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5 votes
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I can read you like a book: On Northanger Abbey
5 votes -
On weird America
12 votes -
The prolific Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen died 150 years ago, yet fairy tales like ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Ugly Duckling’ still move readers to this day
14 votes -
The cultural decline of literary fiction
11 votes -
Break your bubble: find book titles that you are unlikely to read
32 votes -
Why is the right so fascinated with fantasy literature?
24 votes -
China cracks down on women who write gay erotica
33 votes -
Designer as author (1996)
5 votes -
A literature clock
18 votes -
English literature’s last stand
11 votes -
What works do you think should be added to the literary canon?
(Inspired by some discussion over at the The New Lifetime Reading Plan topic) Which authors or texts do you feel deserve a place in the literary canon, but don't currently have one? There is, of...
(Inspired by some discussion over at the The New Lifetime Reading Plan topic)
Which authors or texts do you feel deserve a place in the literary canon, but don't currently have one?
There is, of course, not one singular, well-defined "canon" -- so interpret "the canon" as "the classics" or "required reading" or "most important works of literature" or however else you care to define it.
In particular, consider areas that the canon tends to overlook: female authors, eastern perspectives, plays (besides Shakespeare's works), etc.
29 votes -
I need some help with the sciency bit of my short story
I am writing this short story. It is part of the overall book that I am writing, but it is also a story that can be enjoyed completely on its own. In that story, a planet-sized ship approaches our...
I am writing this short story. It is part of the overall book that I am writing, but it is also a story that can be enjoyed completely on its own. In that story, a planet-sized ship approaches our Solar System, and,
ultimatelymaybe, Earth. For dimensions, let's say it is equal to 1.5 of Earth's diameter. According to Google, that's25,51219,134 kilometers. The Planet-Ship is probably less dense than Earth, as it is largely occupied by biomass and weird alien electronics. You may think of it as a round Borg cube, from Star Trek.My "Round Borg Cube" is completely black and spherical, with a smooth surface without any visible features.
What I wanna know is...
- Assuming that the object is on a very slow path towards Earth, at what proximity will its effects be known?
- At which point will scientists observe its effects, view it, or detect it with instruments?
- If that is at all possible, what would be a threshold in which the "Round Borgs" would have to interrupt their movement in order to remain undetected?
- At which distance will it be visible to the naked eye (if at all)?
- And if they chose to get dangerously close to Earth, what would be the impact on our environment?
I understand that is a lot to ask, but I just can't trust GPT for that kind of stuff, even if their answers sound plausible. Perhaps someone with astronomical knowledge as well as an interest in science fiction will find my questions enticing. I don't expect precise answers because I am not providing precise information. So feel free to speculate on that scenario. In any case, I am grateful for any answer I can get.
Thanks!
22 votes -
How the novel became a laboratory for experimental physics
8 votes -
Norway launches Jon Fosse prize for literary translators – aims to celebrate the work of an overlooked and underpaid profession facing an existential threat from AI
17 votes -
The elite college students who can’t read books
57 votes -
2024 Nobel Prize – This year's Nobel Prize announcements will take place between 7th - 14th October 2024
19 votes