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This iron stylus (a type of pen for writing on wax or clay tablets) in scribed with the lines: "I have come from the City. I bring you a welcome gift with a sharp point that you may remember me. I ask, if fortune allowed, that I might be able [to give] as generously as the way is long [and] as my purse is empty."
Or to put it simply, "My friend went to Rome and all I got was this lousy pen.
Dated to about AD 70. Found in London during excavations by MOLA.
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⚙️ Star Trek The Next Generation, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, Doctor Who, The X-Files, etc. How much we love sci-fi series! I don't know if we would have enjoyed them as much if the BBC hadn't gotten involved about 83 years ago, when on February 11, 1938, it broadcast the first sci-fi film in history on TV (more specifically, the first sci-fi program-film-whatever made specifically for TV).
⚙️ Initially, I wanted to call it a series, but it was simply a 35-minute adaptation of a part of the play "R.U.R." by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. "R.U.R." stands for "Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (Rossum's Universal Robots)" and was first staged in 1921. It's about humans who create robots (more closely related to the idea of "androids," "replicants" from Blade Runner, or "cylons" from Battlestar Galactica) that eventually rebel against their creators.
⚙️ The most important thing is that in "R.U.R." the term "robot" was used for the first time.
📸 Photo: a sequence from the BBC adaptation of the play "R.U.R." for the small screen (1938)
#History#Culture#TV#SciFi#Robots#Android#RUR#Czech #czechrepublic #europe#KarelCapek
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In 1976, The New Yorker magazine published Saul Steinberg's famous cover meant to show the perspective on the world of the average person on 9th Ave in NYC. Its impact was immediate and still continues today, as it wasn't just a specific joke, but a lens by which you can portray the local perspective of anyone. In a paper publishing next month we look at Saul Steinberg's projection and how its a culmination of regionalism in geography.
#maps #history #nyc #map #geography
#maps #history #nyc #map #geography
It was an idea that had been evolving deep inside Saul Steinberg for decades and when he did the his famous cover for the New Yorker, it was not just a hit for the public but a kind of revelation on how people think of their world.
Almost immediately after Steinberg's famous cover, there were instances where artist's created similar maps for their city, and it still continues on to today. Here are just a few instances of Steinberg projections from the late 1970's up to the mid-2000's
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If you feel that your world or character is missing something, it is almost guaranteed to be history. We are beings that are driven by personal, professional, cultural, religious, and scientific histories. Nothing bothers me more than when I am reading a story and the characters seem willfully disdainful of history. On occasion, that may be true to their character, but what I’m writing about here are those characters that lack depth and engagement because they have been denied history.
If your character encounters a ruined building, that building can tell us so much about the world. Even if you write notebooks of backstory but then decide to condense the character’s reference down to a single name drop you are still giving them both a history and a place in it. I feel that if your world building or character feels flat that the problem lies in their history. Flush that out, with a focus on how that history would shape that character and you will be amazed at how alive they feel to you.
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“There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment we will continue to see. We forget how often in this century we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.
To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
— Howard Zinn
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Remembering another notable date in history: 100 years ago this month, Edwin Hubble proved that our galaxy is just one small island in a vast cosmic sea.
Our awareness of galaxies is just one century old! I dig into the full story in my latest Invisible Universe column:
https://invisibleuniverse.substack.com/p/the-100th-birthday-of-the-universe #space #science #astronomy #history
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Recent discussions about hypothetical D&D economies led me to look into Roman currency. Here is a great wikipedia image of the common currency in the 27 BC - 100 AD Roman era.
So instead of copper, silver, electrum gold (the D&D standard), the early Roman Empire used various iterations of Bronze, Orichalcum, Silver, Billon, and Gold.
And today I learned Billon is the name for an alloy of silver and gold, or silver and copper, or silver and gold and copper, or basically any alloy of silver and some base metal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_currency#Imperial_period:_27_BC_%E2%80%93_AD_476
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That’s some heavy stuff you’re reading Cyrus cat! #scifi #sciencefiction #history #books #cat #cats #catsofmastodon
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@evgenymorozov piece on "The AI we deserve" https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-ai-we-deserve/
Don't miss the responses : https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-ai-we-deserve/#responses
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#WritersCoffeeClub 26: Do real-life events inspire your writing? Share an example.
As Ken Macleod remarked, "history is the secret weapon of the science fiction writer".
Not every time, not for every story element, but it's an *amazing* toy box that you can borrow from whenever you're stuck for an idea! Because fiction illustrates the human condition and humans get up to some really weird shit, for values of "you can't make that up" weird.
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@cstross
These #history deep-dives by #IsaacAsimov are great reads and illustrate your point about using our actual world for #worldbuilding in #SciFi.
These #history deep-dives by #IsaacAsimov are great reads and illustrate your point about using our actual world for #worldbuilding in #SciFi.
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Okay, it's #introductions time! Hi 👋
I'm Badri, a #writer and #nonfiction#editor at Snipette looking to explore and highlight the interesting aspects of our world 🔦
I also #read a lot, and am always on the lookout for interesting bits of #science, #culture, #history, or #philosophy which come out at some point or other in my articles 👀
I'm also @badrihippo, but this instance, Snipetteville, is a place for all Snipette editors to hang out. We may be talking in private, but if you see a public conversation you're most welcome to join. Feel free to tag me in deep and/or lighthearted #philosophical conversations about aspects of the world 💭
(If you want to write for Snipette, DM me now!)
I'm Badri, a #writer and #nonfiction#editor at Snipette looking to explore and highlight the interesting aspects of our world 🔦
I also #read a lot, and am always on the lookout for interesting bits of #science, #culture, #history, or #philosophy which come out at some point or other in my articles 👀
I'm also @badrihippo, but this instance, Snipetteville, is a place for all Snipette editors to hang out. We may be talking in private, but if you see a public conversation you're most welcome to join. Feel free to tag me in deep and/or lighthearted #philosophical conversations about aspects of the world 💭
(If you want to write for Snipette, DM me now!)
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The History of Science Fiction diagram, by Ward Shelley
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_History_of_Science_Fiction_-_Flickr_-_jurvetson.jpg
#sciencefiction #scifi #history #starwars #startrek #alien #dune #cyberpunk #amazingstories #julesverne #pulp #magazines #pulpmagazines #foundation #hgwells #space #opera #spaceopera#BattleStarGalactica #matrix #bladerunner #heinlein #isaacazimov #metropolis #science #fantasy #adventure #kafka #themartianchronicles #robot #robots #philipkdick #planetoftheapes #terminator #doctorwho #theprisoner
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Cats that sailed on ships to catch rodents had passports signed with their paw prints, until the mid-20th century
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Over on Bluesky, I made a new introduction thread running through my #bike #history research, and I thought I'd pull it over here for #biketooter people:
Hello, I'm James Longhurst, a historian of urban and environmental policy. I wrote about the history of bike policy in the United States a few years ago; available from @uwapress (and your local library):
https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295742663/bike-battles/
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Cosmography archives
2005: Discovery of the Sloan Great Wall
by J. Richard Gott and co-authors
https://doi.org/10.1086/428890
At the time of its discovery, this 1.37 billion light-years long filament is the largest observed structure in the Universe.
#Cosmology #galaxies#SloanGreatWall#Cosmography #archives #archive#CosmographyArchives #history #science#HistoryOfScience #Astrodon #astrophysics #astronomy #physics#STEM#Universe#CosmicWeb
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A photograph that I am very lucky to have.
c 1897, my dad's family who were Travellers for generations. What an incredible look into the past, and the faces of my ancestors.
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"Documentary director redefines astronaut Eileen Collins as the 'Spacewoman'" by @Spacecom - Documentary about USAF Colonel Eileen Collins, test pilot instructor who became the first female Space Shuttle pilot and commander. She remains a historical figure to point to when encouraging girls and women they can learn to fly too. https://www.space.com/spacewoman-documentary-astronaut-eileen-collins-director-interview#NASA #space #aviation #pilot #avgeek #history
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When I worked for XCOR Aerospace in Mojave, we heard a story from co-worker Rick Searfoss who was a former NASA Space Shuttle commander. He knew Eileen Collins when they were test pilot instructors at Edwards AFB. Both applied to the NASA astronaut program. After he was selected, he said he called Eileen, understanding history would be made if she was selected too. She had to ask him to keep quiet until the White House made the announcement.😀 #NASA #space #aviation #pilot #avgeek #history