Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
I've done a couple of posts on Robert Reed's Greatship series, about a giant spherical Uranus-sized megastructure moving through space at a third the speed of light. It's discovered in intergalactic space and claimed by humans, who then invite anyone who can pay in some manner (resources, technology, science, or even just interesting stories) to … Continue reading The Dragons of Marrow and Hammerwing
Ned Block has a new paper out, for which he shared a time limited link on Bluesky. He argues in the paper that the "meat neutral" computational functionalism inherent in many theories of consciousness neglect what he sees as a compelling alternative: that the subcomputational biological realizers underlying computational processes in the brain are necessary … Continue reading Does consciousness require biology?
I've noted on this blog many times that I'm not much of a horror fan. But the Alien franchise has always been kind of an exception. Space horror might be a little better than the garden variety, just because it's space. But mostly I just enjoy the sci-fi worldbuilding, usually in the early stages of … Continue reading Alien: Earth, and other TV notes
A few weeks ago, I talked about Robert Reed's story collection, The Greatship. It's about a spherical Uranus-sized megastructure moving through space at a third the speed of light. Humans manage to reach it first and claim it, and then decide to take it on a tour of the galaxy, offering passage to anyone who … Continue reading Marrow and The Well of Stars
SelfAwarePatterns 