The examples are from older books, but the point is still valid.
Originally shared by Jim Hines
Jun
22
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Jun
22
Nothing makes you look more foolish than misplacing a modifier.
Nothing makes you look more foolish than misplacing a modifier.
Originally shared by Karen Conlin
Yes, it’s from the Chicago Manual of Style, but misplaced modifiers (danglers) aren’t style.
They’re grammar.
Here you go.
http://cmosshoptalk.com/2016/06/16/sections-5-112-13-in-the-spotlight/
Jun
22
This is further along than I expected – and it’s not vat meat.
This is further along than I expected – and it’s not vat meat. It’s a cleverly engineered burger made using plant materials that reproduce the textures, smells and tastes of meat.
Originally shared by David Brin
This veggie-burger looks, tastes and smells like beef — except it’s made entirely from plants. It sizzles on the grill and even browns and oozes fat when it cooks. This is of more than minor interest. If hundreds of millions can be weaned to much-lower meat use, it could save so much land and especially water, and provide so much nutrition that the balance may tip in our favor.
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Jun
22
A couple of good insights from this article about one of my favourite authors.
A couple of good insights from this article about one of my favourite authors. Watch how he creates a believable character, off the cuff, in just a few sentences.
I was also struck by the “Hemingway device,” in which you remove something from the overt story but let its presence still influence what remains.
I think I’ll be getting the biography.
Jun
22
UBI is something I’m watching with interest as automation threatens jobs.
UBI is something I’m watching with interest as automation threatens jobs. I’m glad someone is doing some experiments to figure out exactly how it should work.
Jun
21
Via Samuel Smith. Biological and computer convergence is a trend to watch, definitely.
Via Samuel Smith. Biological and computer convergence is a trend to watch, definitely.
Originally shared by Corina Marinescu
Researchers create organic nanowire synaptic transistors that emulate the working principles of biological synapses
A team of researchers with the Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea has created organic nanowire synaptic transistors that emulate the working principles of biological synapses. As they describe in their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the artificial synapses they have created use much smaller amounts of power than other devices developed thus far and rival that of their biological counterparts.
Scientists are taking multiple paths towards building next generation computers—some are fixated on finding a material to replace silicon, others are working towards building a quantum machine, while still others are busy trying to build something much more like the human mind. A hybrid system of sorts that has organic artificial parts meant to mimic those found in the brain. In this new effort, the team in Korea has reached a new milestone in creating an artificial synapse—one that has very nearly the same power requirements as those inside our skulls.
Up till now, artificial synapses have consumed far more power than human synapses, which researchers have calculated is on the order of 10 femtojoules each time a single one fires. The new synapse created by the team requires just 1.23 femtojoules per event—far lower than anything achieved thus far, and on par with their natural rival. Though it might seem the artificial creations are using less power, they do not perform the same functions just yet, so natural biology is still ahead. Plus there is the issue of transferring information from one neuron to another. The “wires” used by the human body are still much thinner than the metal kind still being used by scientists—still, researchers are gaining.
Source and further reading:
http://techxplore.com/news/2016-06-nanowire-synaptic-transistors-emulate-principles.html
Paper:
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/6/e1501326
Image: Schematic of biological neuronal network and an ONW ST that emulates a biological synapse.
Credit: Science Advances (2016)
#nanotechnology #artificialEPSC #research
Jun
20
Some good stuff here (with the disclaimer that writing advice is easy, good writing is hard).
Some good stuff here (with the disclaimer that writing advice is easy, good writing is hard).
Via Will Shetterly.
Originally shared by Richard Bensam
“Literally anything else you can do would be a better use of your time, at this point, than writing about Game of Thrones. Literally anything.”
Pretty sure this is inspired by the category of “political writers” at Slate, Salon, Vox, Buzzfeed, Gawker et cetera who are genuinely not at all interested in their topic — politics — but are doing it because that’s where the gigs are. It’s remarkable how many of them would rather write about GoT. But a ton of good general advice as well.
Jun
16
So this is a 3D-printed, self-driving electric vehicle, using AI as a cloud service and the Internet of Things,…
So this is a 3D-printed, self-driving electric vehicle, using AI as a cloud service and the Internet of Things, produced by a company that crowdsources its designs. And it can hold a conversation with you.
This is not a concept. This is a real thing that exists today.
Originally shared by Laston Kirkland
3d printed, check. Autonomous driving, check. IBM Watson, check. Local Motors, check.
Damn, this article really pushed my buttons.
Jun
16
“Let’s be real: if women were “naturally” anything, societies wouldn’t spend so much time trying to police every…
“Let’s be real: if women were “naturally” anything, societies wouldn’t spend so much time trying to police every aspect of their lives.”
I make a distinction between “likeable” and “admirable,” and personally prefer that main characters in the books I read have some admirable qualities (regardless of gender). This is why I don’t read grimdark fantasy, such as Kameron Hurley, the author of this piece, writes. However, I fully defend anyone who does read it, or write it, and Hurley’s point here – that different standards are applied to men and women – is well taken.
Thinking about my own characters, I’m fairly sure Tara, from the Auckland Allies series, isn’t likeable. And I have no plans for her to become so.
Originally shared by Daniel Swensen
“Stories teach us empathy, and limiting the expression of humanity in our heroes entirely based on sex or gender does us all a disservice. It places restrictions on what we consider human, which dehumanizes the people we see who do not express traits that fit our narrow definition of what’s acceptable. Like it or not, failure of empathy in the face of unlikable women in fiction can often lead to a failure to empathize with women who don’t follow all the rules in real life, too. I see this all the time in conversations with men and women alike.”
https://bitchmedia.org/article/defense-unlikable-women
Jun
15
I blogged about stakes, how to raise them, how to avoid toxic tropes while doing so, and what the difference is…
I blogged about stakes, how to raise them, how to avoid toxic tropes while doing so, and what the difference is between a hero and a villain. With thanks to Writing Excuses.