Science News

Who discovered fire? Men? Bears? Birds light fires in Australia.

The hope of viewing black holes with a planet-wide telescope.

Spinning black hole tidally disturbs local star, circling star material around back to the star again to create a flare.

An interesting perspective on depression.

Books about time (I won't bother with the superlatives)

$1 Billion object destroyed to protect the possibility of alien life

News

1. Sample every musical genre

2. The Moon is no longer Earth's sole satellite

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3. Gravity waves from a neutron-star collision.

4. Are you dead when you die?

Review: Red Planet Blues by Robert J. Sawyer

Red Planet Blues 

by Robert J. Sawyer

Alex Lomax, PI, investigates two mysteries. First, the disappearance of Joshua Wilkins (covered here in "Identity Theft") and those still after the transfer Pickover's Alpha deposit--a highly sought-after deposit of Martian fossils that Pickover wants to preserve for humanity while treasure-hunters want to exploit it for profit. The original deposit discoverer, supposed dead, turns up as does his diary, which many will kill for. Yet another mystery underlies these: The Bowman of the ship B. Traven unfroze and molested its passengers for months.

The tale is full of Analog escapades--thrust into difficult situations that require scientific or engineering ingenuity to resolve tricky scenarios.

Commentary with Spoiler Clues:

Sawyer expands the scope of the original novella admirably. The idea of identity, however, melts away--at least, to a degree no more than most mysteries.

What's left is the idea of fossils on Mars, which assumes life propagated to a degree big enough to have, presumably, something the size of trilobites on Mars. Maybe we could grant microbes, but fossils seem something of a leap--not just a multicellular organism, but one with specialized features that can fossilize. It would be a huge discovery though Sawyer doesn't fully explore this idea (it is, after all, a mystery and not a dig). Maybe in a sequel?

The novel is intense, and the frequent problem-solving creativity is amazing, astounding, Analog and, otherwise, impressive. Sawyer pulls several tricks from seemingly empty sleeves. One nit, though, is that climax does have a semi-deux-ex-machina although it does resolve well in other regards.

Another nit can be examined by comparing the ending of "Identity Theft" to the novel. First, let me talk about the first season of Monk, which I just finished. The show lasted an impressive eight seasons, with one show temporarily holding the record for most watched episode. The conceit, an OCD former homicide hetective turned consultant, is clever and holds one's attention... until familiarity breeds.... well, not contempt because we still like the guy. How about over-familiarity? He's like an old friend you like, but not enough to keep him living in your basement. He's got to maintain our interest. Usually, that involves change.

"Identity Theft" does involve change. We take a detective, Alex Lomax, who starts down on his luck and finally comes into some money. He helps out a guy who shouldn't exist and gives him a new identity. We like Alex. He has problematic habits but has a good soul. His past, though, is mostly veiled as it does not pertain much to the present at hand.

Meanwhile, the novel takes a character who was supposed to be dead, springs to life to resolve the plot, and Alex invites her to join his team. This might have been satisfying but come off as too pat. Sawyer rejected it. But nothing comes in to replace it. The novel's events don't appear to shape Alex. "It's a mystery," you might say. True, and because of that, this qualifies as a nit. Still, good mysteries allow for protagonist change, however slight. The novel might have garnered more attention had it done so.

It is worth reading, especially if you like mysteries and floundering in other worldly environments versus strange antagonists. Definitely read "Identity Theft." Be forewarned that if you do, you will likely read the novel as well, a delicious entree of wonders.

"The Coldest Place" by Larry Niven

First published in If. Reprinted by Orson Scott Card, Keith Olexa, Christian O'Toole, and James L. Sutter.  This forms a part of Larry Niven's future history series, Known Space.  Caveat:  I will "ruin" some of these Larry Niven stories as it is impossible to discuss the science without revealing the key plot points.

The coldest place in the solar system is... the farside of Mercury--the side that faces away from the Sun.  It may support an unusual form of life.   Niven notes that some of the science may have dated.

A repeat character (see also "Becalmed in Hell"), Eric fused to his spaceship, possibly pays tribute to Anne McCaffrey's "The Ship Who Sang"--a story collected in Judith Merrill's Best SF.  In the future, those with accidents can have an adventurous life as a ship.

These aspects make the tale worth reading--how ideas of science change, how we might envision working on a future Mercury, and the idea that the disabled are not "not abled", so to speak.

Science Articles (How to Read) pt 2

Here's a recent article you might want to use in the classroom to prove that science articles can be deceptive (see earlier "How to Read Science Articles"). This one overstates its case, from Space.com:  "Earth Life Likely Came from Mars, Study Suggests"  If you know that no life has been found on Mars (as the article itself states), then the term "Likely" should set off red flags.  The article reads:

"No indigenous Red Planet organisms have ever been discovered. But it is possible that life on Mars — if it ever existed — may have made its way to Earth at some point, many scientists say." [emphases mine]

The "likely" term is chiseled away by the more realistic terms of possibilities.  It is interesting that the author chose the term "many" to describe scientists.  Why?  Perhaps, to give the possibility more weight than it deserves and lend credence to the use of the term "likely."

After reading the article, I wonder if the author should have stated "Some chemicals that life may require may have come from Mars."  Or maybe the author thinks, despite the lack of evidence for life on Mars, the conditions on Mars may have been more conducive to life and maybe it started there, survived a necessarily violent upheaval in order to fly it off Mars toward Earth, survived radiation and vacuum and atmospheric reentry and a crash landing to seed life on Earth.  Maybe.

If you read this for class, you might ask the students to come up with questions like:  Why is life "likely" to come from Mars?  How many is "many?"  What does it mean that scientists acknowledge the possibility of something?  Why do some scientists believe that life must have these chemicals to begin life?  Are they saying that life on Earth is unlikely to begin without rocks from Mars?  Is there evidence?

How to Get an A on the Final & other education, technology & science-related links

What is space?

Astronomy thought for the day:  What if a planet replaced our moon?

Hopefully, students will recognize different problems: Higher tides and quakes. But what a beautiful view.


Stephen Hawking encourages us to get off planet because we will probably kill this one.


Next NASA mission:  Capture asteroid!

What are waves?

Classic pendulum video.

Why do familiar songs enchant?


OMD has a new album addressing technology.  Nice sound, well-rounded album, although nothing especially catchy.  A good album album, though--as opposed to packed with singles.

What is technology?

Combining several smaller solar power units to become one.

Iranian time machine?

It may be better if you don't complain about everyone on Facebook.


Assure your students if they do this simple coordinated robot army to play this sweet little 
song, they'll get an A.

What is education?

When people "code-switch" or change languages/lingos.

Teacher Peter Brown Hoffmeister explains how he used to be a loner and a high-school gun-toter (we also had kids who brought weapons to school that they ought not to have), but he didn't play video games.  He suggests that practicing violence can lead the violent to commit actual violence.  There may be some truth to this.  I recall reading that the U.S. military learned to train soldiers because the majority of soldiers weren't shooting in war (WWI?).  A cursory search didn't turn up anything, but maybe one of you know.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be teachers.

Here's a blog against home-schooling although I've known many normalized home-schoolers who were happy.  Probably many youth loathe education.  I know a number of public school students who would rather not deal with the bullying and the popularity games.  People all have bad experiences, and of course, it's sad to hear every case.

What is life?

The Shadow Biosphere:  Is there unusual life on this planet already?

Ethics (food for thought--I have no dog in this fight except I do have a joke--very black humor--do skip if you don't appreciate such jokes):

1. "“Both a fetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a ‘person’ in the sense of ‘subject of a moral right to life’."
2. It could be argued that since the frontal lobe isn't yet developed until ~ age 25, parents should be able to abort teenagers.

The Curse by Arthur C. Clarke

The future nuclear war was once a common trope in SF.  Although threats remain, it hasn't seized the consciousness of the contemporary SF writer.  Or maybe they feel all that needs to be said, has been.

This 1946 story had to be one of the earliest examples.  Clarke brings the war home to England where twenty bombs alone hit London.  You might say this has spoilers, but as the story has no plot or character, I'm not sure how it can be.

This vignette packs poignant irony.  First, though the light of day is dying--enlightenment, it might be read as well--light due to radiation keeps the graves readable.  The   second relates to Shakespeare's tombstone epitaph in Stratford upon Avon that reads*,

GOOD FREND FOR IESUS SAKE FORBEARE,
TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE.
BLESTE BE YE MAN YT SPARES THES STONES,
AND CVRST BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES.

Here the irony pointed out is that no curse, forthrightly stated, is carried out.  However, a far greater curse has befallen England, irrevocably changing life and its environment.

*An interesting if irrelevant comment about Shakespeare's grave may be found here.

On Writers, Writing and Science

On writers:

• LeGuin in the canon
• George Saunders' new book (praise)

On writing:

• Stories in Spanish (Cuentos en espanol) -- stories by Jeffrey Ford, Tim Pratt, Joseph Paul Haines, Ken Liu
• Saladin Ahmed on World-building (promo primer)
• How many words do you know?  (game estimates)Pulp covers!  Always fun
• Chuck Wendig on rejection
• Market listings
• Margo Lanagan on Indie Publishing

1. Note:  Her first collection was praised, albeit delayed.
2. Interview 

On science:

• Early life form may have been on land
• Humans underestimate how they will change over time
• "Habitable" planet...

1. --only five times Earth's mass!  
2. I imagine life would be heavy and tiring.

The Frozen Sky by Jeff Carlson

Writers of the Future, XXIII

On Europa the talented Vonnie, armored in an AI suit, runs down ice tunnels on an alien planet to escape the pursuit of aliens chase her--eight-armed amphibian starfish. Curiously, the walls are covered in hieroglyphs and other biological tell-tales, suggesting sentience, or former sentience. As her crew dies, Vonnie must find her way to those coming to save her, yet her battle for survival battles with her desire that this alien life remains alive.

The deeply imaginative adventure quickly establishes his ability and is reminiscent of a Stephen Baxter tale.

"They're Made out of Meat" by Terry Bisson

Availability:

1. Omni Apr 1991
2. Nebula Awards 27, ed. James Morrow, Harcourt Brace 1993
3. Bears Discover Fire, Tor 1993
4. Virtually Now, ed. Jeanne Schinto, Persea Books 1996
5. Online (there may be many copies online, but this is straight from the author's website)
6. Audio
   
7. Video (save the video for after to see how one's interpretation can differ from another)
   

Pre-Reading:

• Dialogue makes this story look easy to read, but it's trickier than it appears: 1) We don't know who is talking nor 2) what the who is talking about. This may be purposeful, even thematic: not knowing what a thing is.
  

Summary:

• Two aliens discuss life on planet Earth--or a planet just like Earth (so it may as well be since Earthlings are the ones reading it).
  

Questions:

1. Before reading, skim over the text. Who's talking? What kinds of situations might dialogue be heard but the listener doesn't know the speaker(s)? Brainstorm with a classmate. (It looks like a play, but plays generally label speakers--if for no other reason than to aid actors.)
2. To whom is the first sentence--"They're made out of meat"--referring? Can we know immediately? What might we suspect with a pronoun like "they?" Possibly beings (considering this is SF, we cannot assume those are human). How about the word meat? What does that conjure up in your imagination?
3. What are the characters' attitudes toward these beings when they repeat the statement?
   
4. What does this dialogue suggest about the other character's attitude when it is addressed to it/him: "There's no doubt about it."? (Hint: there's a word in this sentence that suggests the other's feeling.)
5. After this line, some students should be able to guess (and that's all it is right now) who or what the beings are talking about: " We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
6. Students may or may not get the joke about the probe. Different generation. You may not want to go there anyway.
   
7. (If no one has correctly identified the meat, do not advance to this question until they have.) Knowing to whom the beings are referring, what makes this first line--"They're made out of meat"--a science fiction sentence? If we know to whom they're referring, what do we know about the speakers?
8. What do we know about the speakers when they say:
   
   "That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"
   
   "They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
   
   What kinds of things radiate radio waves? Is that what immediately comes to your mind when you think of sentience or life? How does the author challenge our assumptions by having the assumptions of aliens challenged?
   
9. What do we know about the being who says, "So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."?
10. The incredulous being mocks the reality of humans: " You're asking me to believe in sentient meat." What word makes the reality of sentient humans ridiculous? Why? Apply this to your own life: Have you heard people do this before? What was the outcome?
11. "Maybe they're like the orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage." Name some creatures that go through different life cycles.
    
12. What does this statement suggest about the aliens themselves: "We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take long."
    
13. "They're meat all the way through." Is this statement true of how we think of meat? How do we think of meat? What must that mean about what they think of when they think of meat?
14. What word about the aliens comes to mind when you read, "It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?" When in history have humans done this to humans?
15. To what famous Einstein equation are they referring to? "[T]hey can only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim." What happens to objects as they approach the speed of light (faster than light)? What does this statement suggest that separates their knowledge from ours?
    
16. Come up with a question about the aliens or their attitude not yet raised and pose it to your classmate.
    
17. If you can think of other questions, please let us know.
    

Videos: Use the videos to ask what the actors and/or directors left out of their interpretation that you had come up with. Also, how did they interpret the story that you didn't think of? Does it keep within your understanding of the story? Was any interpretation particularly insightful or bad?

1. Youtube videos
   

Applicability:

1. Biology: Life: What is life? What are life stages? What species go through life stages? Do humans?
   
2. Biology: Animal Behavior: What makes a species sentient?
   
3. Chemistry: Chemical Behavior: What makes carbon ideal for living creatures? Knowing what you know about carbon's flexibility as an atom, explain why it is more ideal for combining with other chemicals in more ways than other atoms? Because elements in the same column have similar properties, some scientists believe that silicon-based beings is possible. Create a list of pros and cons. Replace carbon in famous chemicals with silicon. Can it work the same? What conditions might make it possible to have a silicon-based being (consult ptable.com). Also, use what you know about electronegativity to talk about chemical properties.
4. Physics (some physical science): Radio waves, speed of light & ramifications
   
5. Science: Assumptions: Sometimes science assumes it knows more than it does. Scientists need to be prepared for possibilities it hasn't yet imagined--or even those it quickly discards.
   

About the author:

• Author's Website
  
• Michael Swanwick's Profile