Category: philosophy

Universe

Something about building a universe always get me excited. There are worlds to explore, creatures to flesh out, and new things to learn.

I happen to be fairly attached to the creatures. So many things out there use humans, giving them reasonable explanations of why they are so far from home or just letting them explore on their own.

Humans are easy. We understand them so well. Then we change them slightly for this or that – we add magic or abilities or knowledge. Sometimes we approach the beast inside, and sometimes we humanize the creatures.

The question I’m considering lately:
How do you make someone sympathize what’s inherently unhuman to make a worthy protagonist without making them human?

I’m just sure there has to be a way.

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

Geek Appeal

Even though it’s no longer considered a planet, Pluto still captures my imagination.

You wouldn’t think so, perhaps, because I hate the cold. It’s estimated Pluto’s surface is -220 degrees Celsius. (Only 53 degrees colder and all movement stops – the literal ‘frozen solid.’)Yet scientists wonder why it’s so warm. Warm? Really? I don’t think it’s a joke. The methane in the atmosphere apparently makes it ‘warm.’

I’m fascinated that the atmosphere freezes when it’s farther out and becomes gaseous again when it returns to the sun. Now that’s harsh conditions and makes my mind wander in so many directions. I wouldn’t live long enough to see a full cycle if I lived there, though. Pluto’s orbit takes 248 years.

Read more about it here.

Another cool thing about Pluto is sometimes it’s closer to us than Neptune. I’ll just have to keep tabs on it when the news comes in. It must be able to turn enough corners in my mind to make a story out of there somewhere. Though, what creature in my mind breathes methane, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen… Oh, wait, I have one!

My critters are awesome! One day I’ll share them with the rest of the world, hopefully in novel form.

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

The Half Life of Knowledge

Each of us learns so many things through our lives, between school and work and hobbies and just soaking things in through contact with others.

As time goes by, we forget some of it. It’s estimated the half-life of knowledge is four years, which means every four years that passes you remember about half what you did before. So if someone took a class about radioactive isotopes and never used that knowledge, in four years about half of what was learned would be remembered – in eight years about a quarter – and in twelve ears about one eighth. Interesting how things decay, right?

We played Trivial Pursuit tonight, and my husband the history and random knowledge buff carried my team. How he randomly remembers about the 7000 year old trees in Australia is beyond me, though some of the presidential and war knowledge comes from History Channel and documentaries.

Some things researched are quickly forgotten, making me wonder if the knowledge ever soaked in at all. Some classes had the feel that if you crammed for the final and got through it, you could promptly forget everything about it. Others randomly stick with you and little snippets pop up when you least expect it.

The other thing I learned is when you randomly remove one letter from words playing a game similar to Balderdash you really screw up the med student who actually knows the terms. Highly entertaining… for the rest of us!

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Research

Got sidetracked on research. It’s a wonderful thing, but it can take up a lot of time. I think I got carried away on this one.

It started with a short story I wrote about an intelligent species who flies- and is nearly human sized. A friend and I began debating whether or not it could really happen – well, not in our world – but using the physical laws of our world.

Mostly, we’ve been looking into wingspan versus overall weight. I think I might have gone too far, but there is so much uncertainty, that I justified it that way. Now I’m going to have to look at it and see if I can make a better focus of it.

My engineering background both aids and detracts from my fictional abilities in that every now and again I just try to follow the natural laws of our world. Ah well, I can’t complain.

Posted on by ransomnoble 1

Graduate School

I heard today, a little earlier than usual. I didn’t get in.That puts me in with the 817 people who are getting rejected, rather than the 25 who get in to the world-renowned program. I can live with that…

This means I don’t have to worry about how to juggle school with a husband who lives in another town and a baby. I will be able to focus on the family and start the next novel when I get finished rewriting the one I’m working on.

Speaking of rewriting, I finally got a good idea of where i want to go on that last YA novel, so focusing on that one is good. I probably rushed it – it takes me time to get enough distance to really know what I want to say and how I want to say it.

If I ever apply again, I’ll take all the things I learned this time and make a better application. Might even get in. I must remember it isn’t a commentary that I’m a bad writer – I’m just not ready at this point for the program. It’s not a commentary about publishability, either. (Is that even a word?)

On to the next challenge.

Posted on by ransomnoble 3

Intimidation by Math

From my background in engineering, a certain level of math was required. I did very well in calculus, especially. Many of my classmates joked that once we finished calculus we lost the ability to count. It’s more likely that we had little practice counting when we were busy integrating the volume of a mug or other random object.

I find it interesting that so many people in our society are math-phobic. They refuse to see where they use math, ask questions like ‘what good is algebra in everyday life,’ and shy away from anything as complicated as long division. I also find it sad, though.

Math is like another language. Music is similar in that way. Some people understand it, and others don’t. The difference between speaking Math and speaking French – to someone who doesn’t know either – is one seems ‘geeky’ and the other seems ‘educated’. By the word ‘seems’ I mean that people view the person in a way, not that they actually are.

Some days I want to write a book to explain why math is beautiful, how it changed our society, and what wonderful things we can do because of it. I also want people to remember how they use it even when they think they’re not.

Common card and board games? Cooking from recipes? Paying bills? Maybe paying bills isn’t fun, but we’re required to do it, and all these things and more need math.

The question that’s really on my mind is: where did the fear of math come from and why is that fear embraced by so many?

Posted on by ransomnoble 3

Thinking about the Future

In more ways than one…

The anthology theme that just began is “Destination: Future” which sounds like a lot of fun. I’m definitely letting that one rumble in my head for awhile. Let’s hope something cool pops out of that!

The other reason I’m thinking about the future is my writing meeting did an exercise on how we wanted to be introduced. There weren’t very many of us, so we went around the room (with microphone in hand) to give a short introduction that we wrote ourselves, but someone else read and sometimes ad-libbed.

Then we handed in the papers with dates for a goals list. Mine might be more realistic than some, but I didn’t hand that in. I made a different goals sheet with about a year’s worth of goals. More than likely I won’t complete all of them, but they are goals I am consistently working toward. I track my progress and keep them defined in terms that are quantifiable and meaningful.

It makes me really want to buckle down and do things to see them printed out in front of me, but these things take time. Somehow, everything takes time!

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

The Love of Paper

I don’t know if all writers feel the same way I do about paper, but I just love the stuff. If I’m not careful, I pick up all kinds of stationery and writing utensils every chance I get.

One of the purchases is legitimate; I had a baby shower and needed thank-you notes. But, I didn’t need the cheap little notebooks for a dollar. I have a bunch of pens unopened in the drawer of my desk, too.

I never travel anywhere without paper and something to write with. Just in case I get a cool idea, I have to be able to write it down. And, in case I’m driving, I also have a digital recorder.

You’d think I could manage with just the recorder, but somehow I don’t seem to be able to let go of the paper.

I think I’ll need paper-lovers anonymous, but is it really so bad?

Posted on by ransomnoble 1

A Word on People

Do you wonder how the expectation of the words we use as writers?

Take people, for instance. Normally it means humans, but is that only because we haven’t met other species yet? Sometimes I find I need new words, or at least new connotations, in my science fiction.

We have limitations in our language because of our experiences. Other species, other creatures, other intelligences inhabit the imagination, but until they’re actually found, or someone writes a convincing story from another point of view, we lack words to describe some things. Making do seems the only good course.

Heinlein created a word in his book, Stranger in a Strange Land. I can’t say everyone knows it today, the word ‘grok‘ that the Martians had, but it is in the dictionary as the link shows. That’s a sign of success, influencing enough of the population to change language in that way.

To think, most people measure success by dollar signs.

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

Translation to the Page

It’s always something about real life that doesn’t translate well to the page. Ever tried translating an actual conversation word for word? How about giving someone a blow-by-blow of something that happened?

Readers don’t want all the details. There is a point where you have to speed things up to make it – or keep it – interesting.

On the phone with someone you know, you ask about others to be polite or because you’re interested. In a story, your reader is going to wonder what the heck is up with Aunt Edna. If it doesn’t advance the plot, it shouldn’t be included.

Sometimes writers get so caught up in the characters, we see the whole thing about Aunt Edna, but we forget that it isn’t part of the story where Judy meets Robert and they save a dragon from the hunters.

I’m sure it’d be different if we needed Aunt Edna starting in Chapter 7 with a hideout or some other plot device. Always a good thing to check for during a rewrite to see if some of those things run away with you. They always seem to run away with me in the first draft(s).

Posted on by ransomnoble 2