Exploring a Logarithmic Temporal Technology Scale

In a previous, fairly soft-content post, I mused about the possibility of the existence of a logarithmic pattern in history that relates, in a predictable way, the subjective perceptions of technology within a civilization to their pace of technological advancement. (In a sort of tongue-in-cheek gesture, I called it the McGee Scale of technological advancement.) At […]

The “Wow! Reply” – SETI Stunt, Science, or Threat?

A little less than a year ago, the National Geographic Channel (NatGeo) executed a truly novel crowdsourcing initiative that I feel is deserving of greater critical attention. Hailed by some as innovative public engagement, derided by cynics as mere marketing spectacle, and condemned by others as a threat to our very way of life, hindsight […]

Science outreach, crossing the mainstream divide, and “Chasing UFOs”

I know there will be quite a lot on this here at the Astrowright blog in the coming weeks and months, but to begin very briefly, I’m excited to report that I’m set to appear on/host a National Geographic series next month (somewhat sensationally) entitled, “Chasing UFOs.” The project zeroed in on the “top 5%” – the […]

Cycloidal Ridges on Europa: A Xenoarchaeological Analogue

When seriously considering the possibility of xenoarchaeology as a practicable science, I’ve proposed (as have others) the endeavor to be deeply interdisciplinary. Solid archaeological methodologies will need to be complemented with and modified by a strong foundation in planetary science. I also often suggest that the practice of xenoarchaeology will find its most frequent utility in “debunking” rushed, […]

New ideas on the altar of science

How are ideas that had once been considered speculative best adopted into the practice of serious scientific investigation? How are speculative ideas most effectively graduated from the realm of science fiction and introduced into scientific discourse? By what benchmarks of conceptual “distance” are speculative concepts evaluated before being considered too fringe for serious consideration? These are questions with which I find myself […]

Artificial Intelligence and Space Exploration

IBM appears close to cracking functional Artificial Intelligence (AI). They’ve recently created a computer system named “Watson” that uses hundreds of processing algorithms simultaneously to filter, interpret and understand human language – relating questions to knowledge in a systematic way that lets it answer normal, spoken questions with uncanny results. -Truly uncanny. I mean, from […]