Mammals and dinosaurs
A light analysis of the current state of the publishing industry, including the ripple effects that indie publishing can have on traditional models. Featuring big indie collaborations, warring states, James Patterson, and more.
JOURNAL
Writing adventures and related musings.
Some brief analytical thoughts about that Westworld Season 2 finale
Disclaimer: Spoilers. Please don’t read unless you’ve seen the Westworld Season 2 finale. I tackle my understanding (or lack thereof) about the underlying themes and inconsistencies of Season 2 of Westworld.
Civilization: resilience
A wonderful writers’ group I’m part of recently started discussing civilization. There were many sub-discussions, but one thing struck my interest: someone pointed out that our civilization, unlike any that has gone before is global, networked across the entire planet. And thus, how it might fall cannot be predicted from studying past empires, which were just isolated pockets without the network effects.
The Technology of the Commonwealth Empires
One of the key challenges of designing the alternate-reality world of the Commonwealth Empires is getting the technologies of the world right. When I started writing, I knew a few things about this alternate British Empire. One, they never went through the first world war as we know it.
Artificial Intelligence then, now, tomorrow
(A speech given at the Arthur C Clarke Centennial on the 16th of December, 2017, Colombo) BOWMAN Hal, give me manual hibernation control. HAL Have you decided to revive the rest of the crew, Dave? PAUSE. BOWMAN Yes, I have. HAL I suppose it’s because you’ve been under a lot of stress, but have you forgotten that they’re not supposed to be revived for another three months. BOWMAN The antenna… Read More »Artificial Intelligence then, now, tomorrow