The Science in The Fiction

Marty and Holly discuss Robert J. Sawyer's Nebula Award-winning book The Terminal Experiment.  We talk about the possibility of uploading our minds into computers and/or replicating our physical brains, and think our way through philosophical issues about subjectivity and objectivity, materialism, identity and the teleporter dilemma.  We discuss whether self-awareness is different and special, or just another subjective illusion built into us by evolutionary mechanisms of survival.  We decide that there’s something special about the human experience, and also that we - personally - are land animals who would not get in a tin can to cross the void – though a ride down the river Tethys through the farcaster portals of Hyperion would be just fine.Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: The Terminal Experiment Synopsis (sfwriter.com)The Terminal Experiment - WikipediaThe Terminal Experiment : Robert J. Sawyer: Amazon.ca: Booksgoodreads.com/en/book/show/264945Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

In this episode Marty sits down with Prof. Jaymie Matthews, astrophysicist from the University of British Columbia, to discuss the some of the solar physics in Robert J. Sawyer’s ‘The Oppenheimer Alternative’, as a follow up to our interview with Robert in Episode 2.  We cover a fair bit of ground with Dr. Matthews, who explains how his research career helped establish a new field of astronomy called helio-seismology, which probes the inner structure, size and age of our sun and other stars by measuring their vibrational modes of oscillation.  Along the way we discuss how this research has led to new capabilities currently used in the hunt for extra-solar planets, why having a fairly boring star is a good thing for life on earth, and that we don’t need to worry about our sun suddenly exploding and vaporizing us all. We also discuss his contributions to another science fiction novel by Spider Robinson and Robert Heinlein, called Variable Star.Jaymie Matthews:  matthews | UBC Physics & AstronomyJaymie Matthews:  Jaymie Matthews | ideacityJaymie Matthews:  MOST (spacecraft) - WikipediaRobert J. SAwyer: Author Robert J. Sawyer: Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell Memorial Award-winning Science Fiction Writer (sfwriter.com)The Oppenheimer Alternative: Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: THE OPPENHEIMER ALTERNATIVE Index (sfwriter.com)Spider Robinson:  Welcome to Spider Robinson's Official Website Variable Star: Variable Star - WikipediaSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Marty and Holly sit down with Canadian science fiction superstar Robert J. Sawyer to talk about his book The Oppenheimer Alternative.  Robert tells us how he spun the mistaken prediction of the sun’s temperature by Hans Bethe (in 1939) into a science fiction tale where the great physicists of the 20th century save humanity from being vaporized by a solar instability.  We discuss Bethe and Einstein’s Nobel Prizes, Oppenheimer’s prediction of black holes, and the history of the Manhattan Project.  We talk about the ethics and politics of dropping the first two nuclear bombs on Japan, the creation of doomsday weapons, and their impact on space travel in Project Orion.  Robert's Webpage: https://www.sfwriter.com/  Email us: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Marty and Holly describe what we'd like to do in this podcast.  We will talk to science fiction authors and scientists about topics in both hard and soft science fiction, from both the hard and soft sciences.  Our conversations will range from physics to psychology, from space to sociology.  We also like to talk science: Marty explains special relativity, and Holly explains thin film deposition.  We reflect on our interview with Robert J. Sawyer about The Oppenheimer Alternative, and the following interview with astrophysicist Jaymie Matthews about the solar physics and nuclear politics in Sawyer's book.  We discuss upcoming interviews with Julie Czerneda about exo-biology in To Each This World, and Arik Kershenbaum in The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy. You can email us at: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/