (and transhumanist) I will propose one of my many theories on how we will eventually meet aliens, that is, if we survive ourselves long enough to explore the greater galaxy with more than just visual observation.

* Humans will send numerous probes in multiple directions in order to increase our chances of finding someone or something worthwhile in outer space.
* Scientists will eventually find a Type I or higher civilization and attempt to contact it.
* Scientists will be ignored by the aliens like humans ignore ants.
* Scientists will try even harder to get aliens’ attention by performing a hostile act which would equate to more of an annoyance to aliens than a real threat.
* We will keep annoying them until they eventually retaliate.
* Humanity will do what we think we do best and amass forces to try to deal with the threat. (By the way, NASA and SETI will be happy because they would start to get heavy funding again)
* We will be stamped out by the aliens because we should have remained on our anthill instead of trying to pursue our manifest destiny on a galactic scale.
* Oh yes, should a small portion of humanity choose not to participate in the global war against aliens, they may colonize a small slice of our solar system. Ironically, that colony may be the only hope for mankind. =-)

Samsung cites science fiction as prior art in US iPad patent case

2011-08-23T13:33:00.002-06:00

Not specifically about Asimov, but interesting.

From Apple Insider: Samsung cites science fiction as prior art in US iPad patent case

In its opposition brief against Apple's US motion for a preliminary injunction against sales of its Galaxy S, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung is claiming a depiction of a video device from "2001: a Space Odyssey" as prior art.

Samsung's full opposition filing isn't yet public as it was filed under seal, but FOSS Patents has reported on one element the company plans to use in its defense: that the appearance of a device in a work of science fiction could be referenced as prior art to invalidate design patents.

Samsung depicts a scene from "2001" where actors in the futuristic 1968 Stanley Kubrick film watch a TV news broadcast from what appears to be a digital newspaper while they eat a meal. The company describes the scene as depicting astronauts "using personal tablet computers."

Samsung states that "the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table's surface), and a thin form factor." The movie does not, however, depict any interaction with a user interface on the device. Other works of science fiction have depicted tablet computers in various forms.

Fictional or artistic representations of inventions can be used to invalidate design patents. Robert A. Heinlein, who was described as one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers alongside Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, wrote detailed descriptions of the concept of a waterbed while hospitalized in the mid 1930s. His writings were later used as prior art to prevent a patent from being awarded in the 1960s as the waterbed started to become popular.

Apple was recently sued by Klausner Technologies over a patent claim against the iPhone's Visual Voicemail, a feature that could have similarly been defended with science fiction prior art. However, Apple settled with the company and licensed its patent.

Apple's US case against Samsung
However, Samsung has far more at stake in this case because Apple is seeking to block a wide range of its products as willfully infringing copies, rather than just seeking some licensing revenue.

Apple notes it its complaint that it "is limiting this motion to new products that Samsung recently released in the U.S. Apple has not targeted the unreleased Galaxy S 2 phone and GalaxyTab 8.9 tablet computer. Apple reserves the right to seek a preliminary injunction against those two products as their release becomes imminent."

The company adds that "unless enjoined, Samsung's sales of a new round of copycat products will cause irreparable harm to Apple that cannot be adequately compensated by damages. Accordingly, Apple requests that the Court issue a preliminary injunction and ensure that innovation — not unlawful imitation — is protected."

Apple's patent claims
Apple's US case for a preliminary injunction against Samsung relates to three US Design Patents (D618,677, D593,087 and D504,889) and a technology patent (7,469,381 described as "list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display") which Apple has previously asserted against HTC and Nokia.

Apple's D677 and D087 patents relate to the design of the front face of the iPhone, while D889 pertains to the iPad's overall design. The '381 patent is "a clever method for displaying images on touch screens: when one uses a finger to drag a displayed page past its bottom edge, for example, and releases the finger, the page bounces back to fill the full screen."

Apple stated that Nokia previously initiated a reexamination of the '381 patent "which included the best prior art references Nokia could find," but the Patent Office confirmed the validity of all twenty claims related to the patent.

Samsung's "2001" prior art appears to be directed at elements of the D889 design patent. However, Apple's complaint cites previous court decisions ruling that "the critical issue is whether 'the effect of the whole design [is] substantially the same' – 'minor differences between a patent design and an accused article’s design cannot, and shall not, prevent a finding of infringement.'"

Another case Apple cites found "if the accused design has copied a particular feature of the claimed design that departs conspicuously from the prior art, the accused design is naturally more likely to be regarded as deceptively similar to the claimed design, and thus infringing."

Apple's complaint notes that "the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is substantially, even strikingly, similar to Apple’s minimalist, patented D889 design, which in turn looks very different from the prior art," referencing actual design patents for tablet computers filed by IBM and Hitachi.

Evidence that evidence wasn't faked
Countering claims by a Dutch columnist for IDC that Apple had "doctored evidence" to fool the courts in Germany and the Netherlands, Apple notes in its US complaint that "differences between the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Apple’s patented design are trivial and legally insignificant: the aspect ratio, thickness, and edge profiles do not appear to be absolutely identical in the Tab 10.1 and Apple’s patented design.

"But as discussed above, a product infringes a design patent even if it differs in several details, so long as an ordinary observer would view the overall appearance to be substantially the same. These minor differences do not affect the substantial similarity between Samsung’s tablets and Apple’s claimed design when viewed as a whole, especially in light of the prior art."

Asimov in the Blogs: The Shape Of Schemes To Come

2011-08-21T14:33:00.001-06:00

From Wizbang: The Shape Of Schemes To Come

The legendary Isaac Asimov once wrote a spoof scientific article that described the new compound “thiotimoline,” a substance so sensitive to water that it would begin dissolving before the water was added. Research showed that thiotimoline was so dense, it couldn’t be contained by three dimensions but extended into four — and would start dissolving exactly 1.14 seconds before contact with water.The scientific applications of this discovery were nothing short of world-shaking.

I find myself thinking of the great master’s joke when I think about ObamaCare. It’s still some ways away from being implemented, but its tentacles are reaching back in time to wreak havoc today.

I don’t know if this story has any direct connection to ObamaCare, but I can see how it could.

In brief: New Hampshire has put the brakes on out-of-control Medicaid spending, and those businesses depend on Medicaid are fighting over who’s going to have to take the hits. The insurance companies say they won’t do it, so it’s up to the hospitals and the doctors to suck it up.

This reflects some of the thorniest problems with ObamaCare, and health care in general. Unlike any other business model, there is a huge separation between the ultimate consumer of the good or service and the costs of said good or service. For another, it’s quite often literally a case of life or death for the consumers.

Health care providers, and all the support industries — are providing goods and services. They are entitled to be compensated for their work. Further, they have the right to determine what they want to charge — they are under no legal obligation to provide; they can simply close up shop if they wish. (A splendid example of this is the Catholic Church’s position vis-a-vis ObamaCare and abortion. They are on record as saying that if the government requires them to perform operations, they’ll simply shut down all their hospitals and tear down the buildings.) Oh, they can be coerced and regulated to a certain extent, but if they simply decide to “go Galt” and get out of the health care business entirely, there’s not a damned thing we can do about it.

And yes, we can regulate what they can charge. But again, that’s conditional on them not calling the bluff — the stick being wielded here is “this is what you will charge if you want to continue in this business.” They can always walk away.

But then again, we’re talking about literal life and death here. The United States was founded on certain principles, such as inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Well, ill health and death — preventable ill health and death — tend to put a bit of a crimp on that.

I don’t know what the solution to the health care problem is. I don’t even know if there is one. I just know that ObamaCare is guaranteed to make things even worse.

And this mess we’re facing in New Hampshire is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Influence of Asimov: George Devol

2011-08-21T14:29:00.001-06:00

From The Telegraph: Technology Obituaries: George Devol
George Devol, who died on August 11 aged 99, was inspired by the stories of the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov to design and produce the world’s first industrial robots.

Devol’s prototype mechanical arms became the forerunners of the robots that are now commonplace in manufacturing — notably on car assembly lines. But they had their genesis at a genteel cocktail party in 1954, when Devol buttonholed a fellow engineer, Joseph Engelberger, about his observation that “50 per cent of the people in factories are really putting and taking”.

It was a meeting of minds. Devol (he pronounced it De-vahl) had already applied ideas from his background in electrical engineering and machine controls to design a mechanical arm that could be programmed to repeat precise tasks, like grasping and lifting. While Devol had developed and patented the basic technology, Engelberger immediately appreciated its significance and the pair set up a company to produce a device which they called the Unimate.

The car manufacturing business was the first to try it out, with General Motors installing the first Unimate arm in 1962 on an assembly line in New Jersey, where it performed spot welding.

In the teeth of opposition from the trades unions, which feared that the technology would threaten jobs, Chrysler and Ford followed suit. By the mid-1960s, variations on Devol’s invention were being used to carry out difficult, repetitive, tedious or hazardous industrial tasks such as welding and spray-painting.

Not that Devol was the first to come up with the idea of harnessing machinery to do man’s bidding. In 1892 another American, Seward Babbitt, designed a motorised crane with a gripper to remove ingots from a furnace. The word “robot” — from the Czech word robota, which means drudgery or slave-like labour — appeared in 1921 in a play in London entitled Rossum’s Universal Robots.
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[what's this]

But Devol foresaw how robotics would flourish in the computer age, and how they could be programmed to communicate with each other to maximise performance.

George Charles Devol Jr was born on February 20 1912 in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child he liked to tinker with gadgets, but although he studied mechanics and electronics at school, he decided against going on to higher education. Instead he worked for various electronics companies before starting his own small business, United Cinephone, improving recording technology for films.

When that enterprise failed, Devol returned to inventing, and came up with sensors that automatically opened doors and laundry presses, and photoelectric detectors that automatically counted people going through the turnstiles at the New York World’s Fair. He also helped to develop a forerunner of the microwave oven, which cooked hot dogs and which was called the “Speedy Weenie”.

Devol and Engelberger later went their separate ways, with Devol running a robot leasing and consulting business from his home in Florida. Despite his best efforts, big names in American electronics like IBM were initially slow to embrace robotics. Only in the 1980s did breakthroughs in computer and microelectronics technology lead to their widespread use in industry.

Even then some waverers were not persuaded by Devol’s vision of an automated future. Indeed, some were actively put off by the prospect of increased reliance on machines, which they feared could lead to robots taking over the world. “George Devol was unable to restrain himself from spilling the whole dream out, which scared most businessmen off,” Engelberger explained. “I kept myself from talking about some of the things that have happened, which he envisioned.”

George Devol’s wife, Evelyn, died in 2003. Two sons and two daughters survive him.

Asimov's books: 1954

2011-08-20T04:47:00.002-06:00

Novel: The Caves of Steel (Doubleday)
Novel: Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (Doubleday)

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Asimov's books: 1953

2011-08-19T16:42:00.000-06:00

Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroid, as Paul French (Doubleday)

Asimov wrote the series near the beginning of the Cold War, when many concerned scientists, engineers and educators in the United States felt that their country, and the group of nations they identified as the Free World, was falling behind the Communists and the Eastern Bloc in scientific research and engineering developments. In this context, it was important that the youth of the country be given a solid scientific start, and the adventures of David Starr were as a result rather didactic in nature, despite all the action involved.

He carefully introduced astronomical and physical concepts which the scientific knowledge of the time supported. In later editions, he added a preface pointing out that new scientific discoveries have rendered some locations and concepts obsolete: Mercury does not only present one side to the Sun, and Venus is not covered by a global ocean, for example. The books offer more action scenes than Asimov's usual quota, but they are still filled with the scientific and sociological concerns Asimov used in all of his other fiction.

Asimov's books: 1952

2011-08-19T04:40:00.003-06:00

Novel: David Starr, Space Ranger, under pseudonym Paul French. Doubleday
Novel: The Currents of Space

Anthology: Foundation and Empire, Gnome Press.

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