We are a Starfaring Species
It’s a first giant step, perhaps preparing a humongous leap for an entire species.
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The Geek Test: What’s Your Score?
I believe people of all types should be able to join in geek events and have fun whether they’re sufficiently geek credentialed or not, but I wondered how one might one go about quantitatively evaluating “geekiness”
Does Science Fiction Kill Interest in Science?
A good number of PhD physicists and astronomers,…are writing marvelous stories humanizing and extrapolating from our latest understanding of real science. Through such stories, science can become exciting and inviting
What’s in a Nova?
There’s a new star in the sky, or rather one that’s on the order of ten thousand times brighter than it was a few days ago.
Ten Pieces of Evidence that We’re Living in the Science Fiction Future
This will display my age, now 45, as I compare the world I live in now with the one I grew up with. I am inspired this week by a number of news stories that […]
What is the Vampire of Science Fiction?
I’m not talking about the salt vampire of Star Trek or anything so literal. I’m talking about vampires in the sense that they fill fantasy and horror in a continuing and ubiquitous fashion despite being […]
Crossing the Divide Between Science Fiction and Fantasy
There are some people who have clear preferences among their reading genres. Myself, I read more science fiction than fantasy, but there are times when I definitely want the fantasy. Then there’s my dad. He’s […]
Blogging about the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers
Quite a few attendees are blogging this week about their experiences at the workshop. Christian Ready has compiled a list, and will continue to update it through next week. I offer it to you here […]
Ten Reasons for Not Boycotting Ender’s Game
There’s a movement to boycott the upcoming movie Ender’s Game based on a popular and award-winning Orson Scott Card novel of the same name. The basis of the boycott is that Card is a Mormon […]
Do You Think the Martians will be Free?
It’s July 4th, the American Independence Day, as I write these words. The word “Freedom” is often heard in connection with the holiday. Essentially every permanent colony ever instituted on our planet has ended in […]
The Science and Engineering Applications of Zombies
I just watched World War Z last week, and it was not my first zombie movie of the year. It probably will not be my last. Zombies are the new vampire. They’re everywhere in every […]
Please Support the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers
Like science in your science fiction? Like stories set in space that aren’t full of errors? Like to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science? Consider making a donation to the Launch Pad […]
Bieber to go to Space! Who should be Next?
I was struck by two news items this week. The first was that Justin Bieber has signed up for a trip into space. He’d like to do a concert from there. Whether or not you […]
A New Space Telescope Helps to Usher in a New Future
I think this is pretty cool. A company with plans to mine asteroid, Planetary Resources, Inc., has just announced that they’re putting a telescope in space and they’re inviting the public to crowdfund it AND […]
Small Star Trek Spoiled Science Spoiler
So like a lot of people, I saw Star Trek Into Darkness last week. I liked the casting, the acting, many of the effects. I had problems with the storyline and a number of plot […]
To Star Trek or to Star Wolf?
Why not do both? Let’s start with Trek. The new Star Trek movie Into Darkness debuts this month. The word of mouth seems good from the few people I know who have seen advance screenings […]
Psychics are Dark Fantasy
I remember being uncomfortable about the “psionics” in Dungeons and Dragons back when I was a kid. Psychic powers seemed more appropriate in science fiction than fantasy. I mean, we had Mr. Spock’s mind meld […]
Ten Science Fiction Movies that are Really Fantasy
Without belaboring the concept, let’s do it. 1. Star Wars. The force is magic, as are most other elements. Just because something has robots, spaceships, ray guns doesn’t make it science fiction. 2. Inception. Entering […]
Alien Parameter Space
I love science fiction stories with aliens. There are some good ones without aliens, but they’d probably be better if they threw in some aliens. OK, maybe not, but I still love aliens. I write […]
The Coolest Thing I’ve Seen All Week
I’m an astronomer, but I also have a background in engineering, and when I was six, dinosaurs rivaled space for my primary interest. I’m grown-up now, but must admit I still love toys. The bigger […]
Science Fiction Wishful Thinking
There are a number of science fiction tropes that might come true at some point, but not necessarily within our lifetimes or near future. They’re extremely common, however, and challenging them can elicit strong emotions […]
Another Difference Between Real Scientists and Science Fiction Scientists
I was watching an episode of Fringe today and got to see Walter Bishop actually puttering around his lab and whipping up antidotes with seconds to spare. If only science were so exciting on a […]
Science and Fiction by Springer
I’m on the editorial board, and an acquiring editor for, a new series by the European academic publisher Springer. I’m busy but agreed to participate because I love the intersection of science and fiction and […]
The Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers
I have some news about the workshop, but first, in case you don’t know what it is… Launch Pad is a week-long workshop held every summer since 2007 at the University of Wyoming. I founded […]
How to Host a Big Bang Theory Party
When the tv show the Big Bang Theory first appeared, I wasn’t sure I liked it. I mean, weren’t people laughing at the nerdy scientists as often (or more often) than they laughed with them? […]
The Science Fiction Fan’s Bucket List
I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel a lot and do many things I’ve always wanted to do. Some of my opportunities have been work related (e.g. using the Hubble Space Telescope, and helping […]
Ten Totally Illogical Science Fiction Premises
Over on my own blog I wrote about eight science fiction tropes of convenience, mainly about unlikely or impossible technology or assumptions that are made not because they make sense, but because they’re convenient for […]
The Difference Between Thinking Like a Scientist and a Science Fiction Writer
I was in graduate school for astronomy when I started taking writing seriously. The first stories I wrote that were any good and started to sell tended to be fantasy or science fiction with horror […]
Is Science Killing Science Fiction?
Gregory Benford shared this on facebook, asking if this notion was true: Strahan, Jonathan, “Introduction,” Edge of Infinity, Solaris, 2012. This is just a short introduction to Strahan’s latest book of short stories, but he […]
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