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Axiomatic (short Story)
"Axiomatic" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in ''Interzone'' 41 in November 1990. The short story was included in the collection '' The Best of Greg Egan'' in 2020. Plot Analogous to the axioms of arithmetic and geometry, which are postulates creating a mathematical system, and cannot be questioned within that system, an ''axiomatic implant'' can alter a belief in the brain, for example to change religion or sexuality. This does not contradict free will, as an axiomatic can be added or removed by choice and people can freely chose how to live with their new belief. Mark Carver illegally buys an axiomatic to block his moral and ethical beliefs concerning murder for three days, during which he shoots Anderson, the murderer of his wife Amy. While doing so, he is overwhelmed by the pure certainty having replaced all his conflicting emotions, and later seeks to gain it again by using another axiomatic to convince himself that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greg Egan
Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and amateur mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, and the Locus Award. Life and work Egan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Western Australia. He published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness. Other themes include genetics, simulated reality, posthumanism, mind uploading, sexuality, artificial intelligence, and the superiority of rational naturalism to religion. He often deals with complex technical material, like new physics and epistemology. He is a Hugo Award winner (with eight other works shortlisted for the Hugos) and has also won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. His early stories featur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mister Volition
''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier forms of '' master'', as the equivalent female titles '' Mrs'', ''Miss'', and '' Ms'' all derived from earlier forms of '' mistress''. ''Master'' is sometimes still used as an honorific for boys and young men. The modern plural form is ''Misters'', although its usual formal abbreviation ''Messrs''(.) derives from use of the French title ' in the 18th century. ' is the plural of ' (originally ', "my lord"), formed by declining both of its constituent parts separately. Historical etiquette Historically, ''mister'' was applied only to those above one's own status if they had no higher title such as '' Sir'' or ''my lord'' in the English class system. That understanding is now obsolete, as it was gradually expanded as a mark of respect t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Science Fiction Short Stories
Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Australians, indigenous peoples of Australia as identified and defined within Australian law * Australia (continent) ** Indigenous Australians * Australian English, the dialect of the English language spoken in Australia * Australian Aboriginal languages * ''The Australian'', a newspaper * Australiana, things of Australian origins Other uses * Australian (horse), a racehorse * Australian, British Columbia, an unincorporated community in Canada See also * The Australian (other) * Australia (other) * * * Austrian (other) Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Someth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Awards Database
The (SFADB) is an index of science fiction, fantasy, and horror awards compiled by Mark R. Kelly and published by the Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Known formerly as the Locus Index to SF Awards, it has been cited as an invaluable science fiction resource, and is often more up-to-date than the awards' own websites (according to ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''). History The Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards was established in 2000 by Mark R. Kelly, the founder of ''Locus Online''. The Cornell University Library has described it as a comprehensive listing of science fiction awards, including "reader polls, fan awards, inactive awards, academic awards, award statistics, and more". Despite the title, the index has always covered fantasy and horror in addition to science fiction. In 2012, coincident with Kelly's retirement as an aerospace software engineer, the website received a redesign and expansion, and was renamed the Science Fiction Awards Database (SFADB). R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locus Award
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the plaques awarded to the winners, publishers of winning works are honored with certificates, which is unique in the field. Originally a poll of ''Locus'' subscribers only, voting is now open to anyone, but the votes of subscribers count twice as much as the votes of non-subscribers. The award was inaugurated in 1971, and was originally intended to provide suggestions and recommendations for the Hugo Awards. They have come to be considered a prestigious prize in science fiction, fantasy and horror literature. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' regards the Locus Awards as sharing the reputation of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Gardner Dozois holds the record for the most wins (43), while Neil Gaiman has won the most awards for works of fic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Awards Database
The (SFADB) is an index of science fiction, fantasy, and horror awards compiled by Mark R. Kelly and published by the Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Known formerly as the Locus Index to SF Awards, it has been cited as an invaluable science fiction resource, and is often more up-to-date than the awards' own websites (according to ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''). History The Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards was established in 2000 by Mark R. Kelly, the founder of '' Locus Online''. The Cornell University Library has described it as a comprehensive listing of science fiction awards, including "reader polls, fan awards, inactive awards, academic awards, award statistics, and more". Despite the title, the index has always covered fantasy and horror in addition to science fiction. In 2012, coincident with Kelly's retirement as an aerospace software engineer, the website received a redesign and expansion, and was renamed the Science Fiction Awards Database (SFADB). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Learning To Be Me
"Learning to Be Me" is a Science fiction, science-fiction short story by Australia, Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone (magazine), ''Interzone'' 37 in July of 1990. The short story was included in the collections ''Axiomatic (book), Axiomatic'' in 1995 and ''The Best of Greg Egan'' in 2019. Plot In the future, every human gets the Ndoli Device (commonly also called "jewel") implanted into their brain. It maps every single one of their thoughts and actions to fully copy their consciousness, hence learning to be them. At a freely chosen time, most humans chose their twenties, when their brain is at its height, it is removed (a process called "swap") and replaced by a sponge-like object without any function. The jewel and hence the copied consciousness then take over the body. While many people view the swap as being totally unproblematic and claim to still be themselves afterwards, some fear the swap resulting in their death and the jewel only being able to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BSFA Award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, members of the Eastercon convention have also been eligible to vote. BSFA Award categories The award originally included only a category for novels. Categories for short works and artists were added in 1980. The category for younger readers was added in 2021. The artists category became artwork in 1986 and a category for related non-fiction was added in 2002. A media category was awarded from 1979 to 1992. The ceremonies are named after the year that the eligible works were published, despite the awards being given out in the next year. The current standard award categories are: * BSFA Award for Best Novel * BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction * BSFA Award for Best Non-Fiction * BSFA Award for Best Artwork * BSFA Award for Best Fiction for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strange Horizons
''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in September 2000, and publishes new material (fiction, articles, reviews, poetry, and/or art) 51 weeks of the year, with an emphasis on "new, underrepresented, and global voices." The magazine was founded by writer and editor Mary Anne Mohanraj. It has a staff of approximately sixty volunteers, and is unusual among professional speculative fiction magazines in being funded entirely by donations, holding annual fund drives. Editors-in-chief * Mary Anne Mohanraj, 2000–2003 * Susan Marie Groppi, 2004–2010 * Niall Harrison, 2010–2017 * Jane Crowley and Kate Dollarhyde, 2017–2019 * Vanessa Rose Phin, 2019–2021 * Gautam Bhatia, 2021–present Awards Susan Marie Groppi won the World Fantasy Special Award: Non-Professional in 2010 for her work as E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Classical physics, the collection of theories that existed before the advent of quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary ( macroscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at small (atomic and subatomic) scales. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale. Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum, and other quantities of a bound system are restricted to discrete values ( quantization); objects have characteristics of both particles and waves (wave–particle duality); and there are limit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Many-worlds Interpretation
The many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts that the universal wavefunction is objectively real, and that there is no wave function collapse. This implies that all possible outcomes of quantum measurements are physically realized in some "world" or universe. In contrast to some other interpretations, such as the Copenhagen interpretation, the evolution of reality as a whole in MWI is rigidly deterministic and local. Many-worlds is also called the relative state formulation or the Everett interpretation, after physicist Hugh Everett, who first proposed it in 1957. Hugh Everettbr>Theory of the Universal Wavefunction Thesis, Princeton University, (1956, 1973), pp 1–140 Bryce DeWitt popularized the formulation and named it ''many-worlds'' in the 1970s. See also Cecile M. DeWitt, John A. Wheeler eds, The Everett–Wheeler Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, ''Battelle Rencontres: 1967 Lectures in Mathematics and Physics'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singleton (short Story)
"Singleton" is a science-fiction short story by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone 176 in February 2002. The short story was included in the collections ''Crystal Nights and Other Stories'' and ''Oceanic'' in 2009, as well as '' The Best of Greg Egan'' in 2020. The short story is set in the same universe as Egan's short story "Oracle" and Egan's novel ''Schild's Ladder''. Plot In 2003, Ben, after some hesitation, intervenes in a kitchen hand being beaten to death. Feeling confident, he later invites his fellow student Francine to a concert and begins a relationship with her. In 2012, after Ben arrives back from Basra, Francine tells him she is pregnant. He reads about an experiment involving quantum computers conducted at Delft University and begins to think about the many-world-interpretation. Francine later suffers a miscarriage. In 2020, Ben participates in a neurological experiment, which proves consciousness to be a purely classical phenomenon. Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
