Fiction + Science
Three really interesting articles are currently available at The New Yorker.
First:
New (and amazing) fiction by George Saunders: Victory Lap. The first time I heard about George Saunders was also via The New Yorker, with their fiction podcast. This is one of my favourite podcasts, the only downside is it's monthly, but given the quality, I can live with less quantity. Each month the fiction editor invites an author, many of which (possibly all) have been published in the magazine, to choose a story from the archives (which are extensive) and read it out loud. Engaging discussion before and after the reading introduces you to the author and that specific text. Saunders' Adams just blew me away, and Joshua Ferris does a fantastic job conveying the tone and tempo of the story. Oh and while I'm at it, Tobias Wolff reading Denis Johnson's Emergency is also fantastic. How can you resist when Wolff sets the piece up as such: "It's a classic, absoutely. It's one of those stories... that everyone knows. Every person who fancies herself literate - who I'm acquainted with - knows this story and relishes the moments in it". Apparently I can now socialize with Mr. Wolff.
Second:
Second, A Life of its Own takes on synthetic biology and offers a fairly good overview of the emerging field. But statements like this still irk me:
The answer of course is that a hard drive has a singular purpose, that does not change depending on the machine its in or its contents. The screw also serves one purpose, regardless of where it is being used, and it can be used in myriad places. Many genes change function dependent on their environment (i.e. INTRAcellular environment). Anyroad, Biologists in this field all recognize these things and they know how Molecular Biology and Genetics works, but I think they, like other Biologists and lay people alike, fall prey to the desire for analogies. Biologists have repeatedly tried to explain life by using analogies (very often from art) and the plug-and-play is only a further extension of that. All analogies have eventually failed us because none can truely capture the complexity of life itself and as such, they limit our capacity for new, undescrible (i.e. sans analogy) phenomenon.
Directly afterwards is stated:
Finally:
Finally, an article on Richard Powers, who is now - hands down - my favourite unread author. Brain Drain explores the relationship between matter and mind in Powers' writings. I need to get my hands on one of his books: The anticipation is building. See also my previous post where I discover Powers: Mono.Kultur and The nOulipian Analects (pt.1) (pt.2 coming eventually).
But Also See:
Oh, and if you want more economics, there is a video discussion with Economist Joseph Stiglitz. He also has an older article at Vanity Fair, Capitalist Fools, that may be of interest.
First:
New (and amazing) fiction by George Saunders: Victory Lap. The first time I heard about George Saunders was also via The New Yorker, with their fiction podcast. This is one of my favourite podcasts, the only downside is it's monthly, but given the quality, I can live with less quantity. Each month the fiction editor invites an author, many of which (possibly all) have been published in the magazine, to choose a story from the archives (which are extensive) and read it out loud. Engaging discussion before and after the reading introduces you to the author and that specific text. Saunders' Adams just blew me away, and Joshua Ferris does a fantastic job conveying the tone and tempo of the story. Oh and while I'm at it, Tobias Wolff reading Denis Johnson's Emergency is also fantastic. How can you resist when Wolff sets the piece up as such: "It's a classic, absoutely. It's one of those stories... that everyone knows. Every person who fancies herself literate - who I'm acquainted with - knows this story and relishes the moments in it". Apparently I can now socialize with Mr. Wolff.
Second:
Second, A Life of its Own takes on synthetic biology and offers a fairly good overview of the emerging field. But statements like this still irk me:
“When your hard drive dies, you can go to the nearest computer store, buy a new one, and swap it out,” Keasling said. “That’s because it’s a standard part in a machine. The entire electronics industry is based on a plug-and-play mentality. Get a transistor, plug it in, and off you go. What works in one cell phone or laptop should work in another. That is true for almost everything we build: when you go to Home Depot, you don’t think about the thread size on the bolts you buy, because they’re all made to the same standard. Why shouldn’t we use biological parts in the same way?”
The answer of course is that a hard drive has a singular purpose, that does not change depending on the machine its in or its contents. The screw also serves one purpose, regardless of where it is being used, and it can be used in myriad places. Many genes change function dependent on their environment (i.e. INTRAcellular environment). Anyroad, Biologists in this field all recognize these things and they know how Molecular Biology and Genetics works, but I think they, like other Biologists and lay people alike, fall prey to the desire for analogies. Biologists have repeatedly tried to explain life by using analogies (very often from art) and the plug-and-play is only a further extension of that. All analogies have eventually failed us because none can truely capture the complexity of life itself and as such, they limit our capacity for new, undescrible (i.e. sans analogy) phenomenon.
Directly afterwards is stated:
No scientific achievement has promised so much, and none has come with greater risks or clearer possibilities for deliberate abuse.People... read and understand this article please.
Finally:
Finally, an article on Richard Powers, who is now - hands down - my favourite unread author. Brain Drain explores the relationship between matter and mind in Powers' writings. I need to get my hands on one of his books: The anticipation is building. See also my previous post where I discover Powers: Mono.Kultur and The nOulipian Analects (pt.1) (pt.2 coming eventually).
But Also See:
Oh, and if you want more economics, there is a video discussion with Economist Joseph Stiglitz. He also has an older article at Vanity Fair, Capitalist Fools, that may be of interest.
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