Science writing wasn’t really an early focus in my career for two reasons. First, it’s a small, specialised field and I frankly didn’t have the experience or knowledge. Second, I’d considered myself a computer, phone and application guy since first becoming a freelance writer.
I reviewed the latest mobiles and software. I was fully acquainted with the whole Mac versus PC thing at its height. I gave ratings out of five, knew all the products RRPs and my system was littered with product shots from PR agencies working for the IBMs, Lenovos and Samsungs of the world.
Today my interest is where tech fits into our lives. Sometimes it’s AI agents that appear all but human, sometimes it’s an emerging field like the new Internet of Things paradigm of short lived, disposable sensors.
But my knowledge of science evolved and grew and I’ve been thrilled to join the ranks I’d always admired and envied and write about scientific topics from the whimsical, like when Skylab returned to Earth in remote Western Australia, to the socially urgent, like the way the human brain reacts to sexual assault.
The last boundary of data collection is from non-silicon-based systems like clothes, food, the environment or even our own bodies. Welcome to the Internet of Disposable Things (IoDT), where temporary or ultra-cheap sensors are embedded or affixed to any number of inexpensive media that aren’t computer-based. … Continue readingThe Internet of (Temporary) Things
Two characters in a sci-fi movie are arguing in hushed tones over a computer screen showing data about the invading alien force, the fleet of next-gen fighter planes in the
Continue readingThe Face of Computing; How Digital User Interfaces in Fiction Come Together
Aftermarket motorcycle parts are big business. Aftermarket Harley-Davidson parts comprise a smaller, yet still vibrant affair. Aftermarket parts for dedicated Harley owners who want to restyle their rides to look
Continue readingThese Custom Harley Parts Are Born to Ride With Generative Design
The idea that sleep has a reparative effect on the brain is longstanding. Even outside neurology, such a claim seems obvious to anyone who’s ever experienced the bone-deep fatigue of
Continue readingMemories in the Night: How Your Brain Comes Alive While You Sleep
Major breakthroughs in building methods don’t come around very often. Some world-changing examples include the Great Pyramids of Giza, France’s Pont Du Gard aqueduct, Le Corbusier’s floating-slab design, and the
Continue readingConcrete Forms Get Stronger, Lighter, and More Sustainable With Generative Design
She’s your favorite actress. You’ve been following her career since she was in her early teens. You know her face with as much familiarity as family members. You can see
Continue readingWhat “Tip of the Tongue” Tells Us About How Memory Works
Automated manufacturing: It’s a term that conjures gigantic factories churning out thousands of identical products, often owned by multinational conglomerates for whom agility is a major (and expensive) undertaking. But
Continue readingDistributed Manufacturing Gives Small Businesses a Shot at the Big Time
Supporting the world’s farmers in meaningful ways would make a big difference to the income and lives of people in developing economies. It would lead to less dependence on imports
Continue readingThis Firm Ditched Shrink-Wrap to Aid Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Myanmar
The promise of metal additive manufacturing hasn’t quite matched its initial hype. Costs are still high, and the tech remains best suited to fabricating low-volume, high-complexity parts. In short, it
Continue readingManufacturing “Living Metals” With Cold-Spray Technology Is Rocket Science
Since pre Nazi-era Germany, rocketry and space programs have undergone constant incremental shifts with the odd seismic change, and if SpaceX has anything to do with it, we might be in the midst of one of the biggest with the Raptor. … Continue readingActually, It Is Rocket Science
