The Subway Series is not, as a non-sports-fan might be forgiven for thinking, an exciting new lineup of sandwiches from a popular restaurant chain. It is, instead, this year’s World Series of baseball between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, and even if you’re not interested in watching New Yorkers battle each …
Category: Blog
Robots
Once upon a time, robots existed only in science fiction.. In fact, the word itself originated in a science fiction play. It comes from the Czech word “robota,” meaning “work,” and was coined by Czech playwright Karel Capek in his 1920 play R.U.R., which stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots.” In Capek’s words, a robot was …
The Ig Nobel Prizes of 2000
This is the time of the year when the winners of the prestigious Nobel Prizes are announced with great fanfare and acclaim. That’s all well and good, but the real Nobel Prizes, frankly, take themselves far too seriously. They tend to support the prevailing belief that science is stuffy, boring, and, well, nobel–er, noble. Fortunately, …
ChiCon: The 2000 World Science Fiction Convention
As I mentioned last week, 6,000 people recently gathered in Chicago for the 58th annual World Science Fiction Convention, myself among them. Mention “science fiction convention” to most people and they immediately think of a Star Trek convention. However, science fiction fans have been getting together long before Star Trek penetrated the public consciousness. At …
Robert J. Sawyer calculates God
The notion that the universe has a designer, that it didn’t occur entirely as the result of blind cosmic forces, is not one that gets a lot of attention from the media. Many people assume that all reputable scientists dismiss the notion out of hand. Many reputable scientists do–but not all. There are actually strong …
Animal communication
The fact that animals can communicate with each other is pretty obvious to anyone who has ever watched a pack of dogs or a group of farm cats interact, or listened to crows calling to each other in the treetops. But just how complex is animal communication? Can anything animals do to communicate with each …
Submarines
Submarines have been much in the news lately. Not only has world attention has been riveted on the tragic sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, but Canada is in the process of getting new submarines and, in the U.S., the Civil War submarine that was the first to sink another ship has just been …
Olympic technology 2000
“Faster, higher, stronger” are the oft-stated goals of Olympic athletes. Increasingly, science and technology are helping them to achieve those goals. This year, the technological focus is on swimming. Until recently, the goal of swimmers seemed to be to wear bathing suits that preserved the illusion of modesty with as little material as possible, the …
Barbecuing II
There are still a few good weeks of summer left, and that means there’s still plenty of time for the ultimate summer activity, barbecuing. Technically, what we call barbecuing around here is not true barbecuing, which involves the long, slow cooking of meat, often over hours, at relatively low temperatures in the presence of lots …
Alzheimer’s Disease
There are few diseases as frightening as Alzheimer’s. Most diseases, even if they ravage your body, leave your mind intact. Alzheimer’s leaves the body intact but robs victims of their memories and personality. No wonder it is sometimes called “dying by inches.” There is neither a cure nor an effective treatment –but there is hope. …
Mars in the Arctic
A unique construction project finally overcame delays and disaster last week to take shape in the Arctic. It looks more or less like an oil tank, but in fact it’s a model of the kind of habitat humans may one day live in when they visit Mars. The two-story fiberglass structure is the brainchild of …
Surprised by joy
South of Saskatoon on Highway 11, just before you dip into the valley where Mt. Blackstrap rears its not-so-lofty peak, there’s a bit of a rise. I’ve driven over it many times this summer, as I head back and forth to Rosthern to appear in the musical Tent Meeting at the Rosthern Station Arts Centre. …
My latest live walk and vlog
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