A speculative mind

  Science fiction that veers into the realm of the impossible, is really not science fiction anymore but should probably be categorized as fantasy. For example: time travel. Travelling forward in time is certainly not impossible; we do it every day. Even jumping forward in time is not impossible. Einstein’s rules say that if you can go fast enough, you will move through time faster then a person you left behind. You are not really moving faster in time. The rate of time for you stays the same. But you are moving faster relative to the person who is not moving Actually no one is ever not moving. If you are on the Earth, the Earth is rotating. It is also going around the sun, which is moving through the galaxy etc. How fast are we moving? Well that is all relative to the observer, who is also going to be moving. The universe itself is expanding so there is no place you can be that is a fixed point that is not moving. When we talk about speed, we are usually talking about a speed r...

  Creativity is a great gift. Not everyone is given that gift. Some glimpse it. Some receive intermittent bursts. But for those upon whom the full gift is bestowed, they can lift the world. But beware. There is often a price that comes with that gift. Many of the most creative people have struggled with the non-creative parts of their lives. Many times have we heard stories of depression or other mental health issues that have stalked creative geniuses. I have not been blessed to be immersed in the pool of creative wonder. Rather, if I am lucky, a few drops may land on me from time to time. But then, neither have I had to deal with the problems that plagued Van Gogh, Curt Cobain, Hemingway, or Robin Williams. To be sure, being creative does not mean you have mental health issues, just as having mental health issues does not make you creative. But I am struck be how many creatives have problems. It isn’t just the arts that benefit from creative genius. Where would physics be today i...

  What makes dialogue effective? I consider dialogue to be one of my strengths as a writer. It helps that I have done a bit of theater over the years and have written a number of plays, which of course, are almost all dialogue. Sometimes I hear people asking how to write good dialogue. I say, listen to how real people talk. Pay attention when you are out among people. But, and this is a big ‘but’, written dialogue won’t sound exactly like real speech. If it did, it would sound rather boring and unimaginative. I say to listen to real talk to use as a governor. A governor is a device that keeps an engine from going too fast. Your dialogue governor should keep you from going too far into the realm that no speaking person would ever go. For example, real people (other than politicians) tend not use flowery, over elaborate descriptions when they talk. That doesn’t mean you can’t use beautiful descriptive word now and then, but be judicious with their use. You can choose to make a char...

  Every other post you find on social media (that’s not about politics) seems to be about what a terrible year 2020 is, how they can’t wait for this year to be over. Sometimes they refer to 2020 with colorful expletives, like all the bad things that have happened this year are somehow 2020’s fault. Obviously, the year itself doesn’t care if we are having a good time or a bad time. In fact, the year (any year) doesn’t even exist except as a useful construct which we invented to help organize out lives. As an organizational tool it would be great, except that our perception of our own invented tool is easily distorted. When you are enjoying yourself, time seems to whip past. When you are wanting it to pass quickly, because you are looking forward to an event, or hating the task you are currently doing, it seems to drag. A scientist could no doubt devise a way to prove to me that 2 hours at a party passes at the same rate as 2 hours at work but there are times when I am skeptical. A...