Category: Arts & Culture | Page 21

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Robert J. Marks
Date
August 30, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

Tagged
Featured}

It’s AI Art — But Is That Really Art?

_{Much depends on the claque that agrees that it IS art} _{Robert J. Marks
August 30, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity}

There are reports that AI has created wonderful music and great paintings. But who judges whether a creation is or isn’t art? 19th century writer Margaret Wolfe Hungerford claimed that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”1 So any analysis of AI art or music will be subjective. One person’s modern art masterpiece can be viewed by others as like a child’s finger painting. The same is true for music. The delightful chaos of Charles Ives music is interpreted by some as noise. The value of all art can cannot be quantized but, indeed, “is in the eye of the beholder.” The degree to which art is held in high regard can be emotionally manipulated. A great example is Read More ›

Picture of a young man having an asthma attack

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News
Date
August 29, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Medicine and Health, Science}

How Much Can Will Power Do Against Nature? – Sci-fi Saturday

_{Despite his career-ending disability, Aaron — as an alternative to accepting life as a bystander — is trying to use his skills to take down a gunrunning gang} _{News
August 29, 2021

18

Arts & Culture, Medicine and Health, Science}

“Outcast” (2020) at DUST by Royce Adkins (August 16, 2021, 12:29 min) A former super soldier with chronic asthma fights to prove his worth. Review: The film opens with a gritty scene in a hospital where a veteran medic (Rod Emelle) tells a veteran soldier (Aaron) that if he doesn’t start using his asthma meds right, they will kill him quicker than his respiratory problems. Not too many spoilers, one hopes, but despite his career-ending disability, Aaron — as an alternative to accepting life as a bystander — is trying to use his skills to take down a gunrunning gang. His friend Imara (Gail Bean) is wants to dissuade him from the role of lone wolf lawman. As the story Read More ›

Green sprouts on blurred city background, environmental concept

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News
Date
August 28, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Environment, Information Theory, Science

Tagged
Dystopia, Science fiction}

It’s 2075! Our Motto: “Ignorance is Bliss” — Sci-fi Saturday

_{This animated short asks us to consider a future world in which information is reduced to a sort of haze} _{News
August 28, 2021

18

Arts & Culture, Environment, Information Theory, Science}

“Kernel” at DUST by Olly Skillman-Wilson (August 25, 2021, 5:12 min, animated) The world has become a place where information is tightly filtered and controlled, expelled into the air like a thick smog. Leonard Paisley is an ageing neurobotanist, his life work to preserve the knowledge of the past in his biome. When some equipment malfunctions his commitment is tested. Review: It’s 2075 AD and freedom of the press is not even remembered. Against a background of futuristic skyscrapers, a billboard advises us, “Not Knowing Is a Virtue.” Another that “Ignorance Is Bliss.” And “‘Tis Folly To Be Wise” Well, at least they are not telling us to Love Big Brother Or Else. Except for the fact that the landscape Read More ›

Time is running out concept shows clock that is dissolving away into little particles. Black and white wall clock

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News
Date
August 28, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science

Tagged
5-minutes, Sci-Fi Saturday, Science fiction}

A Cruel Experiment Plays With Three Lives: Sci-fi Saturday

_{Rational thought offers no contest, in this minimalist film, to the will to survive or at least get revenge in death} _{News
August 28, 2021

17

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science}

“2-Bullet Solution” at DUST by Matt Mullins and Chris Naylor (July 26, 2021, 3:32 min) 3 Test Subjects, 2 Bullets, 1 Solution Review: It’s a philosophical dilemma of sorts. Three people, two men and a woman, are experimentally trapped in a chamber slowly filling with a fatal gas. They have two minutes, three guns and two bullets. The survivor will be released. This cast list (presumably in order of appearance) gives a sense of utter minimalism, in that they don’t really have names: Stretch – Caitlin HutsonBeard – Andrew DiBartolomeoEdge – Kosey BaskinVoice – Christina RoseHandler – Matt Baxter Discouragingly, no one discusses options like using the bullets to break a lock. The fight scene (over the bullets) seems unrealistic; Read More ›

Smart car (HUD) , Autonomous self-driving mode vehicle on metro city road iot concept with graphic sensor radar signal system and internet sensor connect.

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News
Date
August 21, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Autonomous Vehicles, Science fiction}

Machine World at Its Most Nihilist — Sci-fi Saturday

_{This very short animated cyberpunk thriller portrays a world of autonomous vehicles where faces are very rare} _{News
August 21, 2021

17

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Autonomous” (2020) uploaded at DUST by Joe Sill (June 24, 2021, 4:38 min) Animated. An animated cyberpunk thriller centered around a motorcycle gang of traffickers in a world of autonomous vehicles.Yuri and her brother Nyx face off against the Metro Task Force as they transport an important package to a client. Review: This animated (very) shortfilm sketches drug dealing in Detroit in a world of autonomous vehicles. It’s a mad rush on motorcycles to a pier amid sealed robocars, pursued by cops who are not clearly human. It’s certainly a scary and inhuman world. The story ends, as so many real-life ones do, with a tragic waste of life. But there seems no point to it really. “Autonomous” seems to Read More ›

Crashed Satellite Flying Toward The Earth

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News
Date
August 21, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Science fiction}

A Space Mission to Infinity — Sci-fi Saturday

_{After the space station module crash, the astronaut finds himself befriended by a friendly but mysterious neighbor. Who is he really?} _{News
August 21, 2021

17

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Flotando” (2018), uploaded at DUST by director Frankie De Leonardis (August 20, 2021, 7:55): A Russian astronaut awakes on a space station module after a crash. Space debris has left the module severely damaged and isolated. As the astronaut tries to reconnect to the base strange noises turn his attention to the outside. The knocks become closer until a strange character emerges. He’s come to welcome the astronaut. Puzzled, scared, and believing everything to be a hallucination the astronaut tries to focus on his communication efforts, but the character decides to open the hatch and let himself in. The story is about realizing and accepting with a sci-fi tone and a surreal twist. Review: The film is a touch surreal. Read More ›

Eextraterrestrial aliens spaceship fly above surreal terrain

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News
Date
August 21, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Science fiction}

Data Analyst Offers 15 Reasons Extraterrestrials Aren’t Seen

_{He estimates that there should be 100,000 civilizations in our galaxy} _{News
August 21, 2021

7

Arts & Culture, Science}

Data analyst Yung Lin Ma offers fifteen reasons, including some new to us. He begins by observing, There are about 1 billion stars that can produce an environment similar to the Earth. The environment of the earth does not necessarily have life, and this ratio is lower than 1 in 10,000. The reasoning is that at least in our galaxy, there should be 100,000 civilizations. Then why haven’t we seen even any single one civilization? Yung Lin Ma, “15 Reasons Why We Can’t See Aliens” at Medium (July 14, 2020) So, it’s an active question. Of his fifteen reasons, here are three: 3. Extraterrestrial life does exist, and has visited the earth. It was just a long time ago. Later, Read More ›

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News
Date
August 14, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science}

If Roaches Formed a Miniature Civilization… Sci-fi Saturday

_{The roaches have built a rocket, intending to go to the moon, and their activity wakes up a dormant human} _{News
August 14, 2021

17

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Rocket Roaches” (2019) at DUST by Mick Mahler (August 13, 2021, 9:44 min) When the diligent cockroaches build a rocket to fly to the moon, they accidentally wake up one of the last humans from his virtual dreams. Review: The roaches, who have an advanced miniature civilization, are, of course, animated. They play their parts alongside the human character (Cedric Sprick) whom they have awakened. He is fascinated by their behavior, which is very like that of humans. Then he looks around at all the living but motionless humans totally absorbed in virtual reality while the cockroaches have built a rocket and are trying to get to the moon. If humans have abandoned the job of being the smartest life Read More ›

Asteroid Meteor Rock Flying Toward Planet EarthRealitic Cinematic vision of earth and large meteor Asteroid Comet- Outer space view

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News
Date
August 14, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Bennu (asteroid)}

Asteroid Bennu’s Chances of Hitting Earth Slightly Increased

_{New calculations based on data from asteroid probe Osiris Rex refine the data and raise the chances by a slight amount — enough for good science fiction} _{News
August 14, 2021

3

Arts & Culture, Science}

For those who enjoy worry: Due to improved measuring technology, researchers are reporting a slightly increased chance of asteroid Bennu hitting Earth in the by 2300: Specifically, there is one chance in 2700 of Bennu hitting us on September 24, 2182 (0.037%): Along with an asteroid called 1950 DA, Bennu ranks as the most hazardous known asteroid in the Solar System. Its orbital trajectory and period of around 1.2 years means that there are multiple close approaches to Earth in the coming centuries that are near enough for a possible impact. Michelle Starr, “This Giant, Hazardous Asteroid Almost Certainly Won’t Hit Us, Probably, NASA Says” at ScienceAlert (August 12, 2021) Here’s a tour of our possible dreaded visitor courtesy asteroid Read More ›

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News
Date
August 14, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Chukwudi Iwuji, Death, Extent (film), immortality, Kaitlyn Raymond, Marcus Henderson, Science fiction}

Android Asks, Is Immortality Truly a Benefit? — Sci-fi Saturday

_{He argues that he can never appreciate life if he knows he can never die} _{News
August 14, 2021

17

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Extent” (2018) at DUST by Paul Michael Draper (August 9, 2021, 12:43 min) Time stands still as two old friends attempt to grapple with a question that defines their very existence. If you could live forever, would you? Review: Edward, the greatest inventor has invented many things, including his friend Alexander. But he comes to think everything is futile because he faces oblivion at death. Meanwhile, android Alexander wants Edward to enable him to “cherish moments” and to be able to long for a “tomorrow that may never come” — which, in the context, means he wants mortality. Alexander reflects, “I think about what my forever may be, It haunts me” and later “Pleasure and pain are no longer relevant Read More ›

Close up portrait of nuclear post-apocalypse survivor, living underground mutant or creature, skilled stalker wearing rags and armored full-face gas mask or air breathing apparatus, toned shoot

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News
Date
August 14, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Science fiction}

Merv Is the Last Man in a Ruined World — Sci-fi Saturday

_{He’s been alone so long that the thought of another human being panics him} _{News
August 14, 2021

16

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Merv” (2013) by Steven Woller and Matt Inns (August 11, 2021 at DUST, 13:05 min) After the end of the world, Merv’s life in the lonely wastes is comfortably boring until an unexpected signal heralds the coming of a stranger. Review: This New Zealand-based film company provides a haunting evocation of a totally ruined urban landscape — just an enormous pile of rubble peopled by a surviving hermit. When he catches sight of another human, he pelts like mad for his underground den. Then, arming himself, sets out to confront the stranger. Steven Woller, also one of the producers, does a good job as Merv, who has been alone so long that it seems like the only natural state for Read More ›

cute model of the Earth, Sun and Moon with googly eyes on the chalkboard, a donut, a globe and a cookie on the chalkboard

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News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Religion

Tagged
Science fiction}

When God Gets Distracted — Sci-fi Saturday

_{A clever animated short offers a take on why there is so much violence and chaos in the world} _{News
August 6, 2021

16

Arts & Culture, Religion}

“Tales from the Multiverse” uploaded at DUST by director Magnus Igland Møller (August 6, 2021, 6:36 min, animated) “God is a single parent and amateur programmer. He’s working on project ‘Earth’ but never seems to get a break from the kids. One day though, he finally gets a breakthrough.” Review: This film debuted in 2020 (IMDB). It’s a clever riff on why we live in a crazy world. God can’t really concentrate on the computer program he is using to simulate (create Earth) because he is breaking up fights between his kids. He tries out Adam and Eve, a round Earth and a flat Earth, and dinosaurs living alongside Stone Age people. But his absence, even when he seems to Read More ›

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News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Arik Kershenbaum, Carcinization, Convergent evolution}

If We Find Life on Exoplanets, Some of It Might Be “Crabs”

_{Over millions of years, many crustaceans gradually grew to look more and more like crabs, a process called convergent evolution} _{News
August 6, 2021

4

Arts & Culture, Science}

The earliest crablike creatures are thought to date from about 365 million years ago (the Late Devonian period). But the odd thing is that many creatures that did not start out looking like crabs have, over tens of millions of years, grown to look like them. A good many lobster-like decapods (= they have ten feet) began to look like crabs (carcinization). Possible causes include greater mobility (some crabs can climb trees), easier hiding in narrow spaces, and less temptation for predators (no juicy tail). Biologists call this process convergent evolution — life forms converge on the same solutions to their problems even if they are not closely related. So we might ask, if we find life on other planets, Read More ›

the giant robot launching rocket punch destroy the city,illustration painting

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News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Science fiction}

Real vs. Digital Humans Locked in All-Out War — Sci-fi Saturday

_{The reals are attacking the digitals and the digitals invade Toronto in the 24th century in an attempt to power them down} _{News
August 6, 2021

17

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind}

“E-X-T” by director Adrian Bobb (Uploaded at DUST August 2, 2021, 7:38 min) “200 years after humanity has abandoned the real world for a digital one, the system’s most talented security agent is forced out of retirement to recruit and lead a team of talented warriors to eliminate a threat from a world no one has seen for centuries. The real world.” Further: “In the snow-covered ruins of 24th century Toronto, AEGIS, a humanoid war machine, leads a team of five similar yet unique machines into the EXT, the new real-world to retake an enemy-occupied server installation vital to the survival of their digital homeland. During an attempt to ambush a large pack of enemy-controlled war-drones, AEGIS recalls an interrogation Read More ›

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News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Dan Robitzski, Photonics}

Quantum Physicist: Aliens May Communicate by Starlight

_{Terry Rudolph of Imperial College, London, argues that they may have evolved so as to take advantage of quantum mechanics via photonics more easily than we can} _{News
August 6, 2021

6

Arts & Culture, Science}

Terry Rudolph of Imperial College in London argues in a recent preprint paper that technologically advanced extraterrestrials might manipulate the light from stars to send messages over great distances“ — almost like a series of interstellar smoke signals,” as science writer Dan Robitzski puts it: The physics of the ordeal get a bit dense — which is probably reasonable if aliens are rapidly communicating across star systems — but the basic idea is to use entangled photons from different stars to transmit messages that appear to be random twinkling to any nosy onlookers. Dan Robitzski, “Scientist claims that aliens may be communicating via starlight” at Futurism That’s a reason, it is suggested, why we might not “see” extraterrestrials. Rudolph’s open-access Read More ›

Close up of vinyl record on stack of records collection

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Andrew McDiarmid
Date
August 3, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Epoch Times, Wall Street Journal}

Strong Vinyl Record Sales Show Why Going Retro Helps You Stay Rooted

_{In a digital age, why bother buying vinyl records, print newspapers, or a spinning top?} _{Andrew McDiarmid
August 3, 2021

4

Arts & Culture}

Originally published at Newsmax. Vinyl is very much back in vogue these days. At the height of COVID-19 last year, vinyl sales exceeded CD sales for the first time since the 1980s. And this year, the first Record Store Day of 2021 saw over 1.5 million vinyl albums sold in a week, with more sales being tallied up after the second Record Store Day drop on July 17th. While around 85% of music industry revenues now come from streaming sources, this slow and steady increased interest in vinyl is notable. While several factors affect music consumption trends, vinyl endures for two main reasons. First, the music sounds better on vinyl, and second, it’s a physical product that can be handled. The reward Read More ›

shamanic girl with frame drum on abstract structured space background.

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News
Date
August 2, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Military, Religion

Tagged
Science fiction (and Cancel Culture)}

A Glimpse of Sci-Fi in a World of Panpsychism — Sci-fi Saturday

_{Shamanism isn’t science, of course, but it makes more fictional sense in a sci-fi world where everything has a soul than one where nothing does} _{News
August 2, 2021

17

Arts & Culture, Military, Religion}

“The Shaman” at DUST (July 30, 2021) by Marco Kalantari (2015 at IMDB, 16:16) The dark year 2204, in a world that has seen 73 years of continuous war. Recently mankind re-discovered the arts of Shamanism. The Shaman’s school of thought believes that every person or object has a soul. During battle Shamans step over into the Netherworld to find and convert the souls of their enemies’ giant battle machines. This tactic enables a single man to overcome an invincibly seeming steel monster. This is the story of Joshua, a Shaman, who is sent on a mission to convert the soul of a giant battle colossus. He does not yet know that the soul is prepared for his coming and Read More ›

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News
Date
July 31, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

When Emergency Services Are Run by AI … — Sci-fi Saturday

_{It’s not just that AI doesn’t care; it can’t. And that shows} _{News
July 31, 2021

16

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

“Stuck” (2020) by Pablo Andrés Tobón Gallo (at Dust July 28, 2021,14:38 min) Many light-years away from Earth, Eve, a mine colony operator, awakes to find herself trapped underground after an explosion went off at the surface. Fear increasing as she feels the walls closing around her, one of her hands trapped, an oxygen leak in her suit and unable to use her thrusters, Eve has to find a way out. Fast. Review: Harrowing. The horrifying thing about the story is that these kinds of accidents happen in Earth’s mines and similar high-risk situations in real life. Ana Isabel Castillo Betancur turns in a good performance as Eve, who has no idea how incompetent management response can be, especially when Read More ›

Time and space travel concept abstract background

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News
Date
July 24, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
metaphysics}

What If Only Part of You Could Be Teleported? — Sci-Fi Saturday

_{A rooftop smoke break reveals a dreadful secret} _{News
July 24, 2021

16

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Liminal” at DUST by Collin Davis and Matt Litwiller (July 19, 2021, 6:47 min) From the producers: “Liminal explores big ideas in contained spaces: a character piece with a sci-fi backdrop. Gwen, the lead scientist on a secret experiment to teleport humans, encounters a co-worker on a smoke break. As she grapples with the implications of recent discoveries it’s clear that a dire mistake has been made. Her test subject has lost something along the way. ” Review: “We sent a man to Europa and brought him back in two-thirds of a second … the solar system just got smaller.” This short film benefits from good performances by Anna Campbell (Gwen) and Max Lesser ( Tim), lending authenticity to a Read More ›

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News
Date
July 24, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Environment, Science}

Would You Become an Animal to Save a Species? — Sci-fi Saturday

_{The animation is good and the question raised is interesting} _{News
July 24, 2021

15

Arts & Culture, Environment, Science}

“Floreana” at DUST by Louis Morton (Jul 23, 2021), 4:13 min, originally at IMDB 2019 “On a remote island in the future, people are training for an important mission. Take a look at the mechanics of this training facility and the creatures within.” Review: Floreana is an animated film which offers a genuine surprise in terms of how humans in the future might propose to deal with the issue of endangered wildlife. It’s a bit unrealistic (how many people would really go along with living inside animals?) but worth thinking about. Just the right length to get across the basic idea. Films reviewed are sorted roughly by length so you can choose films based on how much time you have. Read More ›