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July 02, 2009
Books : The Trouble With Physics
The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
by Lee Smolin
Theoretical Physics is another of my “roads not taken”; but I try to stay as on top of things as I can given my amateur status (and greatly atrophied calculous skills). For the last couple of decades, I’ve not been sure if I was missing something or if there was something wrong in the field; but for all of the great ideas that seem to be floating around, I wasn’t able to see anything coming together the way advances did in previous generations.
Physicist and writer Lee Smolin, is definitely of the mind that there is something wrong with how Physics has been practices of late, and makes his case in this very compelling (and readable to a laymen) book.
He starts with quick summary of the big 5 questions in theoretical physics that were unanswered 30 years ago. He then takes most of the rest of the first half of the book to examine string theory - the approach to solving these problems which has been studied over those 30 years by the vast majority of working physicists as a possible solution to these questions. The bottom line is that string theory has failed, and part of Smolin’s point is that in the past, any theory which failed as badly as string theory has would have been discarded.
Smolin take his time in this part of the book to ensure that no one can claim he is unfair or incorrect in his statements. He very carefully gives credit for every small victory achieved by string theory (without going too far over a layman’s head), while clearly pointing out the limitations of those victories. As it stands now, with almost all of the physics community working on it for 30 years, string theory can not make a single falsifiable prediction, a single unique calculation, or even be proved to be consistent or produce finite results for real situations.
The next section of the book explores some alternatives to string theory which have been ignored by most of the physics community. Essentially, the point here is to make clear that string theory isn’t the old game in town - there are other approaches that people could be working on instead.
Finally, the last quarter of the book steps back and examines the worldwide community of physicists (and academia in general) from a sociological point of view to explain how it got into this state and how it can possible get out of it. This may in fact be the best part of the book - if Smolin gets ostracized by his fellow physicists (as may well be the reaction to this book), he may well have a second career as a philosopher and sociologist.
Of course, I’m really not the target audience for this book - the people who really need to read it are university administrators and foundation managers; but I certainly enjoyed it.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
July 09, 2009
Books : Generations
Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069by Neil Howe and William Strauss
I previously posted a review of “The Fourth Turning” which describes Anglo-American history as cyclical with a repeating pattern of four kinds of generations. In their model, the Baby-Boomer generation is very similar to the Puritan generation born starting around 1584, the Awakening generation born starting around 1700, the Transcendentalist generation born starting around 1792, and what they call the “Missionary” generation born starting around 1860 - each being an example of what they call an “Idealist” generation. In each case the preceding (Adaptive) and following (Reactive) generations also have significant similarities, and so on.
The book “Generations” is actually the same authors’ previous work along similar lines, which they referred to liberally in ‘Turning, so I purchased the book back then and have just gotten around to reading it.
Both books acknowledge that the pattern has failed once - the Civil War cycle missed a beat, skipping one of the kinds of generations and going directly from what they call a “Reactive” generation to an “Adaptive”generation without the appearance of a “Civic” generation in between as has occurred in other cycles.
The book “Generations” however explores this flaw in more detail - explaining within the theory as to why it happened. Essentially, the Idealist generation of that cycle managed to gain power (win elections, etc.) earlier in life than the Idealists of other cycles, and in their idealism forced a civic crisis (the Civil War) sooner than it would have other wise (a periodic crisis like the civil war is a part of the cyclic model they propose, only it normally occurs when the Idealists are elders, not in midlife). The result is that the people who would have been nurtured to become the natural heroes of the crisis weren’t ready, and we went straight from the pre-crisis generation to the post-crisis one.
All this is interesting when they get around to suggesting what the future might look like if the pattern holds. According to Generations, we are due for the next Civic Crisis around 2020; but they note in the book (written in 1992) that it is possible the Boomer/Idealists might once again come to power early in which case we might hit the crisis (some combination of war and economic downturn) between 2001 and 2008. The authors express concern about this possibility since it would result in America being engaged in a conflict being led by people who view the issues moral terms, not practical ones (sound familiar?) If this does happen (which in hindsight, I think it did), then once again we may see the “Millennial” generation (those born 1980 and beyond) become more of what they call a “Reactive” generation as opposed to a “Civic” one, just as it happened in the Civil War cycle. I have been looking at the 20-somethings around me, and that too might fit.
Bottom line - an interesting read and I certainly recommend reading one or both of these books.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
July 13, 2009
Life : Moderation
As some of you may have noticed, this blog has been getting some attention from a volume source of junk comments. I have therefore switched it into moderation mode. You may still comment; but will need to wait for me to approve your comments before they appear.
This should be transitory; but we will see.
Posted by Steven at 02:17 PM | Permalink
July 14, 2009
Life : Farewell Charles N. Brown
I have commented before on the virtues of Science Fiction Fandom (with a capital F) as a community. As with all effective communities, Fandom is held together by a small number of individuals who served as a glue that helped bind us together - some serving the community by organizing WorldCon and related gatherings, others serving by keeping us all informed of what was happening with others in the community. Charles N. Brown was one of the latter. His is not a name that people outside of Fandom would likely recognize; but the degree to which we in the community are indebted to him is measured by the 29 Hugo Awards he has won over the years.
Back in 1968, Charles N. Brown started Locus magazine (about which I have also written before). It won its first Hugo in 1971, and has been winning them pretty consistently ever since. As I have said before, Locus is to written science fiction what Variety magazine is to the movie industry – the “paper of record” where you go to find out who is doing what in Sci Fi writing and publishing. What deals are made, what books and stories have been published, what rights have been sold, and (relevant to this post) obituaries.
Charles N. Brown died Sunday, peacefully in his sleep. This was not entirely unexpected for the 72 year old who has had his share of health problems over the years. I met him twice (briefly) at WorldCon; but didn’t get a chance to talk to him much. Still his impact on the community has been significant, and his loss will be felt.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink
July 16, 2009
Introspection , Life , Observations : I remember
I know exactly where I was, 40 years ago today at 9:32 AM EST – standing in a boat in the middle of the Indian River in Florida looking northeast with a big smile on my face. I was there watching the launch of Apollo 11 from Cape Kennedy (along with throngs of others who had boat and knew that the closest you could get to the launch site was on water).
I also know where I was at a quarter past four, 40 years ago next Monday – in our family living room in Cocoa Beach, watching the landing with my mother and brother. My father, who had worked on the Lunar Landing Module, was still at the office – on call in case there was an emergency. I was in the same location 7 hours later (I was given special dispensation to stay up late that night), watching the first moon-walk.
It was an interesting time of my life, living just south of “the cape” with my father involved in the space program when it was the center of national attention (of course, many of my school mates’ fathers were similarly involved). Behind our house was a 4 story office complex where CBS TV had space, and once we spotted Walter Cronkite on the walkway as we looked up from our backyard. The open stairwell of the complex was also a prime location for watching “lesser” spacecraft launches (satellites, etc.) – either that or down on the beach (depending on which launch pad they were lifting off from). Launches of some sort were fairly common, and the local newspaper always listed the next launch on the upper right corner of the front page, so we all knew when to pause and look.
I had my models of all of the manned spacecraft, and was actually pretty good at drawing the Lunar Module (for those who know what it looked like can appreciate that accomplishment). Dad would sometime share with me some of the designs of the LM, fostering my interest in engineering. There was a real sense in those days that smart people who applied themselves could accomplish great things – not necessarily make a lot of money; but to do something they could be proud of.
And that was really the bottom line of being there at that time and place – pride. Not necessarily pride in America (although there was plenty of that to go around); but pride in humanity – that we had broken free of our home shores and ventured out into the larger universe. It was the start of a new age, although one which hindsight has shown to be slow to progress.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
July 21, 2009
Life : I remember more
It is common in our culture to talk about certain events as being so overwhelming that you always remember where you were when you first heard about them. Thinking about the moon landing being commemorated this week got me thinking about the other marker events I have experienced.
I don’t recall where I was when I heard that President Kennedy was shot – I was a bit too young to appreciate that. I do however remember sitting in front of the TV watching the funeral procession on TV (and being surprised that there was more to the tune of the funeral march than the phrase that everyone hums – dum dum de-dum, da de-dum de-dum de-dum).
As noted last week, I do recall exactly where I was for the launch, landing, and moonwalk for Apollo 11.
I also recall exactly where I was when I heard about the accident on Apollo 13. I had gone to bed; but was having trouble sleeping so I went out to the kitchen to get some water and saw my mother watching the TV (turned down low). We stayed up together for a bit watching the coverage.
I recall where I was when I heard that that Nixon resigned. I was at a Christian camp that week, and one of my cabin-mates told me as I was walking back to the cabin while he was headed to the common building to see if he could get more details.
I recall where I was when I heard about the Challenger accident – I was at my office at GCC . There were lots of TVs around the office (leftovers from our videogame days), and most of us spent the rest of the afternoon watching coverage together.
I recall where I was when I heard about 9/11. I had just gotten up that morning (early Pacific Time – I went into the office early those days to have some overlap with our UK office) and tuned on Headline News as usual. I was tuned in when the second plane hit (Anne was also awake at that point, although we can’t remember if I woke her up or not). It was a tough decision to stop watching the unfolding drama and go into the office (and as it turns out my company gave us all permission to head home if we wanted).
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
July 23, 2009
Life : Learning
I just wanted to acknowledge here a lack of substantive posts. I’m in a learning mode these days and while writing is integral to how I lock understanding in my brain (and therefore plays a critical role when I have finished learning something), it can be problematic when applies too soon, thus locking incomplete understandings of things into my mind. I do have some older topics (whose understanding is unlikely to change) that I could write about, and have a couple of times sat down at the keyboard to do that so there would be some “meat” on this blog; but I’m just too focused on other topics to do them justice.
I hope to have much to write about when this is done; but only God knows when that will be.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink
July 28, 2009
TV : Torchwood: Children of Earth
Now that’s the way to do SciFi on TV.
I’ve not been a big fan of the BBC television series “Torchwood” (broadcast in the US on BBC-America). I checked out the first few episodes of season 1; and since then, when there have been episodes that that got a lot of buzz in the UK, I watched those select episodes when they aired in the ‘States. The series, a more “adult” spin-off of “Doctor Who” isn’t bad, it just didn’t seem to me to have a lot to say beyond entertainment.
For season 3 however, they decided to do something different. Rather than produce a weekly serial, Russell T. Davies decided to do the season as a mini-series. Five episodes over five consecutive nights, telling one large story. The results were comparable to the new of Battlestar Galactica in quality.
At a high level, the plot is fairly generic SciFi - aliens show up and make some demands of humanity with the threat that they will wipe us out if we don’t comply. What the producers of the show did right was that rather than focus on the aliens and technology (as most SciFi does), the series is really about the humans’ reactions to what happens. The show holds up a mirror to human nature, and what it shows isn’t pretty. In many ways, the series asks the same question that Battlestar Galactica did - are there things that we can do to save ourselves that make us no longer worth saving?
The result is a study in the banality of evil, as civil servants try to do “what’s best for the nation” while politicians work to maintain “plausible deniability” and save themselves. Peter Capaldi does a great job playing the civil servant John Frobisher - a tragic villain who is in way over his head and is left dangling by his superiors. The role is one that could have played more clearly dark; but Capaldi’s performance adds a lot of depth to the character to help you see his internal struggle and fear. He is at some level the “good man” his admin’ claims he is; but step by step he is drawn into the path of ruin.
The producers also made some good decisions about the presentation of the aliens - keeping them in a mist-filled room so the audience never gets a clear look at them, allowing the audience to fill in the gaps with their own nightmares; aided by the random shrieks and green ooze that occasionally splashes against the glass wall of the chamber. On top of that you have Capaldi’s performance making Frobisher’s horror at being so close to the creature palpable. What the aliens want from us is also held off until the middle of the series, and why they want it isn’t revealed until the final segment - to great effect. This series could be used as a textbook on the lesson in writing that “less is more”.
I’ll also add that the show made a great use of the regular characters. Early in the series, Torchwood (the people in the best position to fight the aliens) is destroyed because they know things about these specific aliens that would be an embarrassment for the government, and our heros spend the series on the run while trying to help humanity. Denied the use of their usual equipment, we get a much better sense of who these characters are as people.
I’m particularly impressed with how Captain Jack Harkness (leader of Torchwood and a human who is actually from the 51st century) is handled. This is a character originally created for the series Doctor Who and became a part of the spin-off when it was started. While on ‘Who, Harkness was granted, through unusual and unique means, a kind of immortality (he becomes an intrinsic part of the definition of the universe, so no matter what happens to him, the universe restores him). The result is that he literally has a death wish (he fights aliens in hope that one day he’ll meet someone with the technology that can actually kill him). This series was however the first time I really bought from the writing and performance why he wants to die - a man who lives forever collects lot of regrets.
Well done. I have no interest in owning the DVDs of seasons 1 and 2; but I will be buying season 3 when it comes out.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink
July 30, 2009
TV : Dollhouse: Epitaph One
OK, if that’s where Joss is headed, I’m in for the ride.
For as much as I was looking forward to Joss Whedon’s return to television with the new show “Dollhouse” this past Fall, I have to admit I was disappointed in the first few episodes (although I understand that was a result of Network’s interference - I've also seen the original pilot and it was much better). The series did pick up significantly in the second 6 (of 12) episodes, with a couple being superb. But in the end, while I could see the show being a venue for examining certain interesting ideas, I didn’t have a sense of where he was headed with it as a series – how would things evolve to keep the show interesting after multiple years?
Now I understand, and really want to see this play out.
The reason I understand is the episode “Epitaph One”, intentionally unaired but also intentionally included in the DVD boxed set. The existence of this episode requires a bit of explanation. The Fox TV network only ordered 12 episodes for season 1 and would only ever air those 12 episodes they paid for. However, in the international market, DVD boxed sets with 13 or more episodes are able to negotiate much more profitable deals, so the people at the division of 20th Century Fox responsible for the DVD sets asked if Joss & co. could somehow create a 13th episode for the DVDs. Thus the “missing 13th episode” came into existence.
What makes this so interesting is at the time this episode was created, it wasn’t at all clear if the series would be renewed for a second season (odds were actually against it). So, for this final episode Joss & company decided to make something of a “series finale” – something that would provide a kind of closure to the show should it be canceled. The effect is that “Epitaph One” gives a pretty clear idea of the overall arc that Joss has planned for the series without giving away so many details as to make any additional seasons produced anticlimactic.
And a pretty amazing arc it is.
“Epitaph One” is set in 2019 in a post-apocalyptic world where civilization has completely collapsed (and in fact has been collapsed for a while, so there are fewer than 10 years before things fall apart). What’s more, it becomes clear that the Dollhouse (or at least Dollhouse technology) is responsible for humanity’s downfall. There are devices that reprogram any person that come to near to them into killing machines and the streets are filled will crowds who kill anyone who is not reprogrammed. Other weaponized applications of Dollhouse tech are also implied. The story follows a small band of survivors trying to find someplace safe who stumble on the ruins of the LA Dollhouse in which the rest of the show is set. They access stored memories in the Dollhouse archives to provide “flashbacks” which give some hints of how this all happened and allowing for some great scenes with some of the series regulars (The last scene with the character Topher is an amazing performance).
Now Joss has hinted that some of the events in the show were written to be deliberately misleading as to how things came about; but even with some variation, it is clear that Joss’s vision for Dollhouse has some real scope. I hope he is able to run it out to the end.
Posted by Steven at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
