Alex R. Howe
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My blog of science, science fiction, and more.
The header image is a planetscape based on my short story, “The Lacertan Incident” Search Blog
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Author Archives: Alex R. Howe
New Video: The Recamán Sequence
The Recamán sequence, or more properly Recamán’s sequence, is one of the more unusual sequences to make the rounds in the internet math community. The way it works is that the first term in the sequence is 1. Then, for … Continue reading
#20 – Philip K. Dick
Despite is often inconsistent writing, Philip K. Dick is notable for having more film adaptations of his novels and short stories than almost every other sci-fi author, making him one of the most important writers of the New Wave. Here, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Happy Science Fiction Day!
Today, January 2, is the observed birthday* of Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific science fiction (and science fact) authors of the twentieth century. In Asimov’s honor, January 2 is celebrated each year as National Science Fiction Day. (Which … Continue reading
Posted in Current events
Tagged Isaac Asimov, National Science Fiction Day, Science Fiction Day
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What Is the Equation for the Strong Nuclear Force?
Previously, I described how the weak nuclear force really is a force even though it’s almost never described as one. Instead of a simple inverse square law like gravity and electromagnetism, it decays exponentially so that it weakens over a … Continue reading
How Is the Weak Nuclear Force an Actual Force?
It’s time for another physics explainer. In an earlier post, I explained Lagrangian mechanics and why it uses the weird (to physicists) equation L=T-V. I thought I might do some more posts like that, and I found a topic that … Continue reading
Flat Earth Challenge Follow-Up: Refraction
One year ago today, I posted a Challenge to Flat Earthers on this blog. I proposed an experiment that could photograph the curvature of the Earth directly without having to worry about camera distortions, which is what Flat Earthers usually … Continue reading
#19 – The New Wave
In the 1960s, science fiction went through a major change as the New Wave moved it away from the hard sci-fi of the 50s into a softer, but more socially conscious space. In this episode, we overview the new ideas, … Continue reading
New Video: Multiplication Tables Visualized
Actually, I posted this video a couple weeks ago, but between my podcast and professional stuff, I haven’t gotten around to reposting it here. I’m trying to catch up on actual blog posts I have planned, so I thought I … Continue reading
Posted in math, Video
Tagged Mandelbrot Set, Math Animation, Mathologer, Multiplication Tables
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#18 – Movies in the Golden Age
Like books, movies and television also went through a golden age in science fiction in the 1950s. In this episode we explore the trends in the visual medium at the time and how they compared to print. Movie recommendation: The … Continue reading
Book Review: Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
In 2011, Ernest Cline wrote the bestselling book Ready Player One about a boy competing in a high stakes video game contest in the future virtual reality world of the OASIS. In 2045, the OASIS basically is the internet and … Continue reading
Posted in Book reviews
Tagged Ernest Cline, Ready Player One, Ready Player Two
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