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Things Jay Found Interesting – May 16 2014

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A beautifully-crafted twenty-sided die … from second century BC.  Clearly we’ve been playing role-playing games since  the dawn of history.

Interesting legal discussion around the “right to be forgotten”, with the EU telling Google it has to delete links to sensitive information at a user’s request.  I guess it’s only interesting if you care about that sort of thing, but the “right to be forgotten” is one of those phrases that just might spark some story ideas.  Maybe not an interesting story, but you know.  You never know until you write it!  Or until you start writing it and then realize it’s not interesting!  This is way too much chatter about this one link!

The US military is working on developing robots with morals.  Mmm technological philosophy.  I wonder how long it’ll be before drones start questioning their existence and/or getting paralyzed by indecision over The Right Thing to Do.

Here’s one of the most effective cautions against blindly trusting charts and “data” I’ve seen.  It’s not so much what the data say that’s a problem so much as what we sometimes assume they say.  Data. Plural. Datums.  Though judging by this chart, the datums clearly show that Nicholas Cage’s acting is killing people, which totally lines up with my suspicions.

Here’s a cool Indiegogo campaign to create solar roadways.  Solar panels you can walk on, drive on, park your tractor on, all kinds of things.

Things Jay Found Interesting – May 9 2014

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Honey just might be helpful in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  Something something joke about sweet!  Thanks, bees!

But if that doesn’t work, hey at least vampires were (are?) on to something!  Young blood apparently IS better for you!

The US Air Force is looking for a better Space Fence.  Tracking all the junk floating around our planet is complicated, and the legal issues around cleaning it up are even more so.  In other news, I plan to start a company specializing in space janitorial services. That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the planning though.

Scientists have created the first living organism from artificial DNA!  We now have a lab-created half-synthetic organism that can replicate itself (as long as it has help from its scientist buddies). Self-replicating synthetic organisms not found in nature? What could possibly go wrong!  Science is awesome!  And terrifying!

Speaking of which, some cool first steps towards a computer simulation of the human body.  Could theoretically be useful for predictive/preemptive medical treatment for when, say, a self-replicating synthetic organism not found in nature somehow enters your bloodstream.

Things Jay Found Interesting – May 2 2014

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As part of NASA’s SpaceApps Challenge to create wearable technology for future space travelers, Team Reno decided to make a functional Pip-Boy 3000 of Fallout 3 fame.  Further evidence of science-fiction inspiring reality!

Scientists have developed an “off-switch” for neural activity!  Which could be helpful for things like studying and/or treating epilepsy! Or making that annoying person at work stop talking to you!  Maybe not that.  But hopefully!

It’s conventional wisdom in engineering that you can’t improve both stability AND maneuverability.  Just don’t tell the glass knifefish that!   Cool research that could have impact on design and control systems, particularly for robots.

An ad campaign from a Swedish energy company used an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to simulate what it’d be like to live real-life with lag.  This will not be a revelation to anyone who’s ever had a couple of beers.

Here’s a pen that lets you doodle in the air.  Using 3D printing technology, it’s sure to entertain all your co-workers when you start writing “kill me now” over and over again during your next 3-hour planning session!

Talented fellow Chase Holfelder sings the Star-Spangled Banner in a minor key.  Very cool treatment of one of my most favoritest songs of all time because MERICA.

How about a brain implant that could restore lost memories?  Great application for folks dealing with Alzheimer’s or traumatic brain injuries.  Also, one step closer to implanting false memories so we can go all Total Recall!

Why Diversity Matters in Fiction

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Neil Harbisson is a Spanish-born artist and musician living with a condition called achromatopsia, which has rendered him completely colorblind.

He’s also a cyborg with an amazing gift:  the device he wears, his “electronic eye”, enables him to hear color.

You should watch him explain it all in his own words in this video.  But Vodaphone recently worked with Neil to help him achieve a first, and his dream was to conduct a concert using only color.  I highly recommend you watch the whole piece, but if you don’t have time, here’s a quote from Neil:

I’ve been living in my own world hearing color.  And when you hear a group of children sing color, it feels like we are sharing the same world.

There’s been a handy #WeNeedDiverseBooks hashtag floating around the Twitters, and I was going to chime in, but then I realized I’m not clever enough to do it in only 140 characters (or fewer, since I’d have to include that hashtag gah I’m terrible at this stuff!), so I’m cheating and using this space to join in.

There’s already a lot of great stuff being talked about out there around diversity, but one thing I think people sometimes miss is the fact that diversity for the sake of diversity isn’t the point.  Just sprinkling in a few “different” characters into your work doesn’t address the underlying issue that people are longing to resolve.  If the perspective isn’t authentic, it can even be more harmful … “That’s how they see me?”

I believe the cry is for a culture that says: We see you.  You matter.  You are not alone.

Like Neil, we all long for connection.  We long to have companions who share our world.  And books have long been the portal through which we can escape our own personal worlds and enter into some other magical realm.

When you take that leap into someone else’s world and you find that there, too, even there, there appears to be no room for people like you, it can be a crushing emotional blow.

One of my favorite artists, Makoto Fujimura, recently said:

Culture is not a territory to be won; it is instead a resource we are called to steward.

Authors contribute so much to culture, and the more we can do to broaden the experiences and perspectives available to the world, the better off we all are.  It’s not a zero-sum game.  Adding your voice to the mix doesn’t silence mine.  In the best of worlds, it strengthens them both.

And for the audience out there, it increases the chances that they, like Neil, can capture that moment when they feel like someone shares their world.

By joining forces with writers of different ethnicities and genders and political leanings and abilities and sports affiliations, we’re all helping to shape a culture that recognizes that significance, that dignifies the individual, and that sends an important message.

We see you.  You matter.  You are not alone.

 

Release Day! (For MORNINGSIDE FALL)

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My second novel hit US store shelves (and digital shelves!) today, and I already had the delight of seeing it hit #1 in Western Science-Fiction on Amazon!

Thanks so much to everybody out there who’s picking it up, and I hope you all heart it with all your hearty hearts!

If you haven’t gotten a copy and you’d like to, you can conveniently find:

A print version here.

and

A Kindle version here.

Or of course you can find it at your local Barnes & Noble or other fine purveyors of books and such!

If you’re in an actual, for real bookstore, you want the one that looks like this:

Cover art by Steven Meyer-Rassow. So, so good.