The Last Question
Speaking of short stories, one of my favorites is by Isaac Asimov called The Last Question. it is a pretty interesting read where mankind keeps asking the computer about the meaning of life, etc and t...
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Science Fiction
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Still one of my favorites
I've read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy more than once over the years, and it still makes me laugh. There's just something about Douglas Adams' style. One minute it's completely ridiculous, th...
Could AI Ever Become a Real Psychohistorian?
One of the ideas that keeps coming back to me is whether we're getting closer to Hari Seldon's psychohistory. Today's AI can already analyze enormous amounts of data, identify patterns, and even make...
The Kzinti: Science Fiction's Greatest Warriors
I've been going back through the Man-Kzin Wars books lately, and they still hold up. If you're already a fan of Larry Niven's Known Space universe, they're definitely worth reading. The Kzinti make g...
The Mule
One of the biggest "wait... what?" moments for me in the *Foundation* series was when the Mule showed up. Up until then, it felt like Hari Seldon had everything figured out. Every crisis happened pre...
The Cowardly Puppeteers
The Puppeteers are probably the smartest cowards ever written into science fiction. They're brilliant, patient, and always ten moves ahead—but if there's even the slightest chance of danger, they'll...
The small ideas in sci-fi can be the ones that stick
I keep thinking about how the best science fiction is not always the book with the biggest empire or the strangest machine. Sometimes the part that stays with me is a small social idea. A custom, a l...
Ursula K. Le Guin still sneaks up on you
I was thinking about science fiction authors that almost everybody seems to respect, even if they came to the genre from different doors. Ursula K. Le Guin is one of those for me. The Left Hand of Da...
Which Science Fiction Prediction Turned Out To Be Surprisingly Accurate?
Science fiction has been predicting the future for generations—sometimes getting it spectacularly wrong and sometimes getting it uncomfortably right. Which novel, series, or author do you think came...
Milo Morai Is Still One of My Favorite Sci-Fi Characters
Rereading Swords of the Horseclans and Revenge of the Horseclans reminded me why I liked Milo Morai so much. Most immortal characters in fiction eventually become detached from ordinary people, but M...
Robert L. Forward's toroidal gravity catapult
One thing that always impressed me about Robert L. Forward was how he'd stop the story just long enough to explain the science. Most authors would simply say, "Here's the new drive." Forward wanted yo...
Randy Hunter and Elon Musk: An Interesting Parallel
One thing that struck me while rereading *Timemaster* is how much Randy Hunter reminds me of Elon Musk—not because they're identical, but because they share the same relentless drive to solve problems...
What Is Your Favorite Known Space Novel or Story?
Welcome to rb.arts.books.series.known-space! To kick things off, let's start with a question every Known Space fan has probably debated at some point: What is your favorite Known Space novel, story,...
Hashtags are here!!
Without further ado, Rootbadger now has hashtags. You type a hashtag like #RootBadger, and it will form into a link upon submission. You can then follow hashtags as well. It will be very useful when...
The Seldon Plan: Science, Genius, or Wishful Thinking?
One of the central ideas of the Foundation series is Hari Seldon's development of psychohistory—a science capable of predicting the future behavior of vast populations over long periods of time. As r...
What First Drew You to Riverworld?
Welcome, Riverworld fans! To kick off discussion in rb.arts.books.series.riverworld, let's start with a simple question: What was the moment that hooked you on the Riverworld series? Was it the res...
Welcome to rb.arts.books.series.horseclans!
This group is dedicated to fans of the legendary Horseclans series by Robert Adams. Whether you've been riding with Milo Morai since the beginning or have only recently discovered the series, this is...