I finally watched the movie Gravity last night. Despite a number of flaws, I enjoyed it immensely. I think it sets a new standard for movies set in space (at least I hope it does). The visuals were stunning and the story had me on the edge of my seat. I now really regret not … Continue reading Gravity: a review
Category: Science Fiction
Deep history, and deep future?
John Schellenberg has an article up on Aeon noting that, while we seem to have no problem accepting deep time in the past, there isn't much discussion of deep future, that is, the future millions or billions of years in the future. It's an interesting article (aside from an unfortunate plea for us to take Thomas … Continue reading Deep history, and deep future?
Neptune’s Brood, a review
This is a review of Charlie Stross's science fiction novel, 'Neptune's Brood'. It's a sequel of sorts to another book of his that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago, 'Saturn's Children'. Both of these books envisage a post-human robotic civilization. (In both books, the robots have very human like personas, having been modeled after … Continue reading Neptune’s Brood, a review
After human extinction, a robot civilization?
This is a review of Charlie Stross's science fiction novel 'Saturn's Children'. It's been out for a few years, but I wanted to read his latest, 'Neptune's Brood', which is a sequel (of sorts), so I started with this one. Stross describes a universe where humans have gone extinct, but where the sentient machines that … Continue reading After human extinction, a robot civilization?
Elysium: a quick review
I saw the movie Elysium this afternoon. It's a tale of a desperately poor population living under the rule of an elite wealthy class. In this case, the poor are living on Earth and the wealthy elite in a space habitat called Elysium. The habitat has technology able to cure any ailment, but this technology … Continue reading Elysium: a quick review
Singularity assumptions that should be questioned
The upcoming movie, Transcendence, looks like it will be interesting, but the trailer includes common assumptions about the singularity that I'm not sure are justified. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY-cc1MLAI4 To be sure, the assumptions are held by a lot of singularity believers. Below I offer some reasons why these assumptions shouldn't be taken as self evident. Assumption 1: … Continue reading Singularity assumptions that should be questioned
Ancillary Justice: an excellent read
I just finished reading Ann Leckie's new novel, Ancillary Justice, after reading about it on John Scalzi's site. I found it one of the most absorbing books I've read in a while. If you enjoy space opera science fiction, with AIs, strange societies, and generally mind bending ideas, then you owe it to yourself to … Continue reading Ancillary Justice: an excellent read
SelfAwarePatterns 