My latest news, my books, my YouTube videos, and other wonderous discoveries. It's an amazing world, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
Anyone thinking about attending the World Science Fiction Convention -- Aussiecon -- in Melbourne this September 2-6? It's sure to be a terrific show -- they don't call it Oz for nothing -- and I adored Aussiecon 2. Alas, we cannot attend this year and have some memberships we're willing to part with, at steep discount.
I ponder the political and psychological gears and wheels that churned in the mind of science fiction master Robert A. Heinlein, in a recent essay for Tor Books, focusing especially on the author's prescriptive utopia BEYOND THIS HORIZON.
Storytelling is the only verified form of magic: the ability to form incantations in the reader's mind, to have them envision imaginary worlds, feel profound emotions. In my latest YouTube video I encapsulate advice for aspiring writers for how they can take the first steps toward becoming a successful author.
Reflecting on my son's graduation from high school, I created this YouTube video to offer inspiration and advice for students going on to college: Broaden your perspectives and take full advantage of the wealth of educational experiences awaiting you during the next four years. The key is curiosity: explore what is happening in those buildings on campus -- you may discover cutting-edge research, pushing at the frontiers of human knowledge.
In this YouTube video I discuss Brightness Reef, the first novel of his new Uplift trilogy -- which follow the adventures of my award-winning books, Startide Rising and The Uplift War. Brightness Reef takes us to a new galaxy, where humans struggle to find their place in the galactic civilization. The planet Jijo has been set off limits for colonization, but refugees escaping persecution have founded colonies in secret. When a starship crashes on Jijo, bringing a mysterious visitor, their fragile society is threatened.
In this YouTube video I discuss the role of amateurs in science. Amateurs have always played a significant role in scientific discovery, particularly in astronomy and the natural sciences. In the last century, we've seen an increasing trend toward professionalization of all aspects of society; however I have forecast a counter-trend toward an Age of Amateurs. Indeed, the sheer number and complexity of our challenges will demand a wider proliferation of skills than just one-per-person. We may be returning to a greater emphasis on amateurs, even in areas like national defense and self-reliance. The scope of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, will be enhanced by thousands of amateur dishes scanning the skies, sharing their results through the internet. Now I talk about this in a newly posted video that may open your eyes to a fascinating trend.
Problem-solving the future? It's easy to be pessimistic when considering the problems we face: war, political instability, economic trouble, global warming, vast inequalities of wealth across the globe. To keep things in perspective, we should recall that things were nearly always worse in the past. We must develop innovative problem-solving skills to face the complex world of the future -- and to raise standards of living across the world. For the first time, the entire world community is able to communicate -- across borders and nationalities -- to share strategies and seek solutions. My favorite aphorism: Criticism is the only known antidote to error. Identifying errors is the first step toward seeking solutions. But we must keep in mind the goal -- to improve our civilization. Technology must be part of the solution.
In this YouTube podcast, I contemplate the end of NASA's space flights: If NASA had received a mere 1% royalty on all technological spin-offs of the space program, its budget would be covered. For starters consider communication, navigation, reconnaissance & weather satellites, GPS, solar cells, fuel cells, microelectronics, image processing, robotics, CCDs, a generation of scientists, engineers, teachers & artists inspired. Where would we be without these? We must invest in tomorrow.
Responding to Stephen Hawking's new Discovery Channel show, I debated the "alien threat" on the Larry King Show with Michio Kaku, Seth Shostak, and actor Dan Aykroyd (who pushed UFOS). My unusual stance? That no one knows a damn thing about aliens! Alas, many otherwise smart people weigh in with "of course" explanations for why advanced sapient races haven't been seen, or what they would "obviously" do if encountered. It is a field rife with unwarranted (and wishful) assumptions.
Way back in 1983, my Great Silence paper was -- and still remains -- the only genuine review article ever published in the SETI field, comparing assumptions and theories, instead of leaping for just one, exploring the wide range of possibilities, re alien life. For popularized accounts see "Xenology," "Shouting at the Cosmos," and "what to say to an ET lurker."
These just scratch the surface. It is a huge, important topic that deserves better from our top minds, than lazy suppositions and cheap platitudes.
How do we keep privacy and empower citizens when cameras become smaller and proliferate daily? On the tenth anniversary of the release of "The Transparent Society," I discuss issues of transparency and accountability in an age of increasing surveillance. From Part 1: "If we're free and powerful as citizens, privacy is something we'll be able to negotiate among ourselves." The key is reciprocal accountability... when we have the power to watch the watchers. In Part 2, I discuss what the future will hold in the transparency field. For better or worse, the changes in transparency has meant the return of the village of old -- where everyone knows everyone -- but will it be the good village or the bad, oppressive village?
Uplift fans: Now you can show your visionary belief in the future by wearing the meme! Order T-shirts, caps, mugs etc emblazoned with logos of the Galactic Institutes. Or get a tote-bag with the crest of the the Earthclan Uplift Project (featuring a brash neochimp and neo-dolphin). Or wear the proud emblem of the Terragens Marines! On a more serious note, try promoting "I am A Member of a Civilization" (IAAMOAC) as a counter-meme against Culture War, wearing the provocative theme Got Civilization?
I've been recording and posting some brief (for me) monologues on YouTube, starting with Space Exploration Part 1: Planning our next steps in beyond Earth ... followed by Space Exploration Part 2: Mining the sky: Are there economic incentives out there? ... and then Space Exploration Part 3: The Big Picture, Where is the excitement? And what about warp drive? Finally, and just posted, there is Space Exploration Part 4: Ambitious technologies for space: Space tethers, solar sails and space elevators.
More space-related postings will go up soon, plus a podcast or two on SETI, as well as another on the (crazy) notion of "cycles" of falling civilizations.
Most of my novels are available on Kindle. Below is a handy widget which will help you purchase the Kindle versions of many of my faves.
In addition, I have three essays available for $0.99 each on Kindle: The Dark Side: Star Wars, Mythology and Ingratitude, Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien vs. the Modern Age, and The Matrix: Tomorrow May be Different.
Catch a clip of me on "Life After People." This segment covers the last ten minutes of History Channel's most popular show ever. (Do email me, if any of you folks spot exceptionally good clips, say from "The Universe" or NOVA or "Beyond Human" or "Hyperspace"!)
Every few years I weigh into a battlefront in culture war: Global Climate Change. Trained as a scientist, and knowing many who research the atmospheres of 8 planets, or who propelled spectacular advances in weather forecasting, I tend toward listening to expert advice on this one - especially since we're only being asked to do things we should be doing anyway. (Ironically, I coined the term "age of amateurs" and pushed citizen power! Still, expert knowledge matters.)
In 2007 I posted an essay dealing with some logic-flaws in the denial-movement. Now I go after those who claim: "I'm not denying science - I'm a skeptic, just asking questions!" In fact, I know some real skeptics. I'm one, myself! But in "Distinguishing Climate 'Deniers' From 'Skeptics'" I distinguish posers from the real thing.
I've been honored to be named a fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET). I was already a participant in the Center for Ethics, shared by UCSD, USD, and SDSU. Both institutions aim to foster science in the public interest by promoting awareness, understanding, and discussion of the ethical implications of new developments in science and technology.
I've received permission from SKEPTIC Magazine to post two of my past articles as PDF files. Seeking a New Fulcrum was my careful appraisal of Psi or "psychic phenomena," starting with some basic physics and logic, but concluding that these powers are likely to be real... in the future, not in any mystified past.
The Dangers of First Contact discusses the modern fixation/assumption that advanced life forms will automatically be altruistic. Altruism is a fascinating and complex subject, in its own right! But the assumptions that currently guide the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) may be just as foolish and short-sighted as those that were foolishly clutched by our ancestors, during earlier "first contacts" between cultures. We need open minds. Enjoy opening yours! ;-)
Terrific Halloween costume! I wonder where he got the idea!!!
Will the future come, after all? What are the most significant things that happened over the last decade? Did the 2000s meet our expectations? What are the predictions for the next decade? Listen in to a podcast of a December 22, 2009 interview on National Public Radio (NPR) with best- selling futurist novelists Vernor Vinge and David Brin.
Xmarks.com is an application that promises to sync all your "bookmarked" pages for you among all the big search engines and to help find websites by topic. If you search "sci fi authors" this site will come up as #2 -- so thanks to all you perceptive lovers of the good stuff!
In the 1/1/24 edition of the Silicon Valley newspaper and online journal Metroactive, I have an editorial describing how the American consumer came to propel the export-driven development of Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China and now India. That process, spanning more than six decades, is almost always portrayed — especially in Asia — as having come about as a result of their cleverness, in catering to the insatiable material appetites of decadent westerners. But there is a far more interesting (and even inspiring) explanation for how the greatest wealth transfer of all time — which has lifted three billion people out of poverty — actually came about. I reveal how George Marshall and the United States chose, in 1946, to do something very different than the behavior of any other "pax" empire, and thereby changed the world.
David Segal of the New York Times quoted me in an article about "what to name the decade that's about to end." My suggestion — the Noughty Aughts — signifies what a great big set of zeroes we've been living in, since 2000, wallowing in self-righteousness and self-pity, instead of innovating and looking toward the future. I distinguish "noughty" (meaning zero-ish) from "naughty"... which would imply that at least we had some fun, by being a bit bad! (Alas.) Note that although I am political, I don't single out any particular group to blame for this deeper plague of gloomy self-indulgence, that runs like a poison underneath our daily strife. Indeed, lefty-Hollywood seems almost as much at fault — for putting out endless droves of future-hating films — as the neocons are for their travesty called Culture War. (There — have I succeeded in offending everybody, yet?) Somehow, in the NEW decade I hope we can rediscover our capacity, as adults, to restart the can-do spirit of innovation, negotiation and faith in tomorrow.
How cool is this? You may recall that I wrote the storyline, scenario and opening sequence to the famous Dreamcast game (now ported to Playstation 2!)... ECCO THE DOLPHIN: DEFENDER OF THE FUTURE. Now it turns out that someone (in Germany) has posted on YouTube not only the opening sequence, but also the interlude sections, after the player achieves each major goal, adding up to a nifty and complete story! Sure, the ten year old animation now looks a little crude. But it was state-of-the art in its time and is still quite beautiful. And a voice-over by Tom "Dr. Who" Baker doesn't hurt.
See a well-balanced and cogent article in SEED Magazine about the "METI imbroglio"... or whether we should allow a few fervent believers shout into the cosmos on all our behalf, based upon a narrow range of assumptions. The fairminded essay cites yours truly, among others.
My recent talk for the USENIX Conference is available for viewing online. A bit nerdier than my usual speeches about the future, for more general audiences. This bunch of technies seemed to really get into it! So I went a little long. Extrapolation! Peering into tomorrow! What fun.
Looking for something to help you through the long commute? Or to listen to while basking on the beach? Recorded Books has just issued the full book-on-tape version of BRIGHTNESS REEF read by George K. Wilson. This will soon be followed by INFINITY'S SHORE and HEAVEN'S REACH. See also these great Brin titles from Audible.com!
H+ Magazine asked David Brin, Ben Goertzel, J. Storrs Hall, Vernor Vinge, and others: "Is a Terminator-like scenario possible? And if so, how likely is it?"
I was interviewed on the BBC World Service regarding NASA'a plan to "bomb" a lunar crater, in order to discover whether there is ice near the moon's south pole. The interviewers worried deeply about littering... but it turned into a fair and openminded treatment of the topic.
Will the future live long and prosper? See my New York Daily News article where I tackle the question.
Please drop by the GoodReads web site and see if this endeavor, helping readers connect with authors and books, appeals to you. Of course, it would not hurt to rate your favorite author there! ;-)
My latest published story is a little piece of har-har fluff called "Gorilla, My Dreams," which recently appeared on Baen's UNIVERSE Magazine. In a broad and (I confess!) lampoony style of humor, I take turns poking affectionate fun at cyberpunk, at the Greg Benford universe, and others, especially my own Uplift Cosmos, which gets eviscerated for every flaw and self-indulgence!
Finally, want a taste of something much more intense and serious? A stand-alone novella (and part of my sprawling next novel, EXISTENCE) has been posted by the kind folks at UNIVERSE, making "Shoresteading" available on a completely open access basis, beginning to end. (In other words, for free in its entirety.) Have a look at this standalone, tense tale of poverty and alien encounters in a near-future world of rising seas. Go give UNIVERSE a try!
Derek Benson, the lunchbagdude, draws fantastic lunch bags for his son, every day (suddenly a viral, online sensation). See this one inspired by Startide Rising.
A noteworthy non-anniversary? A fan with the wonderful name of Francesca Flynn wrote in, pointing out that May 2009 was the date on the mimeographed circulars printed by Gordon, the Postman, in his lie-that-became-the-truth. Funny thing; his potemkin "National Recovery Act" has a similar name to a bill now before Congress. Let's hope and pray things never get that serious in our real world.
I try to mail out "Brin updates" a few times a year. Unfortunately, my old e-list system was creaky, so I have created a new one via Google Groups. If you have written to me in the past, there is a good chance you've received an invitation to join the group. (I will only send updates a few times a year and never share the list.) If you've not received the invitation, try going to the group page and signing up yourself!
Special offer for Hugo Award voters (and everybody else)! Baen's UNIVERSE Magazine has now posted my new novella "Shoresteading" online for open-free access to anybody who wants to read a rollicking, near future adventure story, set in a world of rising seas, big ideas and strange hopes!
One benefit of "change" - let's hope politics will be less important in coming years, letting folks like us stimulate the world with great projects and keen ideas! So let's finish the political season with two articles. First a passel of "unusual suggestions" that you aren't likely to have seen before - important ways that both the new president and the people might make things better. The other concerns a strange event that happened sixty years ago -- the Miracle of 1947 -- when liberals and Democrats went through a wrenching, painful self-transformation that decent, patriotic conservatives might think about in 2009. And now -- back to the future!
Starship Sofa has produced an audio version of my story "Temptation." The narration is by Julie Davis. A story by Geoff Ryman makes the lengthy experience worthwhile. Part 2 is also up (1hr 20min in to the show). Part 3 will appear soon.
See my Salon Magazine article "Is the Web helping us evolve?" comparing web-optimists to web-pessimists and calling for pragmatic steps toward a more useful Internet experience.
In the latest issue of Discover Magazine, a feature: "Advice for the Next President" includes my own humble thoughts, alongside to those of Edward O. Wilson, Steven Weinberg, Jack Horner, C. Everett Koop, Danny Hillis, Peter Singer and other luminaries. Our combined suggestions -- to whoever wins the White House -- are important, if we're to reclaim America's role as a dynamic leader in world science, education and technology."
Through Stranger Eyes is a new collection of my book reviews, introductions and essays on popular culture, released in the Western Hemisphere by Nimble Press and in the Eastern by Altair Australia. Included: everything from carefully measured views on J.R.R. Tolkien to that infamous, outraged rant about the Star Wars saga! From sober reflections on Jared Diamond's Collapse, and Rebecca Solnit's River of Shadows, to scientific ponderings on Feynman and Gott, along with appraisals of great authors like Brunner, Resnick, Zelazny, Clarke, Verne, and Orwell... all the way to fun riffs on the Matrix and Buffy! More than two dozen reviews and commentaries that are sure to enlighten, entertain, possibly infuriate, and even make you laugh, but above all, offer some perspectives you never imagined before.
While at IBM Research I did a brief, ten-minute oral-essay about how science fiction can change the world. IBM has podcast it. This is separate from my hour-long (and detailed) talk about "Third Millennium Problem-Solving: Can New Visualization and Collaboration Tools Make a Difference?"
At the Denver World Science Fiction Convention in August, 2008, my novel SKY HORIZON received the Hal Clement Award for best science fiction novel for Young Adults.
Like audio-told tales? A bright and fun site for science fiction audio podcasting is Tony Smith's Starship Sofa, where one of my shortest works (precisely 250 words long) has just been posted. To hear just the (very short, but complicated) story, click "Evaluating Horizons". Meanwhile, one of my speeches has been podcast. In this one -- between allergy sniffles -- I talk about "Horizon Analysis" while dealing with a world of accelerating change.
My recent single-speaker event on Second Life -- helping the Extropian group commemorate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight -- was one of the most popular and well-attended events in 2L history. The avatars and world-aspects are getting better all the time and it was great fun, chatting away with so many lively people. (See my own avatar here, professionally made and accurate everywhere but the waistline!) Alas, though, everything about how conversation, actual ideas, and discourse get exchanged is still utterly primitive... no better than when I used a teletype on one of the world's first university networks, back in 1971! Elsewhere I go on (at flamboyant length!) about how much better we might be doing at communicating online if actual human discourse ever got anywhere near the priority given to sexy bod-mods!
Since I was part of the team for "The Architechs," I've done appearances on "The Universe" and "Life After People" (the top rated History Channel show ever.)
My 1997 book, The Transparent Society, continues to generate controversy! I recently posted a rebuttal (originally published by Wired.com) to commentator Bruce Schneier's assertion that any civilization based upon general, reciprocal openness would be a major departure from our present social contract. Something "different than before."
I'm told that the wonderful old Dreamcast game -- Ecco the Dolphin -- has been re-issued as a downloadable for the Nintendo Wii. It happens I wrote that game! Or, at least, I wrote the storyline and scenario and introduction. It's terrific. Under-rated.
The latest issue of Baen's UNIVERSE MAGAZINE is online, containing two big items from yours truly -- Part Five of my comedic serial "The Ancient Ones"... plus a novella "The Smartest Mob." The latter is an excerpt from my novel in progress, another huge, lavish, near-future exploration, like EARTH. This one is the best portrayal of rapid, tech-empowered citizen action that you'll see, this side of Vernor Vinge! Subscribe to the best online magazine ever!
Check out the StarShipSofa site, where they have some really terrific podcasts of classic science fiction stories. They made an earnest effort to recite "The Crystal Spheres" -- though it's a very hard story to do in audio, filled with combined-words that most readers need to eye scan a few times in order to grasp or put in context. Something most can do unconsciously, but cannot do in audio. That understood, this narrator does a fine job with this Hugo-winning story.
Serving as a futurist pundit, I opened and closed the History Channel show "Life After People" -- which became the network's best-watched telecast ever, with 5.4 million viewers. Somewhat better than my earlier show for the HC -- "The ArchiTechs." ("Five geniuses are challenged: Design better safety/rescue systems for skyscrapers... in 48 hours!") Those more interested in a hurried roller-coaster of ideas about "saving the Enlightenment" might visit my speech at the "Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0" conference. For other appearances on Nova and Discovery Channel shows, see Speaking and Podcasts.
For many years now, every science show -- from Nova to UNIVERSE -- that has done an episode about comets has portrayed the cometary nucleus as a dark, spinning mass, covered with dust, except for a geyser-like fountain or two, bursting steam through the mantle layer and spewing particles into space. Would it shock anybody out there to learn that this was my original theory? Drawn out in my doctoral dissertation at UCSD, way back in 1980? The same hypothesis is also featured in a novel I wrote with Gregory Benford, Heart of the Comet
For you gamers, a new edition of Tribes comes out next Spring! Designed by Steve Jackson and me, it is a terrific social game for extended parties... and also scientifically interesting as a simulation of the tradeoffs that men and women faced, living in the Neolithic.
Forbes Magazine recently interviewed a number of futurists (including me) on the topic of predicting business and societal trends.
"My biggest surprise was to see America swept by a major, societywide case of Alvin Toffler's future shock when that '2' arrived in the millennium column. I didn't see it at first, because, back at the turn of the century, it seemed that folks were taking the milestone in stride. And yet, masked beneath layers of surface bravado, people appear to have developed a jittery alienation toward concepts like 'the future,' or the inevitability of change. One casualty: the assertive, pragmatic approach to negotiation and human-wrought progress that used to be mother's milk to this civilization."
Escape Pod posted a podcast-reading (pretty good) of my short story "The Giving Plague."
To see all my downloads and podcasts, visit my new page!
Swinging from optimism to pessimism, I started by posting a few thoughts about how the incoming U.S. Congress might change the nation's way of doing business. (Many of these unconventional proposals may sound good to both conservatives and liberals.)
Only now it's time for something much darker, more cynical, and maybe even a little paranoid! Come take a look at a chillingly plausible way that powerful forces may try to affect our politics by using the age-old trick of blackmail.
One of my biggest, boldest and most popular essays about our future destiny, "Singularities and Nightmares," is now available for free access. It explores a startling range of possibilities for humanity and the Earth, from dangers all the way to opportunities that inspire others to think that we may soon become apprentice gods. Weigh the possibilities for yourself.
In October, Google invited me to fly up and give one of their company-wide Tech Talks on "Visualization as a Problem-Solving Tool in the 21st Century." For this topic, I asked to bring along one of the most ingenious "visualizers," Professor Sheldon Brown, my colleague in the Exorarium Project. The Google talk (hosted by my friend, the appropriately named Larry Brilliant) stretched 90 minutes, but for those who are interested in the evolution of online tools, it should offer a few new perspectives.
We also met with Sims creator Will Wright, whose new game "Spore" will knock you out of this world.
Another reminder that those interested in a truly dynamic community of discussion are welcome to drop by my Contrary Brin blog where topics spiral about, from science to public affairs, from mass media to philosophy. Or check out Baen's UNIVERSE Magazine for my latest serialized novel!
Did you think that SETI (the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) was benign and scientific, as portrayed in the movie CONTACT? Well that was back in the 20th Century, when the programs, aims and goals were open and scientific. Alas, things have been gradually changing in the cult-ridden 21st Century. See an exposé of how a small and inward-looking community of radio astronomers aim to gamble with all of human posterity, based on a few questionable assumptions... without ever openly discussing their intention with colleagues or the world at-large.
Indeed, the world is taking notice. A recent editorial in NATURE presented a capsule summary of the problem and the very openminded and vigorously fun Seti League (not to be confused with the Seti Institute) has posted a pdf version online. Let there be no confusion. The request that is on the table -- for a wide-open and broad-based discussion of this important issue at some prestigious and eclectic venue like (say) the AAAS -- is one that no reasonable person or group would refuse. Will such an open discussion take place? Allowing all perspectives to be heard and examined? Stay tuned.
The History Channel show The Architechs challenged "five geniuses" to solve impossible design problems in 48 hours. Of two pilot episodes (I was in both), the first saw former FDNY Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, one of the heroes of 9/11, call upon the team to innovate more than a dozen new fire rescue and evacuation tools for skyscraper disasters. This episode briefly aired last October (2006). Copies can be ordered from the HC web site. In the second pilot, a four-star general asked the designers to sketch a way-cool 21st Century replacement for the Humvee.
Here's a 360 degree view of me in my study... and... wait! Who's that other guy! A ditto?...
Once again, I had the weekly cover article on Salon, the greatest online magazine, and it stirred even more controversy than with my infamous Star Wars essay, or my appraisal of technological secrecy/privacy in the future. This time it wasn't intentional!
In "Why Johnny Can't Code" I point out that the simple programming language BASIC used to be on every computer a child touched -- but today there's no easy way for kids to get hooked on programming. They cannot even do the little exercises that are still in many classroom textbooks. What I didn't expect was the flurry of intensely passionate replies!
I've had some of my characters dramatized in unusual media over the years. An Australian fan made magnificent plush toys of the "noor" or "tytlal" characters in BRIGHTNESS REEF and even a Tower of Hanoi game in which successive rings get piled up to make a wise old traeki sage. Now, in the run-up to the 2007 worldcon, I have been given a CD showing details how to make origami figures of various uplift species, from urs and hoon to traeki and even the wheeled g'kek! All by expert Kazuo Sumiya.
Shipping in June 2006, Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time (Smart Pop series) by David Brin and Matthew Woodring Stover, with two dozen wonderfully articulate authors "testifying" either for the prosecution or the defense. Is SW fantasy disguised as science fiction? Does the series spread doom-pessimism about democracy? Has it been a let-down since "The Empire Strikes Back"? Does it even make any sense? Pick up a copy and be prepared for a wild, extravagant "trial" -- brash and entertaining and downright fun!
My full essay on "Other Theories of Intelligent Design" appears in SKEPTIC's online edition.
See new essays, articles and stories available at trivial cost. My latest reveals many pros and cons of "human transformation" in Singularities and Nightmares: The Range of Our Futures. Another popular item suggests a simple exercise to overcome the vile modern habit of cynicism.
Also in the nonfiction category are older pieces on "beleaguered Professionals vs. disempowered Citizens" about a looming 21st Century power struggle between average people and the sincere, skilled professionals who are paid to protect us. "
The Power of Proxy Activism" tells how busy people, distracted by daily life, may still help make a better world. Another offers a controversial solution to the problem of a Mississippi River that's rebelling against human control.
Thanks to these popular articles, Amazon ranked me along with Stuart Woods, David Niall Wilson and James Lee Burke, as one of the top ten short-subject writers of 2005.
Should I keep to topics I'm paid to talk about, like the future? Given the times, can I be forgiven the occasional opinionated rant? Take the problem of gerrymandering, which I examine from a dozen fresh perspectives. Another in-depth essay reappraises Newt Gingrich's 1994 Contract With America, considering how this masterful piece of 20th Century political polemic might be used by the other side, in the 21st. Also, is it prudent to overstretch our military reserves in a war that is, at best, a case of international elective surgery? These viewpoints are not classically partisan, but seek a broader view. Whether you agree or not, I promise to be interesting!
Seems I'm making appearances in a number of surprising pop-cult venues. See a recent spread that features a novel by yours truly, in a popular literary comic strip... the "Unshelved Book Club." I've also been interviewed for several episodes of a podcast "The Future And You."
Of course some of this is in reaction to the wildly popular-culture book King Kong Is Back!: An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) -- a fun and smart collection of 21 essays examining King Kong from every angle. (Some will surprise you.) But if you think that was something, just keep your eyes open for the next brash offering - Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time (Smart Pop series)!
I long ago predicted that the Net would enable self-published and mass-collaborative projects like the wonderful Wikipedia. (That's just one of fourteen predictive hits in my novel Earth. (I wish been I'd proved wrong about drowned New Orleans.) Now there is a Wikipedia entry for yours truly. Start wiki'ing, and remember, you have the power to contribute or vote to change it!
Will the first decade of the 21st Century be known as the time when our Scientific Age came to a whimpering end? The one trait shared by anti-modernists of both left and right appears to be disdain for our ability to learn and do bold new things. My review of Chris Mooney's The Republican War on Science (published in the San Diego Union-Tribune), explores how partisanship can explain much of this collapse of confidence... and why partisan interpretations don't cover everything.
On a related note, two recommended books that tout assertive problem solving are The Past and Future of America's Economy: Long Waves of Innovation that Power Cycles of Growth by Robert D. Atkinson, and Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near. The first explores measures that would allow us to play our roles better in the world economy. The latter pursues Kurzweil's argument that our scientific competence and technologically-empowered creativity will soon skyrocket, propelling humanity into an entirely new age. I don't entirely agree. But boy, what a ride.
I often meddle in my old professional stomping ground of science (see about science). And yes, I opine about modern politics (see The Political Lamp is Lit! and my Contrary Brin blog). These two areas have meshed in recent years -- a good thing, when disinterested science informs public policy. And bad, when political fanaticism warps or ignores science. All parties in the passionate "culture war" are guilty of trumping evidence to serve dogmatic will. Can we ever return to an era of confident problem-solving? Not so long as indignation remains the worst addiction.
But then, might that be a clue? Could a single scientific breakthrough help get us past a rising mass frenzy of self-righteousness? I've long corresponded with experts, trying to find out. Now, I'll post my suggestion online, hoping to interest more of the right people. "An Open Letter to Researchers In the Fields of Addiction, Brain Chemistry, and Social Psychology" talks about the worst "drug addiction" -- one that crosses all political and social boundaries, warping our ability to negotiate like adults or solve problems for the sake of our children.
Audio transcript is now available for a panel discussion on "Human Rights, Technology & the Humanities," at a conference hosted by HumaniTech at the University of California, Irvine, (May 2005). Also, an excellent audio talk about the future "surveillance panopticon" by tech pundit Jamais Cascio is very worthwhile.
Other brash new websites? Try Armageddon Buffet. "Eat While You Can"!
When it comes to Earth's future, we tend to be offered two simplistic choices, either guilt-ridden pessimism or a pollyanna faith in market forces. Too much planning or too little. Here I reprint my lengthy review of Jared Diamond's new book, COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. No society ever succeeded using the prescriptions we hear touted from today's Left and Right. But history does offer some alternatives.
See my cover story in the August Salon magazine, about new surveillance technologies and some of the stark choices we face in the years ahead.
Here are some interviews that originally ran on National Public Radio (and elsewhere). One is about 'Video Surveillance' -- deriving from The Transparent Society.
Also -- NPR has archived a discussion of "The Science in Science Fiction" with William Gibson and one about "Science Fiction Writing."
Listen also to TECHNOLOGICAL NIGHTMARES renowned futurist economist Paul Streetn offer wise perspectives about future threats and opportunities, including insights to The Transparent Society.
Then, in June 2004, I talked about The Future on a special "NPR Talk of The Nation: Science Friday with Ira Flatow," at the grand opening of the new Science Fiction Museum in Seattle.
Get audio from a talk I gave (11/04) at the Institute for Accelerating Change about "exploring horizons," or how people peer ahead, spotting errors and opportunities, not hobbled by crippling assumptions. (This was saved at the IT Conversations website. Folks seemed to find this one "laugh-out-loud funny at times.")
After typing countless answers to requests for advice from would-be writers, I finally put it all together in this essay. Mine it for whatever wisdom you may find. (Also, the new website Science News for Kids has a section devoted to encouraging middle schoolers to read and write science fiction.
Signed bookplates are available for Kiln People, The Life Eaters, and GURPS Uplift. See freebies & offers for instructions where to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Where does 'news' go when it is no longer hot, but still potentially interesting to visitors who want to browse through DavidBrin.com? For plenty more about events, music and other recent (but not VERY recent) happenings, click here to see Warm News! (Or just browse some of the other menu categories, where you can read some of my short stories, or learn more about my other activities. Have fun!)
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I still do science, but civilization seems more interested in my perspectives on the future. (Who am I to argue with civilization?) Let's face change with agility and hope, and meet the challenges ahead.
I blog at: Contrary Brin and Tomorrow Happens.
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