Science fiction writers imagine whole new universes and explore their possibilities, as we’ve mentioned before. Perhaps they need to think about the changes in language that go along with them.
Today’s world doesn’t look like most science fiction stories pictured it. But accurate prediction isn’t the main point of the genre.
Life always seems to get louder and more insistent. There are reasons for this, though it’s not a good trend.
Humans have accomplished some pretty amazing things, from putting men on the Moon (with old technology!) to sequencing their own heredity. But stubborn problems that look much easier persist.
Our photographer draws our attention to how differently the same objects appear in different light. It’s a lesson easily generalized.
Our photographer notices how a new technology forces our bodies into new positions.
Our astronomer spent a few years in England, where he learned something of the arcane art of ringing church bells. In the belfries of that country are wonderful examples of essentially Medieval technology that also demonstrate advanced mathematical and physical ideas.
Our astronomer ponders the state of the science in the middle of the last century, when things were so different and difficult.
Having mentioned the difficulty of finding the distances to stars last week, our astronomer tries to put some unfamiliar numbers within your grasp.
Our astronomer describes how an assumption widely made in his science in past years turned out to be completely erroneous.