Elon Musk has a new girlfriend. The couple’s courtship appears to have started with a very nerdy in-joke concerning the so-called Roko’s Basilisk. So, today: what is Roko’s basilisk? Or, if you prefer, a nerdy concept about future AI overlords that could land you a nerdy partner.
Category: Science fiction
Centripetal, centrifugal, and coriolis forces
No, this is not a post about a war between the three rival nations Centripetal, Centrifugal, and Coriolis. It’s about physics. Because, you know, we all love physics – or we should. Physics makes the world go round, literally, and in this case makes stuff go sideways.
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Energy Conservation in Fiction
What do the Matrix and Black Mirror have in common? Well, both don’t adhere to the law of energy conservation. Let me explain why.
AI and the singularity
What do Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates have in common? They’re all afraid of the dangers of AI. Talking about the dangers of AI leads quickly to the technological singularity. And that leads to an explanation of what the singularity is.
Time travel stories, part 2
Last week I covered the basics of time travel stories and why they are great for science fiction writers. This week: what not to do when writing time travel stories. Be warned, this can ruin movies and books for you, and I don’t mean by spoilers (I’ll try to play nice), but by taking your first step along the I-nitpick-movies-and-books-too-much path.