evolution
The evolution of science, science fiction, and mankind throughout the years.
The Dead Zoo: Triceratops
Triceratops always seemed like a friendly dinosaur to me. I’m not exactly sure why. It couldn’t have been because of Uncle Beazley. That dinosaur was before my time, and I didn’t encounter him at the National Zoo until after I was already grown up. Jurassic Park couldn’t have been it, either. I wish I could have given the sick Triceratops a hug just like Alan Grant did, but I was already ten before I dragged my family to see the epic cinematic dinosaurs. There must have been something else.
Brian SwitekPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Earth Gets An Oil Change
The Earth Gets An Oil Change Think about this. WHAT DOES THE SKY LOOK LIKE from a habitable planet near the center of the galaxy?
Arthur RoschPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe AI Missionary
[Hello, and once again I am back. I just want to thank my followers on Vocal. I am going to be scaling back on my writing for vocal so that I can focus on writing novels. Still if you like what you see here you can follow me on twitter @amccaul1976 and just about everywhere at the same handle. Again thanks for reading.]
Adam McCaulleyPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Year 2525
"In the Year 2525, if man is still alive, if women can survive, they may find." That opening to one of the most memorable hit songs of the late 60's set a very ominous tone for the future of mankind. Subsequent verses pick up a very foreboding story of mankind spanning 10,000 years. As with Nostradamus's disturbing predictions, Zager & Evans constructed an altogether more disturbing and sobering scenario for the future of humanity. A little more than 500 years from now we may find mankind at the mercy of all the technology we have created.
Dr. WilliamsPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Dead Zoo: Smilodon
Smilodon looks like a cat evolved for violence. The feline’s fangs – long enough to inspire fear, just short of being ridiculous – seem to leave little question as to what this Ice Age carnivore was all about, and they have driven scientific inquiry about the cat's habits ever since its discovery. To envision Smilodon is to see a panting cat in a trampled and bloodied clearing, crimson and gore coating the beast's muzzle.
Brian SwitekPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Dead Zoo: Edmontosaurus
Dinosaurs are always changing. Even if bones have been pieced together and reconstructed in more or less in their present configurations for decades now, studies of those bones and additional fossils are continuing to alter what we think the “terrible lizards” looked like. And while I’m all in favor of new investigations bringing us dinosaurs in greater detail than ever before, I have to admit that sometimes science makes old favorites look a little… silly.
Brian SwitekPublished 7 years ago in FuturismOrganic Intellectual Energy
Throughout the ages, all living organisms whether it is a small blade of grass or a blue whale all emit a form of energy. Energy in a way that is so transparent, so subtle, and yet, very definitive in nature. All living humans emit this kind of energy. But, mankind's ability to see or harness this energy other than for very minute things like a wristwatch which runs off of ones body heat remains pretty elusive. Remember, man has a natural internal temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only is body heat a form of energy but, cold blooded reptiles exhibit an all together more evasive kind of energy. Those Star Wars movies were Jedi Knights were the only ones privy and capable enough to understand and harness natural energy that is emitted from all living things in order to do remarkable feats is the type of energy man has sought for years to understand. It is also this kind of energy that has surrounded all life through-out history.
Dr. WilliamsPublished 7 years ago in FuturismI Can Remember Back to When I Was a Newborn Child
My earliest memory of which I can date is from when I was twelve days old. My parents carried me to the driver’s seat of the car (my father’s idea) and placed me down upon it for a photo. As a newborn child I was curious as to what the seat cover and steering wheel above me were. Though at that age I hadn't yet developed the ability to want to get up and explore what such curious objects could be.
Rebecca SharrockPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Dead Zoo: Uintatherium
No one knows what Uintatherium is. Not entirely. There are plenty of terms that can help us feel around the outline of this long-deceased beast. Mammal. Eocene. Fossil. Extinct. Massive. But despite being known to paleontologists for nearly a century and a half, this most charismatic of dawn beasts remains about as puzzling now as when it was first uncovered among the badlands of the American west.
Brian SwitekPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Dead Zoo: Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus means “roofed lizard.” I never really understood why. The trundling herbivore bore an offset row of bony, triangular plates along the midline of its back, but this arrangement didn’t really look like a roof so much as a series of sails. Whether trying to keep off the rain or provide a barrier to serrated teeth, the plates didn't look like a very effective awning.
Brian SwitekPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Dead Zoo: Tyrannosaurus Rex
I wonder how many paleontologists AMNH 5027 has inspired. In case the museum catalog number doesn't ring a bell, that’s the formal name for the second Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton recognized by science, dug out of the Montana badlands in 1908 and on display on the fourth floor of New York’s American Museum of Natural History for over a century now.
Brian SwitekPublished 7 years ago in FuturismGenome Editing Advancements
I know, I know. It’s been days. But, you can relax now. I’m here. Oh, and Dave, of course. Dave is always here. Today we (but mostly I) are going to discuss the fun, exciting, and controversial topic of genetic manipulation! I’ll hold for applause.