tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post8445566883458433268..comments2024-01-27T04:41:17.522-07:00Comments on Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men: Darwin's Children by Greg BearJaniecehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223994862015217811noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-71555155600463001232008-02-25T10:46:00.000-07:002008-02-25T10:46:00.000-07:00I remember that he did address that issue in Darwi...I remember that he did address that issue in <EM>Darwin's Radio,</EM> although I don't remember all the details...I read it a number of years ago. I'd be interested in your thoughts when/if you get a chance to read it.Janiecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190655869710465713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-51393178956044505282008-02-25T10:25:00.000-07:002008-02-25T10:25:00.000-07:00The problem with new speciation is the immune syst...The problem with new speciation is the immune system. Mothers share IGs with the fetus, which is why most newborns with an as-yet un-imprinted immune systems don't die of infections at incredible rates.<BR/><BR/>A novel species in a womb would have an anaphylactic raction ot the mother's IG entering the placenta, or it would enter hte world with extremely low immune defenses.<BR/><BR/>And that's just the first argument that rolls out of my head. But I will give it a read in the future and see how he tries to get around the problems.John the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-15596894775560795912008-02-25T10:22:00.000-07:002008-02-25T10:22:00.000-07:00I have no background in molecular biology (except ...I have no background in molecular biology (except for one molecular biology class at UHM), so Bear's explanations and research sound plausible to me. <BR/><BR/>He also includes appendixes in his books about what controversies exist on the science he chooses to include in his book, and why he chooses to write about them anyway.Janiecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190655869710465713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-3768911345791638422008-02-25T10:09:00.000-07:002008-02-25T10:09:00.000-07:00Well, I'll run my military fiction past ya before ...Well, I'll run my military fiction past ya before I submit it, when I get some out. <BR/><BR/>It just seems to me that many SF writers of the 60s had a better grasp of science, today's writers take more flights of fancy.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/on_the_impossibility_of_grey_goo.htm" REL="nofollow">Numberwatch</A>, a site dedicated to debunking lying statistics, has a whole page up about how Crighton's grey goo is impossible. I did a fair amount of rheology in grad school, and had come to the same conclusion - if a nanobot is a real nanobot, meaning it is a machine that is at most 100s of nanometers wide, how can it store enough energy in a size that small to propel itself across macroscopic distances in a matter of days, let alone seconds?<BR/><BR/>This bothers me about the "nanotech" bandaid many SF authors use these days. Scalzi is not immune - those "nanobot" parachutes. First, they'd have to move at incredible speeds in order to form up in time, and second, they'd have to use tremendous energy forming chemical bonds to each other in order to keep air resistance from ripping the parachute back into floating nanobots.John the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-82950309528600578242008-02-25T09:35:00.000-07:002008-02-25T09:35:00.000-07:00John, with your background, I would expect you wou...John, with your background, I would expect you would <EM>have</EM> to do a lot of suspending disbelief if you wanted to read SF. <BR/><BR/>This is an advantage of being a scientific neophyte. I can say "coooool!" when I read SF, then wipe the drool off my chin. <BR/><BR/>I don't read much military fiction, though, because <EM>I</EM> can't suspend disbelief.Janiecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190655869710465713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9112925820320944611.post-29066515219671621852008-02-25T09:13:00.000-07:002008-02-25T09:13:00.000-07:00Eeek. I think I might have some toruble suspending...Eeek. I think I might have some toruble suspending disbelief for this one. But I'll check it out.John the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.com