-
13 votes
-
Thinking allowed
3 votes -
Radar evidence of subglacial liquid water on Mars
21 votes -
Meat and Salt and Sparks by Rich Larson [Sci-Fi] [7365 words]
tor.com/2018/06/06/meat-and-salt-and-sparks-rich-larson/ A futuristic murder mystery about detective partners—a human and an enhanced chimpanzee—who are investigating why a woman murdered an...
tor.com/2018/06/06/meat-and-salt-and-sparks-rich-larson/
A futuristic murder mystery about detective partners—a human and an enhanced chimpanzee—who are investigating why a woman murdered an apparently random stranger on the subway
Found this today and read it for my morning break. I'm worried about spoilers, but I'm curious about people's thoughts on being a non-human intelligence and the subsequent integration into human society. Did this short evoke any particular emotions in you?
9 votes -
The Evolution of Science Fiction
7 votes -
Chinese researchers achieve stunning quantum-entanglement record
2 votes -
Jupiter’s got twelve new moons — one is a bit of a problem child
8 votes -
How NASA’s mission to Pluto was nearly lost
6 votes -
Methane is giving noctilucent clouds a boost
3 votes -
Ocasio-Cortez floats a “sub-caucus” of progressives willing to vote together as a bloc
7 votes -
Science under siege: Behind the scenes at Trump’s troubled environment agency
8 votes -
Women making science videos on YouTube face hostile comments
11 votes -
Ozone hole mystery: China insulating chemical said to be source of rise
16 votes -
SF recommendations
Not exactly an original first post, but as a life long avid SF fan, I'm always on the lookout for recommendations. According to Google Play, my reading (and re-reading) this year has been ... Iain...
Not exactly an original first post, but as a life long avid SF fan, I'm always on the lookout for recommendations.
According to Google Play, my reading (and re-reading) this year has been ...
Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, John Scalzi, Dan Simmons, Neal Stephenson, Charles Stross, China Miéville, Vernor Vinge, Peter Watts, Neal Asher, Richard K Morgan, Corey Doctorow, C.J. Cherryh, Karl Schroeder, Ann Leckie, Hannu Rajaniemi, Yoon Ha Lee, Greg Bear and James S.A. Corey.
So I guess that sums up my current taste, which would seem to tilt towards space opera and "hard" SF.
11 votes -
Any interest in the social sciences and humanities here?
Most spaces flying the flag of science are often unfortunately exclusive in their focus on STEM sciences. In order to combat such a monopoly and until such time as Tildes opens up groups for the...
Most spaces flying the flag of science are often unfortunately exclusive in their focus on STEM sciences. In order to combat such a monopoly and until such time as Tildes opens up groups for the social sciences and humanities, I'd like to open this place up to discussion around some of the disciplines which have always personally interested me more than, say, astronomy or biology. Is anyone else here interested in sociology, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics..? Has anyone pursued work in those fields? Any interesting perspectives to offer or news of recent breakthroughs in any of those areas? All discussion is welcome.
As for myself, I'm particularly interested in sociocultural anthropology and archaeology--in the latter case, specifically as relates to the Neolithic and Bronze Age Near East. I'll soon be pursuing a degree in anthropology with an archaeological orientation at the University of Buenos Aires and hope to be working in the field soon after the end of my studies. I'm also incidentally interested in sociology, philosophy, and literature studies, but don't have any plans at the moment to pursue academic study thereof. Any questions? Feel free to ask.
17 votes -
Data suggest that gentrifying neighborhoods powered Ocasio-Cortez's victory
6 votes -
Anti-union laws associated with significantly more workplace deaths in US states, 1992-2016.
12 votes -
A political scientist argues that the Democratic Party must play "procedural hardball" too: The Republicans aren’t engaged in a policy fight. instead, they’re waging a “procedural war.”
13 votes -
Newborn screening urged for fatal neurological disorder, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)
6 votes -
Scientists find evidence of complex organic molecules from Enceladus
16 votes -
How computers parse the ambiguity of everyday language
8 votes -
High rates of suicide, depression linked to farmers use of pesticides
12 votes -
Recycling a plastic soda bottle
6 votes -
Feeding the gods: Hundreds of skulls reveal massive scale of human sacrifice in Aztec capital
7 votes -
Why does India's air look different from space?
6 votes -
The identifying terms we use (and the political history behind them)
Today's political climate has all sorts of terms being thrown around with varying meanings and history behind them. There are Liberals (political ideology for FREEDUM), and Liberals (foreign...
Today's political climate has all sorts of terms being thrown around with varying meanings and history behind them. There are Liberals (political ideology for FREEDUM), and Liberals (foreign policy), and Liberals (economic policy), and Liberals ("conservatives"), and Liberals ("centrist, anti-absolute monarchists"), and Liberals ("democrats"), and Liberals (some other field that annoys the shit out of me). There are Progressives, and Conservatives, Nationalists, Socialists, Social Democrats, unreconstructed Monarchists, Reconstructed Monarchists, Anarchists, and I'm sure some other political identity that I've missed.
So, given the rather long list of ways to identify politically, and the just about as long history for those ways to identify politically, I thought we should have a discussion focused exclusively on the political history of the terms we used.
So, the questions:
1. What terms do you commonly use to describe yourself and others in your political environment? 2. What is the relevant history that informs the way you use common political terms to describe yourself and others? 3. Got any links, movies, books, etc., that delve into that history?
This has the potential to get hairy because of how broad it is, so I'm going to try to remind people of some best practices that I use when engaging in meaningful discussion:
- Understand before criticizing. - Be able to frame someone's view in a way that they can agree with themselves before critiquing their view. Questions are your friend, but make sure the questions are focused on better understanding someone's view, not on biasing reactions to a view.
- Assume good faith. - Calling people "trolls" makes me very angry. Don't do it. For any reason. To anyone. If your case is so bulletproof that you'd be willing to call someone out for it here, take it to @Deimos instead. I don't want to read it here.
- I Could Be Wrong - There is nothing wrong with having confidence in your view, but there should be some part of you that recognizes you can be wrong about whatever claim you make. Nothing is 100%. Absolutely Only Sith Deal In Absolutes, etc.
11 votes -
Official near-earth object plan will look into nuking asteroids and other 'planetary defense missions'
5 votes -
Arm-based supercomputer prototype to be deployed at Sandia National Laboratories by DOE
3 votes -
New technique could help scientists creat custom genes in twenty-four hours
11 votes -
Massachussetts renewable energy bill clears Senate
8 votes -
One of the thickest Martian dust storms has caused NASA's Opportunity rover to suspend science operations
11 votes -
Beyond the ‘reading wars’: How the science of reading can improve literacy
4 votes -
New sci-fi book recommendations?
Whenever I hear sci-fi being discussed it’s usually in the context of the classic titles, and there’s nothing wrong with that but I wanna read sci-fi of the now! One series I just picked up is the...
Whenever I hear sci-fi being discussed it’s usually in the context of the classic titles, and there’s nothing wrong with that but I wanna read sci-fi of the now! One series I just picked up is the Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer - the first book is called Too Like The Lightning, it’s a really rich and dense text that - and it’s hard to describe without spoiling anything - manages to discuss a lot about human nature in the past, present and perhaps in the future through a really well told narrative. It’s mysterious and a thrilling read as more and more of the world is revealed to you.
Does anyone have any cool sci-fi published recently that they’re reading?
21 votes -
Research finds tipping point for large-scale social change
10 votes -
Space station could be split to aid privatization, new NASA chief says
4 votes -
The Gentle Seduction - a short story about the singularity
3 votes -
Juno solves thirty-nine-year old mystery of Jupiter lightning
5 votes -
Open scientific research is a foundation of our age, but do you think that we may be coming to a time where it may become an existential threat to humanity?
Openly published research makes science advance at a wonderful rate. In my experience scientists and researchers support open research in a nearly dogmatic fashion. Personally I am generally for...
Openly published research makes science advance at a wonderful rate. In my experience scientists and researchers support open research in a nearly dogmatic fashion. Personally I am generally for it. However here is my concern.
I believe that humanity is in a terrible race. One of the competitors is the advancement of science, which of course can sometimes be used in a dangerous ways. The other competitor is our society moving towards murder and war becoming obsolete. The science is obvious and needs no examples. Societies move towards the sanctity of life is shown here.
"Violence has been in decline over long stretches of time", says Harvard professor Steven Pinker, "and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence."
Now to get to my point. In the past scientific advancement has created some really scary things. Atomic weapons, bio and chemical warefare, etc. However, those weapons took a lot of people and capital to produce, and had relatively un-scalable effects. Now with open research on advancements like CRISPR, we are nearing a time where in the near future a smart high school biology student with a few thousand dollars and an internet connection will be able to create self-replicating custom viruses that could kill millions. The asymmetric threat has never been greater.
Do you agree with my assessment and concerns?
If so, do you believe that there should be limits on publication of research in certain areas?
Edit: I should have said CRISPR and gene drives. Here is a TED talk on how gene drives can change and entire species, forever.
7 votes -
A new world’s extraordinary orbit points to planet nine
5 votes -
Scientists race to find who is pumping dangerous gas CFC-11 (depletes ozone and a greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere
14 votes -
Nvidia’s mini supercomputer is the fastest single computer humanity has built
4 votes -
The mind-expanding ideas of Andy Clark
8 votes -
Is cockroach milk back as a superfood trend?
3 votes -
Dinosaur killing asteroid also killed most bird species due to global deforestation
6 votes -
NASA’s Curiosity Rover is able to drill holes into rocks again
12 votes -
Asteroid from another star system found orbiting wrong way near Jupiter
5 votes -
Thousands of amateur radio operators measured the solar eclipse's effects on the atmosphere
13 votes -
Why are we living in an age of anger – is it because of the fifty-year rage cycle?
8 votes -
New Research: Does Watching TV Make Us Unhappy?
4 votes -
Someone, somewhere, is making a banned chemical that destroys the ozone layer, scientists suspect
13 votes