Brandon Sanderson: Sanderson's First Law Introduction I like magic systems. That’s probably evident to those of you who have read my work. For a while now, I’ve been working on various theories regarding magic systems. I’d like to approach the concept of magic in several different essays, each detailing one of the ‘laws’ I’ve developed to explain what I think makes good magic systems. The Law Sanderson’s First Law of Magics: An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic. When I applied to be on the programming of my very first Worldcon (following my sale of Elantris, but before the book was actually released) I saw that they were doing a “How does the magic work?” It my very first panel at the convention. I said something I took as a GIVEN. “Well,” I said. And every other person on the panel disagreed with me violently. I was dumbfounded. Then, I thought about it for a while. I disagree with this soundly—but in Mr. Soft Magic Hard Magic The Middle Ground
Cyberpunk by cuber on DeviantArt Cyc The project was started in 1984 by Douglas Lenat at MCC and is developed by the Cycorp company. Parts of the project are released as OpenCyc, which provides an API, RDF endpoint, and data dump under an open source license. Overview[edit] The project was started in 1984 as part of Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation. The name "Cyc" (from "encyclopedia", pronounced [saɪk] like syke) is a registered trademark owned by Cycorp. Typical pieces of knowledge represented in the database are "Every tree is a plant" and "Plants die eventually". Much of the current work on the Cyc project continues to be knowledge engineering, representing facts about the world by hand, and implementing efficient inference mechanisms on that knowledge. Like many companies, Cycorp has ambitions to use the Cyc natural language understanding tools to parse the entire internet to extract structured data.[3] Knowledge base[edit] The concept names in Cyc are known as constants. "All trees are plants".
New Glasses Help Colorblind To See Normally With a new pair of stylish shades, people with colorblindness are beginning to see the world just as the rest of us do. The corrective glasses were actually created as tools to detect blood oxygenation and flow beneath the surface of the skin. But then colorblind people started trying them on, and they began to see the world in a whole new way. The glasses were created by 2AI Labs, a company co-founded by evolutionary biologist Mark Changizi when he left Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in New York. At 2AI, Changizi continues to conduct research, investigating how the brain processes visual information and searching for the answers to questions such as why we see color and what sort of tricks occur in the brain to create optical illusions. Last summer the Boise, Idaho-based company developed three pairs of glasses called O2Amps. There are some drawbacks to the glasses, however.
Brandon Sanderson: Sanderson's Second Law A few years back, I wrote an essay on creating magic systems that I titled Sanderson’s First Law. It had to do with the nature of foreshadowing as it relates to solving problems with magic. In that essay, I implied that I had other “laws” for magic systems that I’d someday talk about. I’ll start, however, by noting that none of these “laws” are absolute. These work for me. The Law Sanderson’s Second Law can be written very simply. Limitations > Powers (Or, if you want to write it in clever electrical notation, you could say it this way: though that would probably drive a scientist crazy.) Let’s do some explaining here. If I were to ask you about Superman’s magic, you’d probably talk about his ability to fly, his super strength, the lasers he can shoot from his eyes. However, is this what makes Superman interesting? I’d put forth that it is not. Think about it for a moment. But why is he weak to kryptonite? Superman is not his powers. What This Means for Writers This core is not original.
Le cyberpunk pour les nuls | Usbek & Rica Contraction de « cybernétique » et « punk », le terme « cyberpunk » ne cesse d’influencer la pop culture depuis ses premiers usages dans les fanzines de science-fiction du début des années 1980. À tel point qu’il est devenu presque indispensable d’y faire référence pour briller dans les débats sur le transhumanisme ou la cybercriminalité. Employé pour la première fois en 1980 par l’écrivain Bruce Bethke, le terme « cyberpunk » se popularise avec la parution, en décembre 1984, dans le Washington Post, de l’article « SF in the Eighties ». Un texte dans lequel le critique Gardner Dozois qualifie de « cyberpunk » le style de Neuromancien, un roman de William Gibson. Mais pour les puristes, c’est bien au collectif de Cheap Truth, un fanzine d’anticipation édité par Bruce Sterling, qu’il faut attribuer la paternité du cyberpunk. Utopie cybernétique Étymologiquement, le cyberpunk est le rejeton schizophrène du mariage culturel entre la cybernétique et le punk. Dialectique transhumaniste
Hackers backdoor the human brain, successfully extract sensitive data With a chilling hint of the not-so-distant future, researchers at the Usenix Security conference have demonstrated a zero-day vulnerability in your brain. Using a commercial off-the-shelf brain-computer interface, the researchers have shown that it's possible to hack your brain, forcing you to reveal information that you'd rather keep secret. As we've covered in the past, a brain-computer interface is a two-part device: There's the hardware -- which is usually a headset (an EEG; an electroencephalograph) with sensors that rest on your scalp -- and software, which processes your brain activity and tries to work out what you're trying to do (turn left, double click, open box, etc.) Both of these commercial BCIs have an API -- an interface that allows developers to use the BCI's output in their own programs. Moving forward, this brain hack can only improve in efficacy as BCIs become cheaper, more accurate, and thus more extensively used.
Space medicine NASA astronaut Dan Burbank (foreground), Expedition 30 commander, and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, flight engineer, participate in a Crew Health Care System (CHeCS) medical contingency drill in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. This drill gives crewmembers the opportunity to work as a team in resolving a simulated medical emergency on board the space station.(Nasa[1]) Space medicine is the practice of medicine on astronauts in outer space whereas astronautical hygiene is the application of science and technology to the prevention or control of exposure to the hazards that may cause astronaut ill health. Both these sciences work together to ensure that astronauts work in a safe environment. The main objective is to discover how well and for how long people can survive the extreme conditions in space, and how fast they can adapt to the Earth's environment after returning from their voyage. History[edit] Benefits[edit] Effects of space-travel[edit]
How to Create a Unique Magic System for Your Book: 6 steps Edit Article Edited by Jonta, Maluniu, Grendle, Anonymo and 14 others Ever feel that books such as Harry Potter have taken all the good Magic set-ups in books? Despite the thousands of types of magic in books, it's still possible to make a brand new magic. Ad Steps 1Remember that magic is distinguished from science by the measure of mystery in its elements. 6Write your book and remember to follow your own guidelines! Tips Use abstract thinking. Warnings Use care when borrowing ideas from others. Things You'll Need A source of informationImagination and a lot of time
Streetslang | Cyberpunk Wiki | Fandom His own choomba shot him! Cyberpunks live in cynical times. The influence of internationalism and the perversion of technology is all facets of everyday life have created new expressions of new ideas. Foreign words, technical jargon and general callousness are the earmarks of Cyberpunk's slang. Common Jargon 2020 Hindsight: The wise act of watching your back.Alien: Derogatory Earthside term for someone who lives in space. Solo Jargon Being made up of combat veterans, solo jargon is mostly made of military terms. The AO: Area of Operations. Japanese Streetslang Powered Armor Slang ACPA: Assisted Combat Personnel Armor.Acquire: To locate and successfully lock on to a target with guided or linked weapons.Aperture-Based: Very low quality, referring to ACPA with no VRI (Virtual Reality Interface). Cop Terminology References COLBORN, M. PONDSMITH, M. PASQUARETTE, C. PASS, G.