Science Fiction & Philosophy discussion

Hello everyone, I'm Pete and I started the group to create a space where readers and authors of Science, Sci-Fi and Philosophy genres could get together and share our interests.

I'm an aspiring author myself with a handful of books already out and I have a life-long interest in science and philosophy. I also have a science degree from the Open University in the UK.

Welcome to our group!

Hi everyone, I'm Khira. I have been an avid sci-fi reader all my life. I also write hard science fiction that explores the transformative potential of technology, although I'm most interested in the human side of technological advancements.

I enjoy philosophical discussions in this group and I love connecting with other authors, readers and reviewers.

Hi, Peter suggested that we introduce ourselves in another thread so I'll put in my plug to say that I'm an aspiring author with a background in physics, computer science, electrical engineering, both as a professor and as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs. I share the same interests expressed by the topics presented so far and was really pleased to find this group. I'm doing some reading of work I find posted by members and find it very interesting. I'm just getting started and look forward to participating in these discussions!

Harrison wrote: "Hi, Peter suggested that we introduce ourselves in another thread so I'll put in my plug to say that I'm an aspiring author with a background in physics, computer science, electrical engineering, b..."

Hi Harrison, thank you for the intro. Are you working on a book at the moment? I find I can always tell which authors have a solid S&T background - it just makes the books that much more interesting, especially in sci-fi.

Hi Khira, it’s a pleasure to meet you! I read the sneak peek of your book Songbird Ascension ( I don’t have an unlimited kindle membership yet) and admire your prose. I’m working on a series for the YA market with a hard science and eastern philosophical bent to it based on my background, yes, but it gets speculative. The topic of human/machine evolution has many different implications and you’ve picked up on some really interesting ones. Are you working on another book?

Harrison wrote: "Hi Khira, it’s a pleasure to meet you! I read the sneak peek of your book Songbird Ascension ( I don’t have an unlimited kindle membership yet) and admire your prose. I’m working on a series for th..."

I'm still exploring some speculative ideas around human-machine connection and neural interfaces. The novel I'm working on right now is a sci-fi train murder mystery with a cyberpunk bend. It is inspired by both my love of Agatha Christie's novels and by the classic cyberpunk themes in Snow Crash, Ready Player One and Matrix, although taking a different angle to the nature and purpose of human-machine connections.

What kind of Eastern philosophy themes are you exploring in your writing? I have an interest in epistemology and history of science. One of the interesting trends I've tracked in the past has been the attempt of Western scientific disciplines (which have been based in a reductionist approach for several hundred years) to grapple with the idea of interconnectedness in complex systems - a theme that has been core to Eastern philosophies in Taoism and Buddhism for thousands of years.

Hi Harrison, welcome to our group!

That’s a great mix of genres, Khira, with some interesting implications as to what the murder actually is. Yes, interconnectedness is one of the themes of the series I’m working on. Zen is part of the main protagonist’s training. I’m interested in Peter’s writing about the God particle, for example, as I also did some writing on the subject in connection with how we view reality, but this was dropped from my first book, to be included in later books. I worked to make various philosophical concepts an important part of the plot for the books I’m working on.