Road Writer Blog: Musings from the Travels of a retired scientist, teacher, writer, gardener, and philosopher
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Evolution, Social Media, and the Fruit of the Spirit
Fruit of the spirit includes behaviors like patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. That sure makes one think about social media and politics, right? Not. The survival-of-the-fittest search for attention and influence on social media, or in politics, is a microcosm of evolution. Those who rise above a certain threshold win the day, winner take all. […]
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Science Fiction and the RoadWriter Life, Part 2: Abandoned barge canals and lost civilizations
What stirs reader imagination or exploratory longings more than a good adventure story about a lost civilization?! Your starship lands on a primitive world where you discover mysterious structures half buried in the jungle that hint at forgotten technological prowess. (Star Trek, anyone?). Floating down the river on your noble quest, your fellowship of travelers […]
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More Thoughts on Finding Truth: You have to actually want to find it!
Honestly looking for truth is nothing at all like honestly wanting to be right. Wanting to be right encourages people to shout loudly and try to undermine the credibility of others. It discourages reconsidering your thinking because that might mean that you were wrong. In contrast, looking for truth involves lots of watching and listening. […]
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Three Cs to an A: Tips on Writing Science (with real student examples)
When I taught science classes regularly at Minnesota State University Moorhead, I often assigned writing exercises, particularly my “One-Page Science Paper” which engaged students in multiple writes, reviews, and rewrites. My own experience with writing assignments in college had often involved producing twenty or more pages, as though making it longer encouraged better writing. I […]
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Science Fiction and the RoadWriter Life, Part 1: Finding Trilobites
Today I’ve been thinking about what makes science fiction, science fiction (spurred by my recent publication of a ghost story-science fiction crossover, “A Visit from Old Earth”, in S’more Spooky Stories, published by Owl Hollow Press). Thinking about science fiction makes me think about trilobites (of course), long abandoned barge canals, and my campervan. Let […]
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Finding Truth in a Post-Truth, Fake-News World—Part 1, observation, reasoning, and investigation
It is now winter in Minnesota (we had a HIGH temperature of 19 below zero Fahrenheit a week or so ago!), and our campervan, although fitted with a solar-panel-powered electric blanket and a small propane heater (including appropriate propane and CO monitors), can’t keep us warm when it gets that cold. Thus, Mary and I […]