Sci-Fi Fuel #5
Roll Out the Red Carpet for our Robot Overlords! Dive Into the Origins of 'Aliens' & Science/Tech Headlines from Last Week!
— This is a longer post than usual, so if you’re reading this via email, you might want to hop on over the the web version here to read the full thing! —
In This Newsletter:
Quantum Quote(s): 2 cool quote of the week + quick analysis!
Attack of the Jokes:Weird science/tech news + jokes!Incoming Transmissions: TV/film/video/podcast recommendations
Newstopia: Weird science/tech news minus jokes!
Welcome to Sci-Fi Fuel #5! —
— an Alternate Timeline series highlighting news from the realms of science, tech, history, and pop culture that will help fuel your imagination.
Welcome back! Hard to believe I’ve been doing this weekly series for a full month already, yet here we are. In this rapid-fire world, it’s hard finding space and time to process all of the information flying by. Writing these has helped me do that with a bit much needed consistency, and I hope reading it does the same for you.
So, let’s rummage through some brain tingling headlines and quotes from last week!
Find past Alternate Timeline stories here.
QUANTUM QUOTE(s):
Last week, I dissected a frightening New York Times quote about an experiment that makes people feel or hear another presence in an otherwise empty room.
Two quotes stuck out to me this week, and since one is from The New York Times again, I thought I’d toss the other in the mix so that no one cane accuse me of being a Time-head, which would be a pretty cool nickname for quantum physicists.
QUANTUM QUOTE #1! 👀
This first one comes from an October 25 piece for BBC by the UK's Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Reese titled If alien life is artificially intelligent, it may be stranger than we can imagine (Link):
Many assume that human beings are the peak of intelligence, but it's possible that our species may represent a stage on the path towards minds that are more artificial. This could explain why the cosmos seems so empty of life like us. If an evolutionary transition to non-organic intelligence is inevitable across the Universe, our telescopes would be most unlikely to catch human-like intelligence in the sliver of time when it was still embodied in that form. It is perhaps more likely that the aliens would be the remote electronic progeny of other organic creatures that existed long ago.
SCI-FI ANALYSIS:
What’s enjoyable about this quote (and the full piece for that matter) is that Lord Martin Reese (wow, what a fancy name) is engaging in pure speculation. His sci-fi brain is running wild! But its still balanced by logic, and fueled by the simple question: “Why does the cosmos seem so empty?”
At the rate things are moving in our lives these days. It’s hard not to see his point. It’s something I’ve been exploring myself as I try an process the rapid movement of A.I. and tech:
It also seems like Reese is asking us to temper our expectations of extraterrestrial life. E.T. is the perfect example of our longing for family from from the stars with beating hearts, eyeballs and eyelids, and perhaps a curiously long glowing finger.
But perhaps they will be cubes, or a variation of our own ‘the cloud.’
QUANTUM QUOTE #2! 👀
In The New York Times Magazine’s ‘The Climate Issue,’ Catrin Einhorn interviews scientists for a piece titled The Scientists Watching Their Life’s Work Disappear (Link). Why are they watching their work disappear? Because parts of our planet are fading away. This haunting quote from Hanna Mounce, who leads a team trying to save forest birds on Maui, has stayed with me:
When we used to go into the forest, as soon as the helicopter would disappear, the forest was full of birdsong. You would hear kiwikiu when you woke up in the morning. You would hear them in the forest. It’s a trailing song, “chewy-chewy-chewy-chewy,” and it’s pretty loud. Now when we go out there, you might hike half a day before you encounter one of the birds.
SCI-FI ANALYSIS:
It feels a bit like poetry, and perhaps it is. One could easily take Hanna Mounce’s description of the disappearing birds of Maui, and give it to the gritty lead of a post-apocalyptic narrative—walking through a forest in hopes of find something… anything to eat, and remembering how bountiful the world seemed before the bomb. The ease at which those words could be translated to fiction is what makes it so sobering.
Does anything connect these two quote?
Well, in Quantum Quote #1, there is this concept of a post-biological future for the planet, suggesting the possibility that all intelligent biological life moves toward creating its non-biologic successors. And in Quantum Quote #2, we have documented proof of the damage we’re doing to long-standing biological ecosystems. So, if the fancy scientist’s theory is true, it would explain why we’ve never seen aliens that look like E.T. or a bird. In essence: We’re rolling out the red carpet for our own demise.
— This is a large post, so if you’re reading this via email, you might want to hop on over the the web version here to read the full thing! —
ATTACK OF THE JOKES:
A few weird science/tech news items made it into my daily joke series over at Letters from African America last week:
[CLOSED FOR THIS WEEK, SINCE NOT MANY SCIENCE/TECH HEADLINES MADE IT INTO MY JOKES 😔]
INCOMING TRANSMISSIONS:
LISTEN: Scriptnotes “616 - The One with Neil Gaiman” (2023)
In this interview, Neil Gaiman talks a lot about science fiction, and how he struggled to land on the genre he was best suited for.
WATCH: Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019)
If you’re looking for something scary and informative to watch this month, this documentary about the origins of Alien has you covered. You’ll have all of the scary clips from the franchise at your service in addition to a deep, psychological investigation into why the story hits us on such a primal level.
LISTEN: Kepler’s Ark (2021)
If you’re a fan of sci-fi audio fiction and comedy, look no further than my pal, Ben Holbrook’s brilliant podcast Keppler’s Ark. It’s so entertaining that you can practically see it as you listen in on all of the discoveries and antics taking place on the ship.
WATCH: The Science of Isolation (2023)
NEWSTOPIA:
Headlines and brief quotes that might get your brain moving.
October 20, 2023 — via Scientific American
Sleeping People Can Follow Simple Spoken Commands (Link)
October 20, 2023 — via Business Insider
People are grieving the 'death' of their AI lovers after a chatbot app abruptly shut down (Link)
October 23, 2023 — via Newsweek
Lost Continent Argoland Discovered Hidden Beneath Jungles (Link)
October 23, 2023 — via Popular Mechanics
An Incredible New Crystal Can Transform Light Into Mechanical Work (Link)
October 23, 2023 — via Newsweek
The Moon Is 40 Million Years Older Than Scientists Thought (Link)
October 24, 2023 — via Newsweek
Tough Tiny Mice Found Living on Frozen Volcano, Stunning Scientists (Link)
The scientists began to doubt the previous scientist's hypothesis when he found a live, leaf-eared mouse on the summit of Llullaillaco—a volcano that rises 22,000 feet and lies on the border between Chile and Argentina. It is the first mammal to be found living at such an extreme altitude.
October 23, 2023 — via Business Insider
This PC is infused with real human blood (Link)
October 24, 2023 — via Business Insider
Space Perspective's balloon-like spacecraft is floating toward a 2024 commercial launch. See new photos of the high-altitude luxury vehicle — including its fancy space toilet. (Link)
October 24, 2023 — via Newsweek
New Species of Croc-Like Creature From 250 Million Years Ago Discovered (Link)
October 24, 2023 — via Newsweek
Mystery 'Devil Comet' Possibly the Size of Manhattan Is Approaching Earth (Link)
October 24, 2023 — via Newsweek
Pluto Crater Might Actually Be Super 'Cryovolcano' (Link)
October 24, 2023 — via Newsweek
Shocked Scientists Conclude That Life on Earth Is 'Under Siege' (Link)
October 25, 2023 — via Wired
They Cracked the Code to a Locked USB Drive Worth $235 Million in Bitcoin. Then It Got Weird (Link)
October 25, 2023 — via Business Insider
An Oregon State University bomb threat involving food delivery robots had some students feeling sympathy — for the machines (Link)
October 25, 2023 — via Wired
The Mystery of Cosmic Radio Bursts Gets Bright New Clues (Link)
October 25, 2023 — via Popular Mechanics
Scientists Calculated Exactly How Much the Immune System Weighs (Link)
October 25, 2023 — via Newsweek
'Smart Glasses' Developed That Can Help Blind People Recognize Objects (Link)
Unlike traditional systems, the smart glasses described in the study create distinct sounds known as "auditory icons" when an object enters the device's field of view that convey its identity and location to the user.
October 25, 2023 — via Business Insider
In a world of infinite AI, the new luxury item will be humans (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Newsweek
Jupiter in Halloween Spirit Puts On Haunting 'Face' for Juno Mission (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Business Insider
Apple could use the Vision Pro to treat mental illness, report says (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Scientific American
Humans Absorb Bias from AI—And Keep It after They Stop Using the Algorithm (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Newsweek
Chimpanzee Menopause Could Unravel Human Evolution Mystery (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Popular Mechanics
Why Some People Think 2+2=5 (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Newsweek
How Space Junk Is Making the Sky More Metallic (Link)
October 26, 2023 — via Popular Mechanics
Scientists Are Using Chicken Feathers to Build Better Hydrogen Fuel Cells (Link)
October 27, 2023 — via Popular Mechanics
A Scientist Has Confirmed That Humans Have No Free Will (Link)
October 27, 2023 — via Scientific American
Morbid Curiosity Is Linked to Conspiracy Theories (Link)
October 27, 2023 — via Business Insider
OpenAI forms new team whose mission includes researching and preparing for catastrophic scenarios like biological and nuclear threats (Link)
October 28, 2023 — via Business Insider
Boston Dynamics' talking robot dogs have different personalities now, from '1920's Archaeologist' to 'Shakespearean Time Traveler' (Link)
There's Fancy Butler, who has a British accent and sounds very proper; Teenage Robot, whose speech is peppered with "like" and "totally" and takes a peppy tone of voice; 1920's Archaeologist, who talks about his trusty hat and many adventures; and Shakespearean Time Traveler, who speaks only in rhyming couplets.
That’s all for now. These updates will get better and more comprehensive as the weeks go by. But I also want to make them interactive. If there are any recent, weird science/tech news that you wish I listed here, drop it in the comments!
See you next week with more…