Science, Medicine, & Education

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — Last week it was asteroid mining, as Peter Diamandis and his partners showed us their bold new venture, Planetary Resources, aiming eventually to start harvesting trillions of dollars worth of materials that would then no longer have to be ripped out of Mother Earth. This glimpse of a vigorously

Dear Friends in the Community, It is with a mixture of joy and sadness that I inform you I will be retiring at the end of this semester.  Much of my decision is personal.  I began as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois in 1965, and, then spent my graduate years at the University

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — A look at how technology enables greater transparency…but not always both ways: Google Goggles… or Project Glass… is finally announced.  See the official preview… and an amusing satire. These futuristic Goggles would project information directly in your field of vision, offering updates on the time, weather, map directions, road

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — In some cool, exciting news, I can now formally announce the fruition of a project that I’ve been helping put together for some time, led by my colleague, UCSD professor Sheldon Brown. The University of California, San Diego and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation have agreed to establish the

By Rabbi Steven Burg NEW YORK — The shocking news came over the Passover holiday. Five young men, all Jews, were found in a basement, bound together nearly naked, covered in welts and smeared with honey, hot sauce and flour. When they were rescued, the victims were shivering and described as having “horrified and fearful

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — It’s well known that in 1865, Jules Verne published his novel, De la Terre à la Lune (From the Earth to the Moon), which includes the concept of human spaceflight. And yet, Verne never discussed the far more practical notion of of an artificial satellite orbiting Earth. For that

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — Is the bold future of our youth being killed by gloomy science fiction?  Or has Sci Fi grown more dour as a reflection of our mood?  Glenn Reynolds interviews authors Neal Stephenson and Vernor Vinge in a thought-provoking inquiry: Why We Need Big, Bold Science Fiction: “While books about

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California — Thursday is Yuri’s Night, an international celebration of human achievement and ingenuity, in recognition of mankind’s achievements in space exploration—with hopes of inspiring a new generation to continue looking upward and reaching outward. Fifty-one years ago, Yuri Gagarin was the first human to launch into space: “Circling the Earth in

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California–Google’s April Fools “product releases” are infamous, but this is one I sure hope they actually implemented as an app. (Anyone care to try it?)  “Tap” is an implementations of two-thumb texting that would let you exchange messages truly eyes-free… via Morse Code!  (Hey, I even portray this in my new

By David Brin ENCINITAS, California –I regularly consult with various branches of our “protector caste”… from the military services and homeland security to several unnamed “agencies.” Naturally, I am encouraged by the fact that some of the most serious-minded men and women on the planet are very interested in well-grounded projections of diverse possible futures