Science News for Writers

Credit: KIT/S. Giselbrecht, R. Meyer, B. Rapp "What Hath Man Wrought?" is the question of the moment, based on the message Samuel F.B. Morse sent to his assistant, "What hath God wrought?" a phrase he sourced from the Christian Bible,  (Numbers 23:23). According to a newly published review of the scientific literature, researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany conclude that the day of the cyborg is upon us, a day long predicted by novelists and scriptwriters.  Is it to be as some predict, a disaster?  Or a boon? Suggested Reading A review of current technology and trends. Click on image Cyborgs range from medical implants, complex interfaces between brain and machine to remotely controlled insects: Recent developments combining machines and organisms have great potentials, but also give rise to major ethical concerns. In a new review, KIT scientists discuss the state of the art of research, opportunities, and risks....

" You don't realize how interdependent species are until it all unravels ." As a writer, it's important to keep one eye on trends ~ not the latest fashions, but trends that involve our food supply or global warming or anything that potentially will impact the way we live. Take the overfishing of sardines.  In and of themselves, who cares? But we should care and in fact be very concerned as sardines are one of the bases upon which our world-wide food chain is built.  If sardines disappear, then so will all of the fish species that feed upon sardines.  And if harvestable fish such as cod, halibut and tuna disappear, many many of our species are going to go hungry.  Which leads stress on other food sources and migration to "greener pastures" which leads to conflict which leads to war.  You get the picture. That's why this study by  Florida State University researchers involving a major review of fisheries research that examines the domino effec...

' Many of the Truths That We Cling to Depend On Our Point of View. ' ~ Jediism and Other Religious Movements According to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi- 1983), 'truth' is simply a state of mind. With this in mind, is religion of any sort meaningless unless it has some personal resonance? Can religions therefore be based on fictional constructs? Suggested Readling Scientific Mythologies: How Science and Science Fiction Forge New Religious Beliefs In ' Fiction-based religion: Conceptualising a new category against history-based religion and fandom ' published in Culture and Religion, Markus Altena Davidsen explores new religious movements inspired by popular fiction such as Star Wars-based Jediism and the Tolkien-inspired Elven community. He seeks to ask whether fiction-based religions should be accepted as conventional religions or dismissed as mere fandom. Davidsen compares the opinions of Jean Baudrillard and Adam P...

“ We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically ."  ~  Gregory Berns Many people can recall reading at least one cherished story that they say changed their life. Now researchers at Emory University have detected what may be biological traces related to this feeling: Actual changes in the brain that linger, at least for a few days, after reading a novel., *  *  *  *  * Some of the books making an impact on me:   Huck Finn, Catch 22, Farenheit 451, The Caine Mutiny.   *  *  *  *  * Their findings, that reading a novel may cause changes in resting-state connectivity of the brain that persist, were published by the journal Brain Connectivity. "Stories shape our lives and in some cases help define a person," says neuroscientist Gregory Berns, lead author of the study and the director of Emory's Center ...

Saint Nicholas of Myra "Yes, Virginia," the letter starts, "there is a Santa Claus." And this is an icon of Saint Nicholas, known in this country as Santa Claus. In Europe, he's still Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas - it's only in the U.S. that he's known as Santa Claus.  More on this in a moment. Nicholas was the son of two Bishops of the Catholic Church, born in the 4th Century, who was eventually Sainted by the Church after a lifetime of remarkable charity. It is from Nicholas's act of dropping gold coins into the stockings of three young girls through the hole in the roof of their shanty through which smoke of the cooking fire escaped, which is where we get "up on the rooftop".  The girls had each washed their one pair of socks and had "hung them by the chimney with care" to dry.   Nicholas knew that the girls father could not afford doweries for them, and the father - too proud to accept charity -- was putting...

" Any society -- depends on the creativity of its citizens to flourish ." Research in recent years has suggested that young Americans might be less creative now than in decades past, even while their intelligence -- as measured by IQ tests -- continues to rise. But new research from the University of Washington Information School and Harvard University, closely studying 20 years of student creative writing and visual artworks, hints that the dynamics of creativity may not break down as simply as that. Nuances of Creative Writing Could be Declining Instead, it may be that some aspects of creativity -- such as those employed in visual arts -- are gently rising over the years, while other aspects, such as the nuances of creative writing, could be declining according to  lead author, Emily Weinstein, a doctoral student in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Katie Davis, UW assistant professor, and fellow researchers studied 354 examples of visual art and 50 ...

Credit: Image courtesy of University of Leicester The hermit of Arlesheim. For those who are wondering what to buy the person who has everything this Christmas, a University of Leicester academic has suggested one of history's most bizarre garden accessories: an 'ornamental' hermit. Things about this post I find interesting. That 18th Century nouveau riche in Britain hired someone to live the contemplative life in poverty for them. That this is where we get garden gnomes. (Really?) That medieval lords would show off their personal hermit to visitors.  (How do you keep up with the Joneses on this one?  A German import?  Japanese? Not a Jugoslavian, they smoke and fall apart way too soon.) You're supposed to leave sherry wine for Santa?  No wonder I keep getting lumps of coal.  Damn.  All those years completely wasted on cocoa. The hermit could even help manage your winter blues as, according to Professor Gordon Campbell of...