Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
I've been watching the new Apple TV+ series Foundation, but wanted to get a few episodes in before commenting. This is an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation book series. In that series, set in the far future (20,000 years), a vast galactic empire rules the entire galaxy. Hari Seldon is a mathematician who has … Continue reading Foundation
Source: xkcd: The Three Laws of Robotics The Three Laws from the Wikipedia article: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must … Continue reading xkcd: Why Asimov put the Three Laws of Robotics in the order he did
IO9 has the details. Apparently Jonathan Nolan, of 'Interstellar' fame, is involved. I'm not sure how I feel about this. The Foundation series, by Isaac Asimov, is classic golden age science fiction. It's one of those works that has influenced lots of other science fiction, with many common tropes originating from it. Galactic empires? Foundation. … Continue reading HBO will make a Foundation TV series
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?
Fifty years ago, American scientist and author Isaac Asimov published a story in The New York Times that listed his predictions for what the world would be like in 2014. Asimov wrote more than 500 books in his lifetime, including science fiction novels and nonfiction scientific books, so he was well-versed in thinking about the … Continue reading Isaac Asimov’s Predictions For 2014 From 50 Years Ago Are Eerily Accurate
The fear of death is a normal, natural, instinct that we all have. Without it, we’d end up doing all kinds of reckless things that most of us avoid. Some people claim not to fear it, but I suspect that all of us, when we’re honest, retain that fear to one degree or another. After … Continue reading Soothing the fear of death
SelfAwarePatterns 