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Zach Berkson

@zberkson Active 6 years, 9 months ago
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    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson wrote a new post, What Is The Purpose of Science Fiction Stories? 6 years, 2 months ago

      Science fiction, perhaps more than any other modern genre of fiction, is often written with a social purpose or a goal. That purpose is rarely to explicitly predict the future—though they’re frequently tout […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson changed their profile picture 6 years, 3 months ago

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson commented on the post, Just How Realistic Is Buzz Aldrin’s Plan to Colonize Mars? 6 years, 9 months ago

      Hi Ian,

      Thanks for the reply! You make a lot of good points about the challenges faced with a Martian colonization project.

      I agree that a real “colonization” of Mars means transporting a lot of people and […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson wrote a new post, Just How Realistic Is Buzz Aldrin’s Plan to Colonize Mars? 6 years, 9 months ago

      ThumbnailSource: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/27/buzz-aldrin-colonize-mars-within-25-years

      The second man to walk on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin – along with the Florida Institute of Technology – has joined the […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic Climate Engineering Scenarios that don't involve 100% Disaster in the Conversation Questionspace 7 years, 8 months ago

      Hi Pascal,

      Thanks for weighing in! Your first paragraph especially brings up an interesting point, and puts more succinctly some of the things I was trying to say in my earlier comments. When we’re talking about the climate of a planet, we can’t really predict what effect our actions will have in the long run.

      But the argument can be made that…[Read more]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic Climate Engineering Scenarios that don't involve 100% Disaster in the Conversation Questionspace 7 years, 8 months ago

      Thanks for posting the follow up to the Haida Salmon experiment. In general I agree with the conclusions of the article: that it might be appropriate to reconsider the experiment, with proper scientific backing and with suitable monitoring. As the article notes, the link between the iron dumping and the higher fish yields is unproved at…[Read more]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson joined the group Group logo of Climate Engineering ScenariosClimate Engineering Scenarios 7 years, 8 months ago

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic Climate Engineering Scenarios that don't involve 100% Disaster in the Conversation Questionspace 7 years, 9 months ago

      Hi durbow,

      I think you’re right, that geoengineering (as all things) should be approached sensibly. It’s very easy to look at ideas like geoengineering and get very afraid–some of them sound scary! But it’s not inherently bad to discuss the ideas, and to consider them as real-world possibilities (because they are possibilities.) And, as you say,…[Read more]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson edited the doc Potato Cloud Reboot in the group Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 8 years, 6 months ago

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson created the doc Potato Cloud Reboot in the group Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 8 years, 6 months ago

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic Banning Agriculture in the Conversation Big Ideas 8 years, 10 months ago

      Very interesting! I’m intrigued by the work of the Dutch plantlab you link to–it seems like they’re doing some really neat stuff. I’m a little skeptical about David Berry’s Solve for X talk. His idea sounds great, but he doesn’t go into much detail about this miraculous, CO2 eating, salt-water-tolerant, low-light, pure-nutrient-secreting,…[Read more]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic 3D printing your diet in the forum Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 9 years, 1 month ago

      Speaking of, here’s a blog post from one of my Center for Science and the Imagination co-bloggers on the very same subject:

      https://csi.asu.edu/csi/hungry-for-crickets/

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic 3D printing your diet in the forum Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 9 years, 1 month ago

      What about growing them yourself? That must be more cost-savvy, and I like the idea of “mini-livestock.”

      Anywhere we can go for caretaking tips? Or tasty home recipes?

      I’m tempted to throw a dinner party […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic 3D printing your diet in the forum Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 9 years, 1 month ago

      Can someone explain the concept of “printing” meat? I’m not sure I understand. If we have all the components for a meat-substitute, what is the benefit of printing it out, other than aesthetic? Why not eat it as […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson commented on the doc Potato Clouds and Space Food in the group Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 9 years, 1 month ago

      Okay, here are some ways the potato cloud cross-section might look.

      Potato cloud design sketches

      Design 1: Free-floating potato bundles
      Design 2: a micro-earth floating in its own atmosphere
      Design 3: Rotating potato columns

      (Clearly I have a bright future as a conceptual artist.)

      I think I like the third design best. We could make the…[Read more]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson commented on the doc Potato Clouds and Space Food in the group Group logo of But what will we eat?But what will we eat? 9 years, 1 month ago

      I agree that it’s an interesting idea, but I don’t know if potatoes would make the best space food. I can imagine growing fungus, yeast, or algae really well in a zero-g environment. They’re non-directional by nature, no problem. But potatoes are tougher, which is why I like the idea of space potatoes as a challenging thought experiment.

      I was…[Read more]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson edited the doc Potato Clouds and Space Food 9 years, 1 month ago

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic Banning Agriculture in the Conversation Big Ideas 9 years, 1 month ago

      From what I understand, we can use the group page as a way to 1] make announcements that everyone in the group will see, and 2] further develop ideas using the “docs” page (<a […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson replied to the topic Banning Agriculture in the Conversation Big Ideas 9 years, 1 month ago

      Hey all–we made a public group for discussions about food and agriculture! I sent invites to some of you in this thread, but I couldn’t find everybody.  You can join here: <a […]

    • Profile picture of Zach Berkson

      Zach Berkson edited the doc Potato Clouds and Food in Space 9 years, 1 month ago

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    • Project Hieroglyph in the News

      • Thinking big November 14, 2015 - Terre Haute Tribune-Star
      • Future perfect December 10, 2014 - Aeon Magazine
      • Review: Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future December 8, 2014 - Barnes & Noble Review
      • The Untapped Potential of Science Fiction November 15, 2014 - Time
      • Saving Spaceship Earth October 22, 2014 - LA Review of Books
      • Fiction Writers Help Scientists Push Known Boundaries October 19, 2014 - New York Times International Edition
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