Cyborg and Cyberpunk links

In association with my reading of Bernard Wolfe’s post-apocalyptic, proto-cyberpunk, Limbo, I’ve run across a few fun links:

Cyberpunk and Cyberculture: Science Fiction and the Work of William Gibson by Dani Cavallaro (PDF):

In contemporary western and westernized cultures, people are sur- rounded by an increasingly wide range of tangible products that seem to impart a sense of solidity to their lives. Objects such as mobile phones, computers, portable physiotherapy units, personal stereos, microwave ovens, video recorders and fax machines (to mention but a few examples) are integral components of many people’s everyday existence. Often, they are regarded not merely as useful tools for the accomplishment of practical tasks but actually as defining aspects of people’s identities, lifestyles and value systems. They thus become comparable to prostheses, the artificial supports used by medical technology to complete otherwise lacking physical organisms.

“Cyberpunk 101”, Richard Kadrey and Larry McCaffery (PDF) Continue reading “Cyborg and Cyberpunk links”

Science triumphant

Cool Life pictures of science’s post-WWII golden age. These pictures are probably best viewed while listening to someone read Vannevar Bush’s Science: The Endless Frontier*, in a room wallpapered with vintage 1950’s sci-fi covers.

Hat tip to io9.

* a clip of Gingrich pushing his moon colony would be an acceptable alternative.

Real Victorian Pubs

If you’re inspired by our recent renovations here, check out the Campaign for Real Ale’s historic pub interiors.

Just looking at the photos has me craving a drink.

Thanks to SOPA, I got my first letter from a congressman. . .

. . .that was probably written by a staffer, from party talking points, before he’d made up his mind about his vote, and I showed my margin notes over at The Paltry Sapien.

If I read the words ’emergent properties’ one more time today…

… in a developmental biology paper, I’m going to have to start breaking things.

This is almost as bad as referring to the collection of genomic data as the “canonical ensemble” approach. (FYI, Wikipedia: “canonical ensemble”)

I would like to know, when is a response to a morphogen gradient not considered an emergent property?