The Tuesday After

Went to Boskone last weekend. One of the nice things about science fiction conventions is not only do science fiction writers get a bit of a stroke, there is usually a lot of science on panels. The only thing I regret was finding out today that the AAAS had an open public day I didn't know about. So it goes. "My ancestors spent 3.8 billion years evolvingout of the primordial ooze and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

But despite the dystopian nature of a lot of SF novels and stories (mine included) there's always this unrelenting optimism and excitement. A "Gee, isn't this neat" feeling. It also reinforces my understanding of the SF writer's mind as the only profession where all that stuff in the mental attic actually comes into use. After all, what other sort of person would bring together Digital Rights Management and interstellar colonization?

So: I came back in today and find the following articles come across my desk.

While we would like to think that Mars (or, actually, anywhere other than Earth) might have once harbored life it's not as likely as it once was. A recent report report from NASA suggests the ancient Martian seas were likely too salty. Martians invaded Grovers Mills back in the thirties for the fresh water. Unfortunately, they picked New Jersey.

From the AAAS, Nobel Intent gives us the JPL take on the Golden Age of Robots. Which is now, if you're in space. We're not going to be seeing Robby running down the street anytime soon but if you're going to Saturn, Robby's your man.

Robots are always defined in societal consciousness in contrast to humans. In this, they are a sort of German Cabinet of Miracles, exposing our own entrails by either lacking or mimicking them. Enter a real such cabinet in this article. These were models, drawings, etc., of anatomy. Imagine a reclining Venus, Botticelli-like, not only nude but with her entrails spread for your examination.

Statistical mechanics are being used to understand the brain. Another AAAS paper, brought to us by Nobel Intent, suggests the same mathematical approach that has been so successful in understanding Quantum Mechanics can also be used to shed light on brain activity. This is interesting since Penrose suggested a Bose-Einstein condensate could be a model for consciousness.

Nature has an article telling scientists they should lobby now for science advisers to the President, whoever that might be. It would be very interesting to find out who each candidate would pick.


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Links of Interest
The Political Life of Animals
The Music of our Sphere
Math, Science and the Gender Gap
Chimps smarter than a 5th grader?