Comments on: Baycon Post III: The Search for Sleep http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:55:18 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Tales of DragonCon: Soupbone and me | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-115698 Tales of DragonCon: Soupbone and me | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:59:05 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-115698 [...] until months later I realized the chance I missed by not hanging with him (I just reread my post about this from back then, and it’s pretty funny in [...] [...] until months later I realized the chance I missed by not hanging with him (I just reread my post about this from back then, and it’s pretty funny in [...]

]]> By: Crazy Bob-Astronomy To Go http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-15440 Crazy Bob-Astronomy To Go Thu, 22 Jun 2006 13:50:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-15440 Jess, Sorry to shatter your illusions, but most days, I don't recognize us as an intelligent species! Jess,

Sorry to shatter your illusions, but most days, I don’t recognize us as an intelligent species!

]]> By: jess tauber http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-15439 jess tauber Mon, 29 May 2006 23:38:45 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-15439 As a big Niven fan myself, I'm sooooo totally jealous- hey how come Ringworld never gets to the big screen?? Guess the studio heads have something in common with Puppeteer Hindmosts? But Tom Cruise would make a wonderful Protector- he won't even have to act! As for if we ever meet real aliens- communication should be very very interesting. SF treatment of linguistics tends to be rudimentary and out-dated, but interestingly there are maybe a dozen actual doctoral theses by linguists and anthropologists devoted to the subject. Just don't expect their findings to be incorporated into books and screenplays anytime soon. Some points- we're still arguing about basic parameters within human languages, their uses, their origins, their ontogenies. All the stuff of careers. And we have no idea how it all started- research into animal communicative ethology is still slow and underpopulated researcher-wise. What was the transition like- was is sudden (Chomsky), or gradual- was it an add-on, or a transformation of the pre-existing system. How much variation is possible? What won't go? How much is learned, how much genetically bootstrapped? And for aliens- how much of language is dependent on our particular nature as upright jawed vertebrates with two sexes, etc.? Hollywood aliens always seem to be blobs, bugs, or some sort of vertebrate- even one of those recent supposedly scientifically-informed fake documentaries on the educational channels (about missions to other worlds with life) had vertebrates for crying out loud! Body plan variation- ever heard of it?? For some reason I cannot fathom (unless its to take advantage of our native reactions of fear to bugs, or ability to empathize to aliens with humanoid bodies with expressive faces) you never see some of the richer SF ideas in film. One day real aliens are going to eat us because they don't recognize us as an intelligent species. Jess Tauber As a big Niven fan myself, I’m sooooo totally jealous- hey how come Ringworld never gets to the big screen?? Guess the studio heads have something in common with Puppeteer Hindmosts? But Tom Cruise would make a wonderful Protector- he won’t even have to act!

As for if we ever meet real aliens- communication should be very very interesting. SF treatment of linguistics tends to be rudimentary and out-dated, but interestingly there are maybe a dozen actual doctoral theses by linguists and anthropologists devoted to the subject. Just don’t expect their findings to be incorporated into books and screenplays anytime soon.

Some points- we’re still arguing about basic parameters within human languages, their uses, their origins, their ontogenies. All the stuff of careers. And we have no idea how it all started- research into animal communicative ethology is still slow and underpopulated researcher-wise. What was the transition like- was is sudden (Chomsky), or gradual- was it an add-on, or a transformation of the pre-existing system. How much variation is possible? What won’t go? How much is learned, how much genetically bootstrapped? And for aliens- how much of language is dependent on our particular nature as upright jawed vertebrates with two sexes, etc.?

Hollywood aliens always seem to be blobs, bugs, or some sort of vertebrate- even one of those recent supposedly scientifically-informed fake documentaries on the educational channels (about missions to other worlds with life) had vertebrates for crying out loud! Body plan variation- ever heard of it??

For some reason I cannot fathom (unless its to take advantage of our native reactions of fear to bugs, or ability to empathize to aliens with humanoid bodies with expressive faces) you never see some of the richer SF ideas in film.

One day real aliens are going to eat us because they don’t recognize us as an intelligent species.

Jess Tauber

]]> By: The Bad Astronomer http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-15438 The Bad Astronomer Sun, 28 May 2006 16:42:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-15438 Yeah, it <i>was</i> Scott Sigler. Good call! Yeah, it was Scott Sigler. Good call!

]]> By: CountryBumkin http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-15437 CountryBumkin Sun, 28 May 2006 15:45:28 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-15437 I guess you must be talking about Scott Sigler. Books, even podnovels (podiobooks - whatever) are a personal taste. For me, all three of his podnovels (Earthcore, Ancestor and currently infection) have been superb listening. (Highly recommended.) I guess you must be talking about Scott Sigler. Books, even podnovels (podiobooks – whatever) are a personal taste. For me, all three of his podnovels (Earthcore, Ancestor and currently infection) have been superb listening. (Highly recommended.)

]]> By: Al http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-15434 Al Sun, 28 May 2006 10:01:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-15434 Hi Phil, Welcome to the concept of "Fannish Mean Time" ;-) Hi Phil,

Welcome to the concept of “Fannish Mean Time” ;-)

]]> By: Will. Mattsson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/comment-page-1/#comment-15435 Will. Mattsson Sun, 28 May 2006 05:06:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/27/baycon-post-iii-the-search-for-sleep/#comment-15435 Phil: O.K., so MacDonald's was the only choice (personally, I would have looked for a Chinese restaurant, but what the hey). Larry Niven! How cool is that! Please keep on doing the UNdemented fanzine-reader-admirer thing (I've projected a bit on this last sentiment (but good God, Larry Niven!?) Soak those feet... Bill M. Phil:
O.K., so MacDonald’s was the only choice (personally, I would have looked for a Chinese restaurant, but what the hey). Larry Niven! How cool is that! Please keep on doing the UNdemented fanzine-reader-admirer thing (I’ve projected a bit on this last sentiment (but good God, Larry Niven!?) Soak those feet…
Bill M.

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