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Specfiction

<t>The other day there was a story about Branson and Rutan out in the Mojave desert christening SpaceShip 2 (SS2), the new space-plane, mothership combo that Virgin Galactic hopes will open a new age in commercial spaceflight. That announcement signals how far NASA has fallen. Back in the 50's, NASA...

Specfiction

<t>I would question whether any experience is the same for everyone and whether two observers of the same event ever record the same "objective reality". You're so wrong. Imagine this: 50 million miles and an N body problem of forces. Yet, with one course correction, and one initial...

Specfiction

<t>I'd call that the underlying nature or reality--whether it is knowable in some absolute way is debatable--I suspect it is not. People don't have the required perception, we exist under very benign conditions. The robust processes of creation probably are best observed (experienced?) from a vantag...

Specfiction

Uncalled for Sir

I couldn't agree more--what a mess our world is. Let's face it, we're just mean monkeys.

Specfiction

<t>Nothing in science discusses "objective reality (truth)", it discusses observation. Repeatable physical measured observation IS objective reality. Example: If you step off the edge of a tall building, gravity (a proven scientific model) will pull you toward the center of the Eart...

Specfiction

<t> The other half - that Scientific based models are not models in the rhetorical sense, they are mathematical, validly logical constructions based on "proof" and validated by experiment - is just as mistaken. They're approximations which both idealize and simplify truth.To the extent to which thos...

Specfiction

<t>I couldn't disagree more. Objective reality (truth) is not arbitrary. Either the Earth is 6000 years old or it's not. Creationism is not a model, it is an unfounded belief. Creationism is inconsistent with the evidence that the natural world provides. Scientific based models are not models in the...

Specfiction

<t>Science and religion are fundamentally different. Science is a method of acquiring knowledge that depends on proof, controlled repeatability, documented confirmation by data, and error assessment. Religion is that which is accepted on faith. Faith is defined as "belief without proof." Science app...

Specfiction

<t>We definitely agree, although I find the statement: "Books by their very nature shut out a lot of people." very scary--why should books shut anyone out--quite the contrary. For books you need no tech infrastructure, no power, no equipment--you only need to read. If culture is degraded to the poin...

Specfiction

<t>I'm saying that the way we generate energy today has not changed for 10k years, and it hasn't--I'm not impressed. But that's me. If people are impressed by gadgets, so be it. In terms of our civilization, we seem to be most impressed by things that matter least, we've always loved mirrors, bobble...

Specfiction

<t>From Wikipedia: "A 120,000-year-old Stone Age coalstone hunting camp was discovered in 2005 by archaelogists in an opencast coalstone mine in Germany, its first known use being campfire cooking fuel for German hunters.[3] China Coal Information Institute reports the Chinese mined coals...

Specfiction

<t>I'm often amused at how often I hear this association between Star Trek, communicators, and cell phones. People really are impressed by that. Let me give you my brief spin. First, ST was a great show, but it was TV/Movie, not a book (originally). Second, I've worked in cell phone R&D. Clever ...

Specfiction

<t>I am the author of Proteus. Both Banks and Hamilton have been around for a while--i don't consider them new writers. I think of Star Wars as space fantasy, not really SF. Lucas agrees, those are his words. Also, Blade Runner and Alien are movies, not written SF. Blade Runner was due to PK Dick--a...

Specfiction

<t>Because of media consolidation, and because the science fiction brand has, since Star Wars, become something that mainstream readers don't, in general, frequent. When FW first came out, it was rejected 18 times because publishers and agents said nobody wanted to read a SF that reminded people of ...

Specfiction

<t>Forever War by Joe Haldeman The Last good SF book I read was The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Joe wrote the FW after coming back from Vietnam as a Combat Soldier. The FW is one of those books that, I believe, we will see less and less of. It is a SF, but its greatest impact...

Specfiction

<t>rjwould;753873 wrote: That is exactly why I start threads on religion. It's my view that the only way out of this mess is through it. The discussion has to be had, it will get messy and difficult, but it must be had. It's my opinion that this is the last great push by the religious fundamentalist...

Specfiction

<t>Most reasonable people don't like to get into silly, nonsensical discussions. So many knowledgeable people stand by the side-lines and hope this stuff (Creationism) goes away--it is so obviously ridiculous. But it hasn't gone away, unfortunately. It is now creeping into school science classes. Th...

Specfiction

<r>BTS;753490 wrote: well then you 2 should get on over here (<URL url="http://www.ultimateglobalwarmingchallenge.com/">http://www.ultimateglobalwarmingchallenge.com/</URL>) and claim that $150,000............ prize with all that proof. Tell us all what you are gonna do with it first tho....

Specfiction

<t>The important point is this: something is not real simply because we believe it is; and what is real can be known only to within calculable errors. I once taught a lab class. We spent the whole time (to many people's dismay) calculating errors on measured data. Science is only as good as the calc...

Specfiction

<t>Accountable;753446 wrote: It's the LAW of Gravity. It's the THEORY of Evolution. Not quite the same thing. Teach evolution in science class and creationism in religion class, and make sure both are taught as THEORIES. ...

Specfiction

<t>Sheryl;753340 wrote: I agree that there should be better teachers, better pay, and national standards. But I think these tests should cover what is taught during the school year. And not the kids taught the test the whole school year. This just stresses the kids and teachers out. The kids are str...

Specfiction

<t>rjwould;753332 wrote: If you were to interview a person for a job where you work, would you hire them based on what they believe or how qualified they are for the position? George W. Bush is a CEO (and a bad one at that), but we don't need business people as presidents, we need professional polit...

Specfiction

<t>Education in this country is a mess--no argument there. But education must meet minimal national standards, the way it does in Europe and Japan. This can only be determined by testing--like your surgeon needs to take a test before he/she can operate on you. Much of what is wrong with school in th...

Specfiction

<t>I've disqualified two on the basis of the inept statements they've made. The one I personally like the most is John Edwards. But that's a matter of personal taste. BTW, I also like Barrack Obama. And it's not that I have really high standards, it's that I'm not willing to vote for some...

Specfiction

<t>Well I don't think scientist have invented a totally realistic looking human robot yet, so I guess you'll have to wait a while longer for your perfect president. That's very good--made me smile. I'm not trying to dis anyone here. Like Huckabee, I'm sure we're all fine people. The...

Specfiction

<t>It's not that someone who believes in Evolution is an "Evolutionist," it's that someone who doesn't believe in Evolution doesn't believe in science. You can't choose not to believe in gravity. Gravity and Evolution are on the same scientific footing. This is a problem with our educational system ...

Specfiction

<t>RedGlitter;753293 wrote: I personally see no problem with Huck's beliefs as long as they pertain to him and don't leak onto me. I also don't believe in evolution but would certainly hate for someone to be ignorant enough to judge me based on my private beliefs. You're not running...

Specfiction

<t>This strange resistance to accepting Global Warming as real is nothing less than a clear demonstration that there is something seriously wrong with the education system in the US--virtually the only country in the world where this weird opinion is manifest at this level. Every legitimate scientif...

Specfiction

<t>We watched last night as Gov Huckabee won the GOP caucus in Iowa. Although I am not a Republican, I understand the Gov's populist appeal after eight long years of a Bush administration punctuated by gross incompetence, lies, fraud, corruption, and assorted criminal activity. At thesame time as th...

Specfiction

Well, try a new author, namely myself. Proteus Rising is a societal SF with interesting plausible science written by a scientist. You can find the book and reviews on Amazon. You can try the first four chapters for free in pdf format at:

Speculative Fiction Review

Specfiction

<t>Sunshine is a hard science fiction movie about the second expedition to a failing sun in a desperate effort to â€œrestartâ€ it. Seven years before, a first Icarus expedition was sent to the sun, towing a bomb the size of Manhattan Island in hopes of reigniting it and saving Earth from a slow dar...

Specfiction

<t>Whilst it is perfectly possible to scrub CO2 form the atmosphere there are no viable techniques for removing it by the million tonne lots which is what the burning of hydorcarbons as a main fuel supply would call for. Actually, one of the next big catastrophies in waiting is the amount...

Specfiction

<t>CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2O however "clean" the process is. The CO2 can be removed and sequestered in deep strata. Los Alamos pioneered the technique and there are startups trying to develop the technique on a large scale. It's the same thing the deep ocean does by depositing CO2 in l...

Specfiction

<t>Firstly, coal (no matter how "clean"), alcohol, and methane are still just as much producers of CO2 as petrol. Secondly, solar, wind and wave are not base sources - you must have a "flick of a switch" source to underly them. You might not be aware of new co...

Specfiction

<t>I think you're stretching a point in saying that ITER is almost ready - even their optimistic prediction shows the first generation of plasma at 2016 with a 21 year experimantal life after that to learn how to generate power. I agree with everything you said (about ITER--it's a ...

Specfiction

<t>Tempus Fugit and all that, we know a damn'd sight more now than we did when those old fossils were built. No we don't. We know no more about how to handle the waste now than we did then. And time won't help. This is a problem of physics--fission produces highly toxic unstable was...

Specfiction

<t>Again, we've known for a long time how to make safe nuclear plants with passive safety systems--that's not the problem. People seem to have a hard time with this idea. The kind of nuclear power we have today is a non-starter. Nobody in their right mind should be building fission plants. Nobody kn...

Specfiction

<t>The good news is that we're having a lively debate--apparently people are concerned and that's good. The bad news is the whole global warming--energy crisis--and I should add water crisis (the lack of fresh water will join the other two big problems to form the perfect storm in the next few decad...

Specfiction

<t>Perhaps the greatest misinformation campaign of all time has been waged on the legitamacy of Global Warming--that it is real, that it is in large part man-made, and that there is a point of no return. Every reputable scientific group in the World has determined: that it is real, that i...

Specfiction

<t>The latest and best work on alcohol fuel is what I've given (Argonne also looked at Aluminum tubes the Admin said were for centifuges and said they were not--Argonne was right, of course). Even the car companies now agree that alcohol is a CO2 emission cutter. Many of the assumptions in the 1994 ...

Specfiction

<t>Bryn Mawr;593300 wrote: As has been proven, the people have no immediate power to force their government to do anything. If the oil lobby pays enough then the government will block the development of bio fuel / ethanol (through setting appropriate tax breaks etc) instead of encouraging it. ...

Specfiction

<t>Are you aware that ethanol creates Co2 just like gasoline? Are you aware that creation of ethanol to fuel cars actually costs more greenhouse gases than oil, since you have to both produce it and use it? Are you aware that if all farmable land on earth were used to make etha...

Specfiction

I think the problem is that people are too easily manipulated by people "they put" in authority. The public in the US must educate itself--and not by listening to talk-radio or commercials on TV from lobbying groups. The people do have the power, but only if they choose to use it.

Specfiction

<r>It is amazing that the US has done so little to avoid the oil calamity that has now befallen it. It is hard to understand how the representatives we send to Congress, or the people we put in the White House, or the American public in general, can be so numb from the neck up. While it is true that...

Specfiction

<t>Okay, where do we start? First, Steven Edwards, the author of the article is not a doctor and doesn't claim to be--but he can write a mean Peal script, which is how smart researchers compile data from various studies to compare results and produce an overall survey of the field. What Steven is po...

Specfiction

<t>I think the entire field of medicine will be transformed from an understanding of Blastcyst Stem Cells. In twenty to fifty years, we will look back and regard medicine today the way we think of medicine in the dark ages. I think that those who explain this field of research to the public, have, a...

Specfiction

<t>Recently, the new director of the NIH, a conservative scientist, installed by the Bush administration, has broken ranks. He has come out publicly indorsing Embryonic Stem Cell research and advocating the Harkin Bill up for a vote on Thursday, April 12th. Most scientist agree, as does 70% of the A...

Specfiction

If there are any readers here who enjoy an occasional mainstream SF that deals with the ultimate possibilities of genetic manipulation and artificial intelligence with sociologic overtones, check out Proteus Rising. You can read some of the reviews in a post further up thread.

Specfiction

<t>magenta flame;581923 wrote: The reason he did not argue with her and called her a heretic is because as a heretic he cannot tell her she has broken any law of Islam if she had said she was a muslim and seen to have gone against the teachings she wouldn't be walking around today. ...

Specfiction

<t>What's effective is what's true and can be verified by what actually, factually happens. Of course, proving her point, she has been plagued by many threats of violence. It is refreshing to see someone speaking so plainly, with values that mirror tolerence and with a respect of objective reality r...

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