In this episode we present our first conversation between a science fiction author and a scientist, both of whom we’ve spoken to before. We have with us Robert J. Sawyer, star of our very first interview in our second episode where we discussed his book The Oppenheimer Alternative, and Arik Kershenbaum who we spoke to in our last episode about his book A Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy. We discuss the possibility of evolving intelligent dinosaurs in Robert's 'Quintaglio Cycle', and consider the unexpected, non-mammalian forms of intelligence we've discovered in parrots and ravens. We consider the impossibility of evolving telepathy as a form of communication, by means of baby parasites controlling the smoking habits of their mother hosts. We also talk about other kinds of evolutionary impossibilities such as the single oceanic organism in Stan Lem's 'Solaris' and the interstellar being made of dust and gas in Fred Hoyle's 'The Black Cloud'. Finally we debate the value of Okham's razor in philosophical notions of parsimony, when it comes to deciding whether the universe is incredibly unlikely but real, or just the fantasy of a Boltzmann Brain dreaming up the rich diversity of phenomena we observe. To be continued in Episode 8!

Robert J. Sawyer:

Author Robert J. Sawyer: Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell Memorial Award-winning Science Fiction Writer (sfwriter.com)

Robert J. Sawyer - Wikipedia

Robert J. Sawyer (Author of Illegal Alien) (goodreads.com)

The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer | Goodreads

Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: THE OPPENHEIMER ALTERNATIVE Index (sfwriter.com)

Arik Kershenbaum:

Email:
thescienceinthefiction@gmail.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Robert J. Sawyer in Conversation with Arik Kershenbaum - Part 1