It seems that everyone in cyberspace has been bumping the news about Craig Venter’s announcement of an artificial cell. So I suppose - given my interest in such things - I should pitch in my two cents worth. It’ll be clear to anyone who’s read Broken Evolution where my concerns lie. But the details from Venter’s own press conference I found truly shocking within the first minute, beyond what I could possibly imagine. Why? The essence of it is this: they have created the first artificial self-proprogating lifeform that … wait for it … replicates its own website address in it’s gene sequence. That kind of speaks for itself, and doesn’t need me to elaborate much. It reminds me of the wacky scientist sketches from The Fast Show that usually ended with the scientist saying “we don’t know why we did this”. They did it because … they can. But is the recent announcement funny? No.
I’m not a luddite. I applaud the technical skill and the long effort to acheive this. They spent 2 years evaluating the risk. The benefits in curing diseases in future could be immense.
But what about ethics?
This is man’s first contribution to the chain of life.
An organism versed in self-promotion from birth. Ready-equipped for the commercial environment. A self-propagating advertisement. A meme made manifest.
What message does that send about what we will do with this ground-breaking new technology? As Mr. Venter cited in his announcement: “See things not as they are, but as they might be.” That cuts both ways. Look ahead … remember how excited Oppenheimer must have been when he started work in his exciting atomic technology … and tread with caution into the future.
Broken Evolution has well and truly begun.
June 2nd, 2010
The old cover for Broken Evolution has been revamped, to make it a little more bookstore shelf friendly. I just received the printed proof, and I really love it.
It’s just a quick snap that doesn’t show the full detail, but it looks gorgeous in close-up. Getting there …. bit by bit. The new web site is underway too, and should be live just before publication.
May 24th, 2010
As I assemble an eReader app for my novel, I get a great sense of deja vu. It was my final year project in college to write an eReader for the PC. The technology hasn’t changed much - got a little smaller. My latest foray into eReading has made me wonder why it is such a popular option now, whereas it never really took off in those “olden days” (15 years ago) when it was limited to just a few curious early adopters.
Oh sure, the old arguments against eReaders are still there: “nobody will read an entire book from a screen.” Those arguments haven’t changed. There are only two factors that have changed in the intervening years, combining to make eReading a viable medium in this era: portability and ubiquity.
No one was ever going to sit down to their PC to tuck into a good book. PCs were for work; the last thing you wanted to see when you felt like a recreational read. Reading was always something to take to a special place, or fit in when and where you had some down-time. Neither of those apply to a PC. But the era of personal portable computing devices has arrived. Like a book, we can take those personal devices around with us; unlike a book, we can even slip a computer into our pocket.
In the olde days, the only way to get the book bits onto an eReader was on a “floppy disk” (look it up), or the very fancy new medium of “Compact Disc”. No USB keys back then. Now we have the ultimate form of digital distribution - the wireless internet. Download any book over-the-air from anywhere. Book access is now ubiquitous, as ubiqutious as the marketing-driven popularity of Amazon’s Kindle or Apple’s iPhone/iPad - the eReading devices that have become de rigueur.
There is nothing new in software technology, only hardware. All the software tools and techniques I use every day were all invented decades ago. But what is new, is this singularity - the creeping convergence of all technical factors to make the right time and the right place for something to just … take off.
Next … eReading moves beyond the constraints of the old medium to which it is currently compared … matures in its own unique aspects … comes of age … and becomes something new.
May 21st, 2010
I haven’t been idle! The final manuscript has gone for typesetting. The ISBN has just arrived. The updated site and marketing materials are in development. The ebooks are being formatted.
Words … finally in motion.
It’s been a long uncertain journey to get here, but I’m finally feeling excited again. Enjoyment is what it’s all about.
May 18th, 2010
My back is repairing itself, slowly, but steadily. It required a little help from me too. And a trip to a neurosurgeon. There’s nothing like resorting to a surgeon to copperfasten your resolve to heal thyself. I opted not to have the operation - there are always risks - so I focussed instead on core strengthening and stretching. I’ll say no more about in my blog because I don’t want to bore anyone with it and because it’s not of much relevance now anyway - I’m back in action - and it will continue to improve slowly and surely over the next months as I make it stronger. The last words I’ll say about it are these: if ever you rupture a disc, just know that with time and the appropraite physical treaments the pain does subside, and it will heal, but it could take a long time - over a year in my case. In the end, the choice is always yours - the patient’s. Get advice from many people and medical professionals. Just be as well informed as you can. You have to do the right things for it and you have to be patient - not unlike a writing career. Which brings me to my main point.
I’ve started to heal my ailing novel also. The revisions and rejections meant I’d lost passion for it, and it’s impossible, in good conscience, to undertake another revision without passion. Otherwise, I would ruin it. After reflecting during this time of reparation, and thinking about how the novel would change, I find I’m no longer afraid to make the changes that a couple of months ago would have seemed harsh. Sometimes surgery is the most appropriate course of action for a patient, as drastic as the incisions may seem. Time to relieve its painful patches too, and roll it out to the world, fitter, leaner … and stronger than ever.
February 20th, 2010
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