When it comes to historical personages that interest me as a writer, few come with as many story hooks as John Dee (1527 – 1608). Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, alchemist, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. I’m attracted to the blend of Renaissance scholarship with occult mysteries, Read more…
A couple of things to file under, “what the future might look like.” First, what is the most significant thing the Internet has done to political communication, or communication in general? You know the answer, though it wasn’t the answer you just thought of. Consider the MediaGlyph, and how it Read more…
At least no one I’ve seen. But the U.S. Government should be damn thankful this happened the way that it did. We dodged a major bullet that could have been way, way, more damaging than this debacle has been. How could this have possibly been worse, you ask? Simple. What Read more…
So I’ve been reading a lot of stories like this one that has me a little worried. We have 25% of the world’s population under an authoritarian regime that’s just on the edge of holding things together. When you’re spending just as much on internal security as you are on Read more…
Two unrelated things that I came across recently that should have some serious implications to anyone writing near-future SF. The first post is actually kind of obvious, in fact it touches on one of the central themes of the singularity. However, it hits a point that I don’t think is Read more…
A little bit of a reality check for those of us who write about SF futures, or just think about the future in general. This snazzy 21st Century lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to is based on an extremely long supply-chain. Think of the support required for an iPhone to exist. Read more…
Remember Rollerball? The original 1975 version with James Caan? One of the interesting premises of the movie was the collapse of the nation-state in favor of the corporation. That premise was somewhat prescient, anticipating one of the main tropes of cyberpunk by almost a decade. The idea is commonplace now, Read more…
Two completely unrelated stories that should not worry us at all: Apparently a few years ago Japanese researchers developed a fuel cell that runs on blood. . . [via Steve] Then we have the UK researchers who’ve created a robot that eats “vermin” and powers itself by “digesting” the meat. Read more…
Alas, one I have no time to write. However, combine the cheap availability of computing power, the rise of stateless actors (terrorists, pirates, drug lords) mix in a little dissaffected youth in the EU, salt liberally with anarchic nationalist Chinese hackers, and you have the makings of a new world Read more…
We are in interesting times at the moment. We are about to have the first trial for piracy in a century (if you discount RIAA lawsuits) and it brought home to me what may be the greatest challenge the modern nation-state faces in the 21st Century, and that is the Read more…