Last weekend we were visiting my stepson and his family in New Hampshire. He has an interest in astronomy, and he suggested that after dinner we go out and watch the International Space Station (ISS). You can get a schedule of ISS appearances on the NASA site. We went outside to a cle

In the process of doing ‘research’ (well, googling) for my blog about innovations, elites, and flying cars, I stumbled on this wonderful project jointly produced by Gregory Benford and Popular Mechanics: The Future That Never Was: Pictures from the Past. Gregory Benford is

Two weeks ago I was interviewed by BBC for their show Analysis that was aired on Feb. 3. You can listen to it here. A good summary is on the Equality by Lot blog. In the show Jeremy Cliffe examines the philosophy of Russell Brand, an English comedian and actor who gave the most watche

In the previous blog, I asked why some nations are wealthy, stable, and happy, and others are not. Many theories have tried to provide an answer to this question. How do we decide which of the competing theories is true? So far, economists have not done a compelling job addressing thi

In this last installment on thoughts provoked by Sci Foo sessions, I’d like to speculate about what might happen if we (God forbid) encounter an extraterrestrial civilization in any not-too-distant future. As usual, I look at this question through the lens of social and cultural evolu

As I said in my previous blog, Science Foo Camp was a lot of fun (by the way, FOO stands for ‘Friends of O’Reilly’ because one of the three main organizers of the event is Tim O’Reilly). This was my first ‘unconference,’ but I must say I was underwhelmed by how the concept was impleme

Imagine …   You are an heir of a Noble House. Your enemies, who include the emperor and a powerful noble, have assassinated your father and destroyed your House. You have escaped, but you have no loyal retainers, no troops, no allies, and no money. You want revenge! But you also want

Frank Herbert’s DUNE is probably the most popular science fiction novel ever (over 12 million of copies sold). It has everything – a complex and dynamic main hero, great villains, neat ecology (planetology!), philosophical and religious insights, and (what is particularly

I am often asked by people who first encounter Cliodynamics whether I read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, and what is the relationship between Asimov’s Psychohistory and Cliodynamics. I read Foundation some 35 years ago, and it left quite an impression. I actually begin my popular book Wa

I am an avid consumer of science fiction and fantasy novels. The most interesting aspect of such fiction to me is how authors construct social structures within which their heroes operate. Whether this happens in some alternate world where magic is possible, or “a long time ago in a g