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Damon Gambuto
Damon Gambuto is a writer, producer and (sometimes) director. He is committed to science, reason, and pizza.
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The Short Goodbye
by It seems like just yesterday I was making a science television show and writing a blog that would go the distance. Ah, my salad days, when I was green in judgment.
Mars Lander Awash in Data
I've throttled back on the Mars Lander news updates of late, but I can spare you my astrophilia no longer. The latest from the Red Planet is that Phoenix has dug its robotic hand into the dirt and come out with a fistful of chemical data that points toward - you guessed it - water. A lot of water.
Dwell Wrap Up
So I made my way to the Dwell On Design Exhibition this past weekend and snapped a few photos for those of you who missed it.
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Dwell On Design Winner
Today is exhibition day at the Dwell On Design Conference and a lucky Correlations reader is heading there with a couple of free tickets in his pocket.
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I Am Canadian (Physics)
Another day, another $50 million dollar donation from Canadian telecom billionaire/physics-benefactor Mike Lazaridis.
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Let's Dwell On Design
The Dwell On Design Conference begins tomorrow here in (not so) sunny Los Angeles and it looks to be a fantastic few days of talks, house tours, and exhibitions. Oh, and did I mention that I managed to get my hot little hands on a FREE PASS to the event for a lucky Correlations reader?
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Dancing About String Theory
The World Science Festival ended yesterday. Was it the beginning of a mainstream acceptance of science, or was it just dancing about physics?
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Science Matters
I awoke this morning to find my Sunday ritual of nursing my hangover with a cup of coffee while perusing The New York Times enlivened by a lovely Op-Ed about the role of science in society.
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The Cell Wars: Google's Android vs. Apple's iPhone
So I thought I'd take a break from my obsessing about robots on Mars and turn my attention to some earthbound expert systems. It's time for your faithful blogger to upgrade his cell phone. Enter technophilic obsessive compulsive disorder.
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Safe to Proceed
After some tense moments involving a sniff test that identified a "short circuit," the Phoenix mission passed the "safe to proceed" review.
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The Martians Are Coming
The internets are abuzz today with word that Denver resident Jeff Peckman has video 'evidence' of an intelligent alien life form. All is to be revealed tomorrow during a press conference, but in the meantime, I can't help wondering, do I really care?
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Phoenix's Photo Finish
The Phoenix Mars Lander has begun its tour of the Martian polar region and already we've seen some amazing photos of the planet's surface, but my favorite images (thus far) were snapped right before the lander touched down.
Big (Martian) Science Ahead
The Phoenix has landed! Congratulations to the team at JPL on the first powered landing in over 30 years. This plus the scientific surveying that lies ahead make yesterday's landing a remarkable achievement.
Seven Minutes of Terror
Today is the day the NASA/JPL Phoenix Mars Lander Mission culminates in a terrifying seven minute descent to the red planet. Hence the title of this blog entry. Before you get on my case for indulging my Hollywood roots using words like "terror," let me remind you that JPL coined the phrase and they've put together a short video about the mission that plays like a summer blockbuster movie trailer.
A Rocking Good Sunday
As temperatures reached triple digits here in Los Angeles, I retreated to a friend’s pool to cool my heels and other parts. The heat so drained me of motivation, it was all I could do to make dinner and mix my adult beverage. But hey, who does anything worthwhile on a steamy Sunday? Turns out, scientists, that’s who.
Do the Math
Fifty years after a landmark psychological study into the human propensity to rationalize cognitive inconsistencies, an economist has revealed that the measuring procedures used were flawed. I know you must be shocked that a social scientific study had some failings. No? Okay, me neither, but let’s take a look at what went wrong and why doing the math is so important.
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The Psychology of an April Fool
Today is the day to make people (temporarily) believe in something they shouldn’t. Okay, maybe that's better stated as: today is the day to remind people that they should know better. April Fool’s Day tests our skepticism, our self-perception, and (often) our patience. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Faith in Evolution?
'BC Tours' runs alternative tours of science museums and zoos for interested children and their parents. A private company involved in science education? Sounds so WIRED Science, right? Wrong. BC stands for "biblically correct" and their alternative is the denial of the evidence of evolution. Why should we care what some creationists have to say about science? A recent Gallup poll found that 66% of Americans believe Creationism is "probably or definitely true." Sweet cheeses! What century is this?
Science Fiction Friday: Harlan Ellison and the Lies That Are a Life
February found itself without a Science Fiction Friday interview, but – fear not – I’ve an entertaining behind-the-scenes SFF story for you in this March installment. The last time we checked in Paolo Bacigalupi was opining on a possible future shaped by environmental irresponsibility and regaling me with a story about being tracked down by Harlan Ellison. The thought of the former becoming my reality seemed credible. The thought of the latter happening to me seemed a flight of my imagination. A flight of my imagination, that was, until my imagination crashed into the reality of Harlan tracking me down.
Four Degrees of Separation
The British Antarctic Survey reported that a 220 square mile ice shelf in Antarctica is “hanging by a thread.” The cause? Global warming they say. Also, this big melt is happening much faster than scientists’ original predictions. Just how concerned should we be?
Attacking the Clones
Just when you thought the champion bulls that challenge the celebrated Spanish toreadors would only live on as namesakes for Italian sports cars, the biotech company ViaGen has stepped in to promise the “preserving and multiplying” of these superior genetic specimens for generations of bullfighters to come (and kill).
Sad News
Legendary science fiction author and luminary Sir Arthur C. Clarke has died at age 90. The impact his work had on me personally certainly affords the motivation to use the word 'hero' when describing him, but it's his impact on society broadly that demands the use of heroic modifiers when remembering the man.
Science and the Presidency
Tomorrow (March 4) is yet another super Tuesday in a line of Super Tuesdays. Why so super? Not just because it's my sister's birthday -- Happy Birthday Jacqui!), but also because people in Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island get to voice their opinions about who will get to spend millions of dollars to run fo the Presidency. Yay, America!
Junk Science
So when we left off in my last entry we were talking about shooting satellites out of orbit and the ulterior motives of our government. Oh, and we were trying to figure out what this all had to do with DIY month here on the WIRED Science website. I think I figured out the, umm, correlation.
Target Practice
So the other day the Pentagon made the decision to shoot down an ailing spy satellite. Why exactly would they go through all the trouble of firing a missile (that costs millions of dollars) at what amounted to a school bus-sized piece of space junk? And what does it have to do with DIY month? Answers and conspiracy theories abound after the jump.
Science Fiction Friday: Paolo Bacigalupi Part III
In this final installment of my conversation with Paolo Bacigalupi, I find out some of the methods and motivations behind the author's stories in his new book PUMP SIX. Whether it's over-consumptive Southern Californians sucking the Western water supply dry, or neo-feudalists bioengineering their impoverished subjects into living musical instruments like a next-generation "American Idol", Paolo manages to fashion truly terrifying and dystopic landscapes into strangely credible visions of our future.
Science Fiction Friday: Paolo Bacigalupi - Part II
In this, the second installment of my conversation with Paolo Bacigalupi, we turn to the substance of his stories and the origins of his various muses. Paolo discusses his environmentalist tendencies, why it's good to believe in the project of science fiction, and why it's not always so good to believe in our technology.
Science Fiction Friday: Paolo Bacigalupi
In the last episode of Science Fiction Friday I had a conversation with one of science fiction's elite in Greg Bear and learned how we might all die from bioterrorism. This time around I've turned to SF's new guard in Paolo Bacigalupi and received an education about how we might all die from environmental disaster.
Coming Attraction
In a world where people read science fiction... That's right, Science Fiction Friday is just two days away and I'm already getting all anxious about it. You too? I've got just the thing for that anxiety: a little preview of what SFF has on offer this week. Paolo Bacigalupi is a sharp and distinctive new voice in science fiction who has a lot to say about our world and where it might be headed.
The Political Climate
Last night CBS aired the news special "The Age of Warming." Scott Pelley, the "60 Minutes" correspondent did a very "60 Minutes"-like job reporting on the climate science. After the requisite standing at the feet of some receding glaciers, it was off to see some penguins so we could shudder at the thought that they might not have anywhere to march. While it was encouraging to see some mainstream media reportage on science, it wasn't until the investigation turned to the Bush administration's censorship of one of the world's leading climate scientists that I decided that the program warranted a mention here. The revelations are astounding.
Greg Bear Interview Part 3: Analogy Collisions
Science Fiction Friday has finally cooled its jet and settled into orbit around this holiday weekend. So comes to an end Mission: Ursa Major. In this third and final installment of my conversation with Greg Bear, we talk about: predicting the future, law enforcement as an immune response, and the kinds of complications - both real and fictional - science can create.
Greg Bear Interview Part 2: The Bullet You Don't Hear
Science Fiction Friday is so big this week that it can't be contained by just one day. As SFF expands beyond the day of Venus and into the weekend, Greg Bear opens up about his writing process, the longstanding tradition of science fiction writers consulting with the government, and how we better learn how to dodge the bullets we won't hear.
Science Fiction Friday: Greg Bear
Welcome to the very first installment of Science Fiction Friday! I am thrilled that we have one of the great SF writers of his generation, Greg Bear, for our conversation today. I've admired Greg's work for years and now, after having chatted with him, I can say that he's as interesting to talk to as he is to read.
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Science Fiction Friday Draws Nigh!
Hi everybody. I have a fun announcement. I am instituting a new, recurring feature on my blog. It's called Science Fiction Friday. On the third Friday of the month I will interview a different writer about his or her current work. The inaugural installment will be a chat with science fiction legend GREG BEAR!!! He's an author, illustrator, government advisor, and so much more. Dare I call him a polymath? I dare, I dare.
Free To Be M.I.T.
Want to learn about statistical methods in the brain sciences? How about brush up on your single variable calculus? Well, you can do all of this and more without ever getting out of your pajamas. Sound too good to be true? How about if I throw in a bunch of M.I.T. professors to teach it all to you. . . for free!?!
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Sign of the Times
The Society of the German Language has chosen its word of the year. While there were numerous consonant-rich options, I think their choice (along with some other recent news) is reason for optimism. And the winner is. . .
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The Morning After
So last night WIRED Science had its wrap party and, from what I'm told, I was in attendance. You see, the night is a little fuzzy in my memory. To be honest, the world is a little fuzzy today. I am nursing a hangover that I could sell to science. It's got me thinking - what exactly is a hangover?
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Opting In
So in the last entry I began a discussion of just how much more energy those of us living in the industrialized world use to eat what we want to eat, buy whatever we want to buy, live where we want to live, and go where we want to go. Considering the strain this lifestyle puts on global resources it seems it could better be described as eating too much, buying too often, living where we shouldn't, and just generally going too far.
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How to Say When
So I'm back from an extended Thanksgiving holiday and I've been thinking about overconsuming. The percentage of my wardrobe that I can wear without feeling as though it's an act of mortification seems to be decreasing at alarming rate, but that's just the beginning.
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I Know What You're Thinking
So we had trouble settling on a name for the segment Face Reader. The software being demonstrated in the segment is called Mind Reader. Why not name it 'Mind Reader' you ask. Or should I say, why not name it 'Mind Reader' I ask on your behalf.
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On the Importance of Flying Lizards
Virtual Paleontology was a segment that we had to fight to keep alive. Being that one of my failings is that I try to avoid conflict, this is a segment that could easily have gone the way of the dinosaur.
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Notes from the Underground
Experiment Cave is a segment that is close to my heart. Of course not literally, as we shot the thing more than a mile beneath the ground in Canada. And of course the heart is a metaphor for my ego. And ego is a metaphor for my consciousness. . . .okay, I'm boring even me.
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Future Distribution
Some things announce themselves as the future. Blaise Aguera y Arcas' Photosynth software is one of those things.
I suspect it was experiences with technologies similarly robust to Photosynth that led William Gibson to famously remark: "The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed."
For your reading pleasure (and my future biographers' research needs) I present you with the origin story of my (soon to be famous?) opening line of this blog entry.
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We Don't Need Another Hero
RoboDoc is our segment about the Da Vinci Surgical System, and was selected for the obvious technophilic, Wiredness of it all. I mean, it's surgery with robots!
I could do the usual rant on the controls (motion scaling, tremor reduction, etc.) and provide a litany of superlatives regarding the robot's accomplishments (smallest patient, youngest patient, et al), but I want to tell you a story about the people involved. Here's what happened right before all that amazing footage of the Da Vinci in action was shot.
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The Making Of...
So I'm not a scientist and I've been feeling a little inadequate about it. To deal with the shame, I've devoted myself to making good, responsible television about them.
What I do here at WIRED Science is find and develop the ideas and stories that we turn into television and web content. Of course I don't do this on my own. There are a bunch of us working on this new project. It's a process. When things are going right, it's a creative process.
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