TheFazz.com

source site - Fasten Your Seatbelts - washingtonpost.com

When the present promises only economic hardship and political upheaval, what does the future look like?

source site - Pivotal role

RAISING children is a paradoxical task. It starts out really hard for parents who want to do a good job of caring for their children. You think that all the hard work will pay off as the child gets older, but things do not always stay the same.

Parents have to be consistent when dealing with children, yet they have to keep up with the changes as their children grow and develop.

source site - Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Experience: Mind-Shattering Novels of Philip K. Dick

As we look forward to another new year, it is a good time to reflect on some of the many people who wrote about the future. Philip K. Dick was one of them:

Philip K. Dick was abducted by... his own mind, and wrote about it for as long as SF industry would publish it. Which is extremely lucky for millions of his fans, me included.

Unless you are a particle physicist (for whom nothing is as it seems anyway), you're not likely to meet as many convoluted and unpredictable ideas and storylines as in Philip K. Dick's science fiction (the requirement, of course, is that it all still has to make coherent sense, otherwise we could just switch on Douglas Adams' Improbability Drive and publish the outcome).

PKD was a one-man factory of apocalyptic "What-ifs?", staggering in their scope and suggested outcomes. His stories are often dark in tone, but intensely satisfying: crammed with concepts and ideas, tightly written and pretty much unforgettable.

source site - Scientists plan to ignite tiny man-made star - Telegraph

While it has seemed an impossible goal for nearly 100 years, scientists now believe that they are on brink of cracking one of the biggest problems in physics by harnessing the power of nuclear fusion, the reaction that burns at the heart of the sun.

source site - John Hodgman's brief digression | Video on TED.com

Humorist John Hodgman rambles through a new story about aliens, physics, time, space and the way all of these somehow contribute to a sweet, perfect memory of falling in love.

John Hodgman ("I am a PC") gives his humourous take on whether we are really alone... aliens are not real. are they?? For all the seriousness that is in this world, this is a bit of a light relief.