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Author Archives: jrenstro
Could a Black Hole Swallow the Moon?
This post is written by guest blogger Savannah Cordova, a writer with Reedsy. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories. She’s a big fan of plot twists and surprise endings (when they’re done right). … Continue reading
Posted in space
Tagged "How We Lost the Moon", Big Bang, black hole, collapsed star, fusion, Mendeleev Crater, moon, Paul J. McAuley, Powehi
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Asteroids!
This post is written by guest blogger Jake Kaplow, an “engineer in training” at Boston University. That crush you’ve had since eighth grade? It’s time to say how you feel. An asteroid the size of Manhattan’s headed straight toward Earth. … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?, space
Tagged apophis, armageddon, asteroid, asteroids, Boston University, DART, deep impact, dinosaurs, Jake Kaplow, meteor, meteorite, NASA, NEOs, NEOWISE, nukes
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Mutant Ants are Here
The development of nuclear weapons gave rise to fears across the globe, some more fantastical than others. People imagined all kinds of gruesome ends, including mutant, irradiated organisms. Perhaps the most famous representation of the effects of atomic meddling is … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?, genetics
Tagged ants, CRISPR, gene editing, genes, genetic modification, genetics, giant ants, mutants, olfactory, orco gene, the deadly mantis, them
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Once More With Feeling–Or Maybe Twice More
How many times have you wished you could replay a scene from your life? Maybe your happiest memory, or a moment you don’t remember clearly enough, or perhaps a conversation with a crush, which almost certainly contained clues if only … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?, medicine, technology
Tagged Black Mirror, contact lens, diabetes, Google, Google Glass, privacy, Sony
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Pokémon Came, Saw, and Conquered
Last night as I walked home from the subway, I felt like I was in Vernor Vinge’s Hugo Award-winning novel Rainbows End. Vinge’s works predict a mind-boggling number of technological advancements that have and will come to pass (he’s known … Continue reading
Posted in augmented reality, Could this Happen?, video games, virtual reality
Tagged Android, AR, augmented reality, Ernest Cline, hololens, iOS, Magic Leap, microsoft, Pokemon, Pokemon Go, Rainbows End, Ready Player One, Vernor Vinge, video games, virtual reality, VR
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Perhaps We Shouldn’t Teach Robots After All
We all know the story: humans create robots, robots overthrow humans. It’s a trope almost as old as science fiction itself, first appearing in Karel Capek’s 1920 play R.U.R. (the first work to use the word “robot”), and then in … Continue reading
Posted in artificial intelligence, Could this Happen?, robot, technology
Tagged AGI, ai, artificial intelligence, Asimov, chatbot, deep learning, Elon Musk, Frankenstein, friendly AI, internet, machine learning, microsoft, programming, robot, Tay, terminator, twitter
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The Tricorder Will See You Now
If you feel faint on the Starship Enterprise or your head starts spinning around, Bones McCoy would crinkle his brow in concern, take a step back, and scan you with the medical tricorder, a handheld device with a detachable scanner, … Continue reading
Posted in genetics, medicine, technology
Tagged bones mccoy, diagnosis, DNA, gattaca, genetic testing, medical tricorder, medicine, minION, Nosanov, quantuMDx, star trek, tricorder, X prize
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The Odds of Successfully Mining Asteroids
The Hoth asteroid field, which Han Solo improbably and awesomely navigates, is chock full of asteroids that contain valuable minerals and materials, including platinum. While I doubt there are any exogorths (space slugs) or mynocks (the winged parasites that live … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?, space, technology
Tagged armageddon, asteroid mining, asteroids, deep impact, ESA, JAXA, leviathan wakes, NASA, planetary resources, platinum, resources, star wars, the expanse, water
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Wired for Bliss
In Larry Niven’s Known Space stories, humanity has advanced to the point of producing pleasure by tinkering with the brain, rendering other vices obsolete. “Wireheads” have electronic brain implants, “drouds,” that tickle their brains’ pleasure centers. Not surprisingly, people become … Continue reading
Posted in Could this Happen?, genetics, medicine, neurotechnology, technology
Tagged bliss, brain, DBS, Death by Ecstasy, deep brain stimulation, dopamine, genomic modification, happiness, hyperthymia, Larry Niven, opioids, pleasure, Ringworld, TMS, transcranial magnetic stimulation, transhumanism, wireheading
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