The Science in The Fiction

Marty speaks with Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK), creator and host of the Flora Funga Podcast, discussing recent developments in real world applications of fungi, and speculating about the possible roles fungi may play in our science fictional future.  We discuss their use as recreational drugs, and the current regulatory and legalization landscape.  We talk about creating new materials from fungi, from making bricks in space to creating new green materials for packaging, hats and shoes on earth.  We consider fungi in water efficient vertical farming, using yeasts and molds as pesticides, and if they might be helpful in farming insects for as a source of protein. And finally, we do a bit of science fictional thinking about Fungi as a possible agent of panspermia for seeding life on new worlds, creating ecological footholds on dead planets, and as a catalyst for biodiversity.  https://www.florafungapodcast.com/We touch on a couple FF episodes in this interview:Ep 135 with Chris Pauli from Tryptomics:https://www.florafungapodcast.com/florafungapodcast/135Ep 77 with Adam Cobb from the Soil Food Web Schoolhttps://www.florafungapodcast.com/florafungapodcast/77Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

We speak with M. R. Carey about his book 'The Girl With All The Gifts', where the zombie fungus Cordyceps plays a central role in bringing about the end of civilization. We talk about the appeal of a post-apocalyptic story and discuss some of the science in Merlin Sheldrake’s book 'Entangled Life': scientific revolutions and evolutions, gestalt shifts, the ancient evolutionary history of fungi, how they can be both parasitic and symbiotic, and how all of life is like a lichen.  Mike tells us  how he came to be a writer, and about his experience of benevolent presences on psilocybin – and the ineffability of the psychedelic experience.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Carey_(writer)https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/contributor/m-r-carey-2/https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17235026-the-girl-with-all-the-giftshttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt4547056/Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Beginning our highly anticipated new topic of Sci-Fi Fungi, we talk to science fiction author Benjamin Percy about the second book of his Comet Cycle, 'The Unfamiliar Garden'.  We discuss Ben's writing career in comic books and novels and soon TV and film, the literary treatment that space fungus gets in this book, as well as the human and emotional stakes that make it a really good story.  We discuss the goodies and the baddies of the fungal world, lichenification, symbiosis, collective intelligence, creating wonder and seeing the world with fresh eyes. https://benjaminpercy.com/https://benjaminpercy.com/novels/the-unfamiliar-garden/Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Marty and Holly discuss our upcoming theme of Sci-Fi Fungi with interviews of science fiction authors Benjamin Percy and Mike Carey, along with mycologists Dr. Alex Moskaluk from the University of Guelph and Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK) from the Flora Funga Podcast.  We'll be discussing space fungi from cometary debris in Ben Percy's book 'The Unfamiliar Garden', the zombie fungus Codyceps in Mike Percy's book 'The Girl With All The Gifts'.  And we'll be structuring our conversations around Merlin Sheldrake's popular science book 'Entangled Life', which delves into the apparent motor-controlling abilities of the zombie fungus Cordyceps, the mind-altering effects of Psilocybin, as well as the genesis of land-based ecosystems from the symbiosis of fungi with algae in lichen.  Along the way we also introduce an upcoming interview with returning science fiction author and friend of the show Robert J. Sawyer about his books 'Quantum Night' and 'The Downloaded'.  Then we go on to introduce our next theme of the Multiverse, in Mike Carey's Pandominion duology - 'Infinity Gate' and 'Echo of Worlds', and Micaiah Johnson's 'The Space Between Worlds' and 'Those Beyond the Wall'.  Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

We talk to a returning guest and friend of the show, science fiction author Edward M. Lerner, about his latest book 'On The Shoals of Space-Time', on the topic of First Contact.  Ed is a fount of scientific insight and information on space science and the possibilities for extraterrestrial encounters, having written 25 books – 5 of them with the legendary author Larry Niven, of Ringworld fame – many of which explore themes First Contact with extraterrestrials, as well as future scientific advancement that would be necessary for interstellar travel.  In this interview we discuss a number of his books, we talk about fusion and anti-matter, electromagnetic bottles, the Albercurrie drive for warping space-time to get around the speed limit of light, and neutrino communications.  We also discuss the Prime Directive, the Drake equation, the Fermi Paradox, scientific revolutions and evolutions, stealth technologies, and alien monitoring stations keeping an eye on Earth in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud.  That’s quite a lot!  So if you like to dig deeper into the real science and big ideas in your science fiction, this conversation is a veritable treasury of insights and learning that will help you get more out of the science fiction you read and watch.Edward M. Lerner -- official website (edwardmlerner.com)Books, short fiction, and essays by SF author Edward M. Lerner | Edward M. Lerner (edwardmlerner.com)Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

In this episode we talk to Mark Milne as a follow-up on our interviews with science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson and glaciologist Heidi Sevestre in episodes 21 and 22, on the topic of Geoengineering as portrayed in Kim Stanley Robinson’s book 'The Ministry for the Future'.  Mark speaks about a number of strategies for mitigating climate change by cooling the planet through increasing its albedo, or reflectivity.  The overarching strategy that we discuss is Solar Radiation Management (SRM), and we tackle a number of different possibilities under this umbrella: stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), marine cloud brightening, high albedo crops, reforestation, white paint, terrestrial mirrors and the Goliath that everyone likes to slay - space mirrors.  Mark makes the case that terrestrial mirrors are our best hope for immediate implementation, with little or no dangerous side effects, especially in the context of canopies over agricultural land which can be created with current materials from landfill; if 10% of all agricultural land were covered with these semi-transparent mirrors it would provide enough global reflectivity to adequately offset our warming trend and avoid climate disaster.  Marty proposes a sci-fi idea about adding engineered enzymes to create the materials we need, and Mark claims that if we don’t solve the climate crisis within a few decades it won’t be the heat that kills us, it’ll be people – due to the degradation of our social and economic systems.  We also talk about governance and consent, what motivates scientists and determines the science we pursue, termination shock, carbon sequestration, engineering efficiency and economic policy initiatives related to modern monetary theory.  Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

We continue the conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, and now they get down to the tricky business of discussing the nature of consciousness.  We discuss Peter's premise of 'Blindsight – that consciousness is an illusory, unnecessary and possibly parasitic phenomenon that will get us all killed when we encounter more efficient, unconscious extra-terrestrial intelligence.  Then very quickly agree that nobody knows what the hell they’re talking about when they try to understand consciousness: the pan-psychics may even be right that it’s a fundamental property of matter like mass, spin and charge.  We discuss examples of unconscious but intelligent behaviour like sleepwalking killers and painters, we talk about acid trips, and the possible evolutionary advantages of consciousness in connection to memory. Peter suggests humans may not actually possess general intelligence and that we may be even dumber than large language models and the current incarnation of AI (as evidenced by flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and religious fundamentalists). And Justin promises to jello-wrestle an AI next time we get together!Echopraxia (rifters.com)https://www.rifters.com/Blindsight (Watts novel) - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel)Justin Gregghttps://www.justingregg.com/If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal — Justin Gregghttps://www.justingregg.com/narwhalBuzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

In this episode we present a conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, following up on our individual interviews with each of them on the general theme of intelligence and consciousness.  Justin Gregg is the author of ‘If Nietzsche were a Narwhal - What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity’, the book we spoke to him about in episode 23.  Peter Watts is the science fiction author of 'Blindsight', 'Echopraxia', 'Starfish', 'Maelstrom', 'Behemoth' and many amazing short stories.  We spoke to Peter in episodes 24 and 25 about his book ‘Blindsight’ and also about Justin Gregg’s book, and now we’ve put them in a room together for a very animated conversation with lots of banter and laughter.  Peter discusses Justin’s book and Justin discusses Peter’s book, and they discover that they are pretty much twins separated at birth! We discuss AI, biology and evolution, the sweet spot for writing successful science fiction, Aphantasia, the secret of effective bullshit, manufactured memories and the extremely entertaining "yellow sponge hypothesis".  So fasten your seatbelts kids, and get ready for two spectacularly interesting and intelligent people to light the house on fire.  Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Marty and Holly talk to George Paxinos - neuroscientist, environmental activist and author of 'A River Divided', a book that explores neurological determinism - the claim that we have no free will and that our actions are entirely determined by our genetics and the neurological consequences imposed on us by the environment which shapes our brain.  His book comes with a very interesting twist: the modern day cloning of Jesus of Nazareth! And not only that, but the cloning of two identical copies, twins who are raised in different places and cultures. This is a bold and fascinating vehicle to explore the theme of nature vs nurture, genetic endowment vs environmental influence, and free will vs determinism.  Our conversation covers a lot of ground - from atheism and reverent agnosticism, to finding the goldilocks zone for the size of our brains, the new rise of fascism and the waning of democracy, brain uploads and the transfer of consciousness.  NeuRA | George Paxinos | Neuroscience Research Australiahttps://neura.edu.au/researchers/scientia-professor-george-paxinos-aoBuzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

We speak with David Brin, science fiction icon, scientist, futurist and civilizational optimist.  We discuss his particular view of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, as portrayed in his 2012 novel 'Existence', along with his predictions about how artificial intelligence and virtual reality will change our world in the near future.  We discuss the UFO phenomenon (a sophisticated form of cat lasers for us to chase) and the unspeakably rude behaviour of these hypothetical silvery teaser punks.  David speaks directly to the artificial intelligences and possibly alien intelligences who may be inveigled in our internet.  We talk about Cixin Liu's 'The Three Body Problem' (there is no three body problem), the likely prevalence of life in the universe (90% of star systems), the Fermi Paradox, SETI, METI, and various forms that first contact with alien civilizations may take, among them Von Neumann machines and artificial alien intelligences stored in 'envoy eggs' orbiting our planet for millions of years. David tells us how to make the most powerful telescope in the universe, by turning the Kuiper Belt into a solar system sized lens.  Finally, he implores us to fight back against the ingrate habit of cynicism and pessimism rotting our global civilization today, and declares "I'm proud as hell and nothing can stop us! ... Be citizens of wonder, help save a good civilization."David Brin's Webpage:https://www.davidbrin.com/'Existence' by David Brin:https://www.davidbrin.com/existence.htmlVideo Trailer for David Brin's 'Existence':https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANVT0hYbAfEDavid Brin's 'Colony High' Series:https://www.davidbrin.com/colonyhigh.htmlDavid Brin's 'Out of Time' Series:https://www.davidbrin.com/outoftime.htmlDavid Brin's Advice to New Writers:https://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/advice.htmlDavid Brin on UFO's:https://www.forbes.com/sites/calumchace/2023/01/25/why-are-ufos-still-blurry-a-conversation-with-david-brin/David Brin on Why METI is a Bad Idea:https://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/meti.htmlNASA Innovative Advanced Concepts:https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-the-nasa-innovative-advanced-concepts-niac/The B612 Foundation:https://b612foundation.org/An Invitation to Extraterrestrial Intelligence:https://ieti.org/Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

We speak with Professor Avi Loeb from the Harvard Astronomy department, and he is one of the most generous, gregarious, kind and thoughtful people we’ve ever spoken with. Not only that, he embodies the spirit of true scientific inquiry and discovery that can be sadly lacking in the scientific culture of our time.  Our conversation revolves around the possibility of First Contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life, based on our encounter with Oumuamua - the first extra-solar object ever detected - which came flying in and out of our solar system over the course of about 11 days in 2017.  We also talk about the Galileo Project and the Starshot Initiative, Dyson spheres and space trash from extraterrestrial civilizations, the Drake equation, anti-gravity, negative mass, time machines, UFOs and UAPs.  We also discuss building a culture of seeking evidence instead of fabricating unsupported stories for dismissing it, and how finding a partner in the galaxy could give meaning to our collective lives.Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

To celebrate the first anniversary of our podcast, Marty and Holly do a little retrospective to discuss their favorite books, people and interviews from the last year.  We discuss some of the best science fiction books we read: 'Red Team Blues' by Cory Doctorow, 'Semiosis' by Sue Burke, 'Neverness' by David Zindell, 'Night Owls' by Stephen Gay and 'The Ministry for the Future' by Kim Stanley Robinson.  We also talk about some of our favorite science books from this year:  'Planta Sapiens' by Paco Calvo, 'A Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy' by Arik Kershenbaum and 'If Nietzsche Were A Narwhal' by Justin Gregg. We reflect on some of our favorite interviews - with Cory Doctorow, Stephen Gay and Ben Feist, Peter Watts and Justin Gregg, KSR and Heidi Sevestre. Then we do a bit of looking forward into what we have planned for the near future: interviews with Benjamin Percy on space fungus in 'The Unfamiliar Garden', Elan Mastai on time travel in 'All Our Wrong Todays', Daniel H. Wilson on his upcoming book 'Heliopause' and Avi Loeb about Oumuamua and first contact with alien technology in his book 'Extraterrestrial'.  Thank you to our listeners for giving us your attention and interest, and to all our guests for their expertise and insight, and to everyone for making this show a success and a wonderful experience!Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

This is the second part of our interview with Dr. David Curtin, Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto.  In response to the kind of dark matter model found in Jim Al-Khalili's science fiction book 'Sunfall', David expounds upon the "significantly weirder' models of dark matter being contemplated today.  Since the failure to find any dark matter candidates at the Large Hadron Collider, and the continued exclusion of WIMPs by the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, there has been room to develop more complex ideas about atomic dark matter forming from simpler dark particles, and the possibility of a dark electromagnetic force with dark photons to bind dark atoms together.  David explains the consequences of not being able to cool down on galactic scales, which gives rise to the spherical halo of dark matter around galaxies - what macro-scale structure tells us about micro-scale structure.  He tells us about asymmetric dark anti-matter which may balance the existence of asymmetric regular matter, and could finally explain how something came from nothing in the formation of the universe we see today. We also learn that photons and dark photons are quantum mechanically indistinguishable from each other, which might allow for 'mixing' that turns one into the other, and ultimately gives a mechanism for the detection of dark matter one day.  Finally, David describes "mirror stars" as one form of detectable dark matter that we can go looking for right now, either in existing astronomical data or with new telescopic surveys designed to hunt for signatures of the dark universe.Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Dr. David Curtin is the Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto, and specializes in exotic theories of dark matter that describe a "dark sector" which may include complex dark matter.  These  "banana-town weirdo" dark matter models include dark electrons, dark protons and dark photons that form dark atoms and possibly an entire mirror universe that exists transparently all around us.  We discuss Jim Al-Khalili's book 'Sunfall' and the relatively tame dark matter scenario presented there, in what David calls a "nostalgic book, reminiscent of the days when theoretical physicists moved nations"!  We also talk about the spectacular success of the Standard Model of particle physics, super-symmetry and our failure to detect its predictions at the LHC, and the "whackadoodle possibilities" this opens up for more sophisticated and interesting models of dark matter.  Along the way David tells us us about WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), theories of neutral naturalness, the hierarchy problem, calculating the electron's dipole moment to 12 decimal places, and the mind-expanding power of science fiction.Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Our theme in the next two episodes is dark matter, the kind of far-out science that is stranger than fiction and presents realms of possibility that are both more plausible and more interesting than parallel worlds or extra dimensions or even wormholes. In this episode we talk to Jim Al-Khalili, who is many things: physicist, author of both fiction and non-fiction, educator, broadcaster and all around extraordinary public intellectual who reaches millions of people around the world with his popular science books and as the host of the BBC’s flagship scientific program, The Life Scientific.  In this conversation we talk about his new science fiction book Sunfall, which uses dark matter as the novum that drives the story, and makes heroes of the physicist who save the world.  Along the way we talk about a lot of other cool science in his science fiction, including quantum effects in biology, the magnetic field of earth and how it prevents our atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind, as well as a really interesting bit of (fictional) particle physics that imagines the possibility of manipulating and focusing dark matter beams so they can interact with each other and release their energy in the core of the earth.  This is a gentle introduction to the subject of dark matter, about which we still understand very little -  but we know it exists, and it is likely to show us that the universe is more ingenious and creative and interesting than our human minds have yet to imagine.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Al-Khalilihttps://www.amazon.com/Sunfall-Jim-Al-Khalili/dp/0593077423Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

In this episode we return to the theme of Planetary Protection, continuing the conversation we started in episodes 19 and 20 where we discussed the return of samples from Asteroid Bennu to Earth in NASA’s recent OSIRIS Rex mission.  There we talked about what measures were taken to protect the biosphere of Earth from any unforeseen biological agents that such a sample may harbor, hearkening back to the plot of Michael Crichton’s famous novel 'The Andromeda Strain'.  In this episode we continue down this road with science fiction author Edward M. Lerner, this time contemplating the difficulties and dangers inherent in a return of samples from Mars to Earth, in his new novel 'Life and Death on Mars'.  We discuss the difference between samples from asteroids and samples from Mars, and contemplate the possible existence of life on Mars along with the various possible consequences of its interaction with life on Earth. We also talk about the international collaborative efforts in the space station and the return to the Moon, how the Moon can act as a stepping stone in the race to Mars, what resources can form the basis of an economy and permanent presence on Mars, using a Mars base to exploit the mineral wealth of the asteroid belt, and imagine what may become the next space race after Mars.Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Marty sits down with his university pals Drs. Peter Gorniak and Cyndey Nielsen, to discuss Karl Schroeder's book 'Stealing Worlds'.   As it happens, they both have PhD's and lifelong careers working in their fields of expertise - Peter in artificial intelligence and Cydney in data analytics and virtual/mixed reality, so they were the perfect people to bring their professional and personal perspectives to a discussion of Karl's book.  We talk about where artificial intelligence and virtual reality were 20 years ago, where they are today, and what they might become in the future.My Science Fiction — KarlSchroeder.com (kschroeder.com)https://www.kschroeder.com/my-booksBuzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

Karl Schroeder is a science fiction author and foresight analyst.  His fiction is known for both its scientific rigour and its visionary quality of bearing witness to what we can expect just around the corner – especially with his latest book 'Stealing Worlds'.  This book is jam packed with big ideas about artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).  We talk about the creation of LARPing worlds, i.e. Live Action Role Playing games within a virtual reality which can exist on top of and in parallel with the regular world.  We also discuss more sophisticated versions of this called frame worlds, which have their own independent but virtually embedded economies.  We chat about the oligarchic systems within our neoliberal catastrophe, think about invoking consensual hallucinations that are even better than money, and imagine how choosing your technology layer can translate to choosing your reality. We also discuss artificial intelligences that think they are eagles, or forests, and how to get them to act independently on behalf of beings who have not been able to represent themselves economically or politically - til now. Science Fiction for the Crypto Age — KarlSchroeder.com (kschroeder.com)https://www.kschroeder.com/Karl Schroeder - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_SchroederStealing Worlds by Karl Schroeder | Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/41447722Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

In the second part of our interview with Peter Watts, we delve into his ideas about intelligence and consciousness.  Does consciousness serve any function, or can all cognitive processes get along just fine without it?  In his novel Blindsight, Peter postulates a hostile entity whose intelligence outcompetes our own, because it is not weighed down by the slow, clunky machinery of sapience.  But his thinking has evolved in recent years, to concede the possible primacy of consciousness, and heck, even the existence of a soul!  Along the way we talk about a blob of cells called dish-brain that taught itself to play pong.  We contemplate energy minimization, integrated information  and even pan-psychic theories of consciousness.  We ask how far down the chain of being sentience might reach, and ultimately admit we have no idea how a lump of meat can wake up to ask questions about the nature of its own awareness.Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463

We talk to acclaimed science fiction author Peter Watts about Justin Gregg's book 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal'.  We ask if the human flavour of intelligence is maladaptive, and other creatures are smarter because they are so well adapted to their evolutionary niche - or are we comparing apples with moon rocks?  Ultimately, the question is whether the animal wisdom of bedbugs and crocodilians is going to get them off this planet when the sun goes supernova.  Peter expresses his opinion that human intelligence is actually special in this regard.  The problems we create with our technological intelligence are due to our minds still being shackled to animal instincts, and if we are to solve our problems we may need to escape from the evolutionary constraints under which our minds evolved.Echopraxia (rifters.com)https://www.rifters.com/Peter Watts (author) - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Watts_(author)Buzzsprout (podcast host):https://thescienceinthefiction.buzzsprout.comEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/Twitter:https://twitter.com/MartyK5463