2020 Science in 2020
The post 2020 Science in 2020 appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE
An archive of posts on the blog 2020 Science from 2007 - 2020
Latest posts
A new website for Films from the Future
There s a new website for the book Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies that you might want to check out! As well as an overview of the book, and those every-important links to where to purchase it, the site contains information and resources not available elsewhere. These include: Resources for [ ] The post A new website for Films from the Future appeared first on…
A book club guide for Films from the Future
The same structure that makes Films from the Future ideal for undergrads, also makes it perfect for an extremely engaging book club - one where you not only read a book together, but you get to watch films as well! The post A book club guide for Films from the Future appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
Sci-fi movies are the secret weapon that could help Silicon Valley grow up
If there’s one line that stands the test of time in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic “Jurassic Park,” it’s probably Jeff Goldblum’s exclamation, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” Goldblum’s character, Dr. Ian Malcolm, was warning against the hubris of naively tinkering with [ ] The post Sci-fi movies are the secret weapon…
Even “bad” sci-fi movies can teach us something about emerging technologies!
The film Transcendence, is not a great movie. Yet this futuristic thriller, which stars Johnny Depp as a genius scientist who mind-melds with a supercomputer, provides surprising and sometimes startling insights into how future technologies are unfolding, and the moral and ethical challenges they potentially raise. The post Even “bad” sci-fi movies can teach us something about emerging…
Films from the Future: The Last Chapter
Through this book, I’ve set out to show how science fiction movies can help point the way along this journey, flawed as they are. As I’ve been researching and writing it, I’ve developed a deeper appreciation of how the movies here can expand our appreciation of the complex relationship between technology and society, not because they are accurate or prescient, but precisely because they are not…
Contact: Occam’s Razor and Films from the Future
William of Occam was a fourteenth-century English philosopher, friar, and theologian. From historic accounts, he was sharp thinker, and a somewhat controversial religious figure in his time. Yet, these days, he is best known for the scientific rule of thumb that bears his name. The post Contact: Occam s Razor and Films from the Future appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
Environmental resilience and The Day After Tomorrow
Resiliency, I have to admit, is a bit of a buzz-word these days. In the environmental context, it’s often used to describe how readily an ecosystem is able to resist harm, or recover from damage caused by some event. But resiliency goes far beyond resistance to change.. The post Environmental resilience and The Day After Tomorrow appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
The Honest Broker meets Dan Brown’s Inferno
Each week between now and November 15th (publication day!) I’ll be posting excerpts from Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies This week, it’s chapter eleven, and the movie Inferno. Inferno may seem like an odd choice of movie in a book about science fiction films and the future. It bombed with the [ ] The post The Honest Broker meets Dan Brown s Inferno appeared…
Everything you wanted to know about the book “Films from the Future”, but were afraid to ask
The post Everything you wanted to know about the book Films from the Future , but were afraid to ask appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
A Nanoscale Perspective on The Man in the White Suit
Each week between now and November 15th (publication day!) I’ll be posting excerpts from Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies This week, it’s chapter ten, and the movie The Man in the White Suit. The Man in the White Suit is a 1951 Ealing Comedy that s as dry as it comes. So [ ] The post A Nanoscale Perspective on The Man in the White Suit appeared first on 2020…
Films from the Future: Judging a book by its cover!
We re just five weeks and a couple of days away from the official publication of Films from the Future on November 15th, but in the meantime, here s a sneak-peek at the book s cover: And just a reminder that the book s currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com! The post Films from the Future: Judging a book by its cover! appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
Enter the Neo-Luddites: Transcendence, The Singularity, and Technological Resistance
On January 15, 1813, fourteen men were hanged outside York Castle in England for crimes associated with technological activism. It was the largest number of people ever hanged in a single day at the castle. These hangings were a decisive move against an uprising protesting the impacts of increased mechanization, one that became known as the Luddite movement after its alleged leader, Ned Ludd. The…
What people are saying about “Films from the Future …”
While it s still a few weeks before Films from the Future is published (November 15th mark your calendar!), a few people have already had the chance to read the book, and provide their thoughts on it. The book, by the way, is already available for pre-order on Amazon (here), and is the best way [ ] The post What people are saying about Films from the Future appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
Superintelligence: From Chapter Eight of Films from the Future
In January 2017, a group of experts from around the world got together to hash out guidelines for beneficial artificial intelligence research and development. The meeting was held at the Asilomar Conference Center in California, the same venue where, in 1975, a group of scientists famously established safety guidelines for recombinant DNA research. This time, though, the focus was on ensuring that…
Being Human in an Augmented Future (From chapter seven of Films from the Future)
The forthcoming book Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies explores the complex dynamics between emerging technologies and society through twelve science fiction movies. This excerpt comes from the chapter on the 1995 Japanese Anime movie Ghost in the Shell. Through a Glass Darkly On June 4, 2016, Elon Musk tweeted: “Creating a neural lace [ ] The post Being Human in…
Social inequity in an age of technological extremes (from chapter six of Films from the Future)
On September 17, 2011, a small group of social activists occupied Zuccotti Park in New York City. The occupation became the spearhead for the global “Occupy” movement, protesting a growing disparity between “haves” and “have-nots” within society. Two years later, the movie Elysium built on this movement as it sought to reveal the potential injustices of a technologically sophisticated future where…
Limitless: Pharmaceutically-Enhanced Intelligence (from chapter 5 of Films from the Future)
In2004, the academic and medical doctor Anjan Chatterjee wrote a review of what he termed “Cosmetic Neurology.” He was far from the first person to write about the emergence and ethics of cognitive enhancers, but the piece caught my attention because of its unusual title... The post Limitless: Pharmaceutically-Enhanced Intelligence (from chapter 5 of Films from the Future) appeared first on 2020…
Minority Report: Predicting Criminal Intent (From chapter four of Films from the Future)
There’s something quite enticing about the idea of predicting how people will behave in a given situation. It’s what lies beneath personality profiling and theories of preferred team roles. But it also extends to trying to predict when people will behave badly, and taking steps to prevent this... The post Minority Report: Predicting Criminal Intent (From chapter four of Films from the Future)…
Never Let Me Go: A Cautionary Tale of Human Cloning (from chapter three of Films from the Future)
In 2002, the birth of the first human clone was announced. Baby Eve was born on December 26, 2002, and weighed seven pounds. Or so it was claimed. The announcement attracted media attention from around the world, and spawned story after story of the birth. Since then, no proof has emerged that baby Eve was anything other than a publicity stunt. But the furor at the time demonstrated how…
Jurassic Park: The Rise of Resurrection Biology (from chapter two of Films from the Future)
I was a newly minted Ph.D. when I first saw Jurassic Park. It was June 1993, and my wife and I were beginning to enjoy our new-found freedom, after years of too much study and too little money. I must confess that we weren’t dinosaur geeks. But there was something about the hype surrounding the movie that hooked us. Plus, we fancied a night out. The post Jurassic Park: The Rise of Resurrection…
In the Beginning … Chapter One of “Films from the Future”
I first saw Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey on a small black and white TV, tucked in a corner of my parents’ living room. It was January the first 1982, and I was sixteen years old... The post In the Beginning Chapter One of Films from the Future appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
YouTube channel on the Science of Risk hits a milestone
It s been a while coming, but the YouTube channel Risk Bites has just hit 10,000 subscribers. It may not sound a lot when compared to some YouTube mega-channels, but for a low-budget channel that occupies the space between academic expertise and people who just want to know stuff, it s a pretty major milestone! I started [ ] The post YouTube channel on the Science of Risk hits a milestone appeared…
Second-guessing consumer views on products using nanotechnology
This month s copy of the journal Nature Nanotechnology has a commentary in it by myself and colleague Justin Kidd, where we ask whether manufacturers of nano-enabled water treatment products are in danger of second-guessing consumer views. The commentary draws on research we re currently involved in on gauging manufacturer perceptions of consumer perceptions, as they develop [ ] The post…
Excerpts from Films from the Future
Over the next several weeks, I ll be posting short excerpts from Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies ahead of the book s publication on November 15 visit regularly to read the latest, and remember that you can pre-order the book now on Amazon! Schedule: August 23. In the beginning [ ] The post Excerpts from Films from the Future appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE…
Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies
I m thrilled that my new book Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies (Mango Publishing) is now available! From the listing: Learn how movies reveal the future of technology Fans of The Science of Interstellar, The Second Machine Age, and Physics of the Future will love the Films from the Future. Science, technology, and society: In Films from the [ ] The post Films…
Book update: New title, Amazon Listing, Publication Date, Contents, and more …
After a hectic summer of writing and editing, I m pleased (if a little frazzled) to report that the book formerly known as The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future is on schedule to be published mid-November of this year. Just to whet your appetite, here s a quick update on where things stand: What s the new title? After [ ] The post Book update: New title, Amazon Listing, Publication Date, Contents,…
The Sounds of the Moviegoer’s Guide to the Future
I must confess that, over the past year, I ve taken immersing myself in the movies at the core of The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future rather seriously perhaps too seriously! Of course, I ve watched the movies many, many times. But I ve also been submersed in their soundtracks; often in the hope of getting inspiration [ ] The post The Sounds of the Moviegoer s Guide to the Future appeared first on…
Nootropics
Excerpted from a early draft of Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies (out November 2018); inspired by the movie Limitless. In 2004, the academic and medical doctor Anjan Chatterjee wrote a review of what he termed “Cosmetic Neurology”.[1] He was far from the first person to write about the emergence [ ] The post Nootropics appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
The “Science” of Predicting Bad Behavior
Excerpted from a early draft of The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future; inspired by the movie Minority Report. In March 2017, the British newspaper The Guardian ran a web-story with the headline “Brain scans can spot criminals, scientists say”.[1] Unlike in Minority Report, the scanning was carried out using a hefty functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging [ ] The post The “Science” of Predicting Bad…
We need to make the PhD system more student-supportive and student-centric
Not everyone aspires to getting a PhD. But for those who do, pursuing one should be the pinnacle of their educational experience. Yet for many graduate students, studying for their doctoral degree turns into nightmare that continues to haunt them long after they’ve left university. And the reason is surprisingly simple; as a PhD student, [ ] The post We need to make the PhD system more…
The Moviegoer’s Guide to the Future: Beginnings
As The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future book comes together over the next few weeks, I thought it would be interesting to post excerpts from the early drafts. These will change during editing drastically so in some cases I suspect. But they might pique your interest, and give you a sense of the flavor [ ] The post The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future: Beginnings appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE…
The BS and the Science of Nanotechnology
In case you missed it, Elon Musk called BS on the field of nanotechnology last week. The ensuing Twitter spat was admittedly rather small on the grand scale of things. But it did throw up an important question: just what is nanotech, and where does the BS end and the science begin? I have a [ ] The post The BS and the Science of Nanotechnology appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
I just signed a book deal – The Moviegoer’s Guide to the Future’s happening!
The big news is that I ve just signed a book deal with the publisher Mango! The working title for the book is The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future (Update: the final title is Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies), and it s going to be a roller coaster ride through emerging [ ] The post I just signed a book deal The Moviegoer s Guide to the Future s happening! appeared…
10 potential risks of artificial intelligence we should probably be thinking about now
To unpack some of the challenges around the risks and benefits Artificial Intelligence, Risk Bites has a 5 minute introduction to ten potential risks of AI we should probably be thinking about now The post 10 potential risks of artificial intelligence we should probably be thinking about now appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
Humility in science communication
A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a keynote on Knowledge Mobilization for the annual Graduate College Impact Awards at Arizona State University (the video s at the end of this post). The talk was to be science communication. But on reflection, I took the opportunity to address something that s increasingly informed my work [ ] The post Humility in science communication appeared first on 2020…
After Tempe fatality, self-driving car developers must engage with public now or risk rejection
Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University; Jameson Wetmore, Arizona State University, and Thaddeus R. Miller, Arizona State University On Sunday evening, March 18, an Uber SUV hit and killed a pedestrian in the Arizona city of Tempe. In a place where vehicle-related pedestrian fatalities are unfortunately a regular occurrence, this shouldn’t have stood out as particularly [ ] The post After Tempe…
Eager to dye your hair with ‘nontoxic’ graphene nanoparticles? Not so fast!
Graphene is something of a celebrity in the world of nanoscale materials. Isolated in 2004 by Nobel Prize winners Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, these ultrathin sheets of carbon atoms are already finding novel uses in areas like electronics, high-efficiency heating systems, water purification technologies and even golf balls. According to recent research published in [ ] The post Eager to…
What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and why should you care?
We have a new video up on the YouTube Risk Bites channel that asks what the fourth industrial revolution is, and looks at the technological trends underpinning it. If you ve ever wondered what the fourth industrial revolution is, why it s so important, what whatever happened to the previous three, check it out! The post What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and why should you care? appeared…
‘Geostorm’ movie shows dangers of hacking the climate – we need to talk about real-world geoengineering now
Jane A. Flegal, University of California, Berkeley and Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University Hollywood’s latest disaster flick, “Geostorm,” is premised on the idea that humans have figured out how to control the Earth’s climate. A powerful satellite-based technology allows users to fine-tune the weather, overcoming the ravages of climate change. Everyone, everywhere can quite literally [ ] The…
Dear Elon Musk: Your dazzling Mars plan overlooks some big nontechnical hurdles
Elon Musk has a plan, and it’s about as audacious as they come. Not content with living on our pale blue dot, Musk and his company SpaceX want to colonize Mars, fast. They say they’ll send a duo of supply ships to the red planet within five years. By 2024, they’re aiming to send the [ ] The post Dear Elon Musk: Your dazzling Mars plan overlooks some big nontechnical hurdles appeared first on 2020…
These scientist-communicators deserve your attention!
On April 22 2017, over a million people marched for science around the world. They came for many reasons to celebrate science; to soak up the vibe; to protest a growing distain for evidence-based decisions within society; to say they d been there. But if there was an overarching message, it was this: that science [ ] The post These scientist-communicators deserve your attention! appeared first on…
Have spacesuit, will travel?
This week, Elon Musk gave the world a sneak-peek of the new SpaceX space suit on Instagram. I was passingly intrigued when I saw it. But then came the request from Fortune.com to write an article tying in the new suit to the future of space tourism First picture of SpaceX spacesuit. More in [ ] The post Have spacesuit, will travel? appeared first on 2020 SCIENCE ARCHIVE .
Ten reasons why more scientists should be on YouTube
A couple of weeks ago I tweeted ten reasons I think more scientists should be on YouTube. I know it’s hard takes time, but there are lots of reasons why scientists should enter this #scivid contest! https://t.co/P5HWHKRFxe pic.twitter.com/Fb4x5ANJQ3 — Andrew Maynard (@2020science) July 24, 2017 For anyone who s been following me for the past [ ] The post Ten reasons why more scientists should be…
2017 Science Showcase Video Contest
Can researchers make awesome science communication videos? To find out (and, quite honestly, to encourage scientists to show us what they can do!), we re running a science video competition this year on the YouTube channel Science Showcase. Entries are being accepted to August 31, with a top prize of $2,000 for the video selected by [ ] The post 2017 Science Showcase Video Contest appeared first…
Will driving your own car one day be as socially unacceptable as smoking in public?
In 2014, over 32,000 people were killed in car crashes in the U.S. In 2012, more than two million Americans visited the emergency room as a result of car crashes. And an estimated 94 percent of the crashes that cause these injuries and fatalities are attributable to human choice or error. These are sobering statistics. [ ] The post Will driving your own car one day be as socially unacceptable as…
Taking on the complex ethics of emerging brain technologies
Imagine infusing thousands of wireless devices into your brain, and using them to both monitor its activity and directly influence its actions. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, and for the moment it still is – but possibly not for long. Brain research is on a roll at the moment. And as it [ ] The post Taking on the complex ethics of emerging brain technologies appeared first on 2020…
Navigating the nanotechnology risk landscape – pointers for early career scientists
Navigating the risk landscape that surrounds nanotechnology development can be a daunting task – especially if you are an early career researcher just getting started in the field. There are plenty of studies and speculations around what might – or might not – be risky about nanoscale science and engineering. But surprisingly, there are relatively [ ] The post Navigating the nanotechnology risk…
A fifth grader (and up) introduction to nanotechnology
The latest video from Risk Bites takes a four minute dive into what nanotechnology is, and why it s important. It was created as a primer for 5th graders which probably means that there ll be a lot of 5th graders at heart watching it! It also takes a somewhat less than conventional approach to nanotech: The [ ] The post A fifth grader (and up) introduction to nanotechnology appeared first on 2020…
Elon Musk’s new master plan will take more than advanced tech to pull off
Elon Musk – CEO of Tesla Motors – has just revealed the second part of his master plan for the company. And it’s a doozy. Not content with producing sleek electric cars (which to be fair, was only ever a stepping stone to greater things), Musk wants to fundamentally change how we live our lives. [ ] The post Elon Musk s new master plan will take more than advanced tech to pull off appeared first…