One of the reasons I think SF is valuable is that it’s a way to think through scenarios before we encounter them. A story is obviously not just for that, not even primarily for that, but reading SF can develop the habit of thought.

Originally shared by David Brin

My weekend post is about “Sci Fi Warnings and Optimism!” I review some hot new SF movies and books. And I describe tentative White House interest in seeing a fan group advisory board! One where SF readers can be asked about any surprising event or scenario and come up with a rapid response: “Hey, I know some stories about exactly that!”

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2016/06/sci-fi-warnings-and-optimism-calling.html

Originally shared by CM Stewart

http://futurism.com/this-new-bacteria-can-inhale-co2-and-produce-energy/

Relevant to my interests – in my Gryphon Clerks novels, the gnomes have a system of sign language developed to communicate in noisy industrial environments, but also used to plot against their dwarvish masters without being overheard.

Originally shared by Masha du Toit

Amazing. And these languages were not just simple signs, but complex ways of communicating.

“Outside of deaf communities, hearing people sometimes develop what are now often called “alternate sign languages” to communicate when words will not do. In monasteries, monks uses signs to communicate in areas where speech is forbidden, for instance. In industries where machines made speaking impossible—in ships’ engine rooms, in steel mills, textile mills, and sawmills—workers also found ways to communicate with their hands.”

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-lost-secret-sign-language-of-sawmill-workers