Saw six panels today for Worldcon 75.
Beyond the Goldilocks Zone; Olli Wilkman, Janet Catherine Johnston, Julie Novakova, Michael Reid
-The Goldilocks zone is the range of distance from a star that an Earth-like planet would be habitable. This distance varies depending on the size and energy from its sun.
-Looking beyond this zone we may find the beginnings or existing life as we have found in exo environments here on Earth (deep sea, volcanoes, thin atmosphere...etc).
-A good example of this is the TRAPPIST-1 system. It has a smaller and colder star and there are three Earth sized planets in their goldilocks zone. An ultra slick website is here.
-We have to look beyond this human centrist area to find life on planets that have a diversity of zones to encourage evolution and eventual intelligent life
-The TESS mission in March 2018 will look for more systems using the transit method (detecting planets that pass in front of a sun by measuring decrease in the suns emitted energy. Can also be used to analyze a planet's atmosphere)
Gravitational Waves and Cosmology; David Weir
-A very interesting talk on how gravitational waves are created and what they can tell us of stellar cosmology.
-LIGO is a terrestrial gravitational wave detector and the space based LISA Pathfinder missions will allow for more distant, directional, and sensitive detection. LISA launches in 2034.
Maintain your Scientist Character's Credibility; Euan, Mommi Salminen, Livia Santa Clara, Karen Lord, Kristine Hejna
-Be as credible as you need to be for the story and environment to maintain the flow. No infodumps. Show what the reader needs to know for the story then stop.
-Don't add a number you don't need or it will come back to haunt you.
-When a character talks about themselves or their work use the vocabulary and idioms they would.
-Its ok for a science character to say "I don't know" or "I was wrong". This makes the character more credible, human, and believable.
-Talk about the politics in science and the sociology within it.
-There is a difference between applied sciences and engineers. Few people are good in both.
-A character grounded in the sciences views the world differently and can add subtlety.
Inevitable Romantic Subplot;Daniel Starr, Croline Stevermer, Catherine Lundoff
-In order to eventually write some day, thought this panel would be able to give hints on whiting these plots. I was right!
-Don't force one in otherwise its not believable, and interrupts the plot and tempo.
-Must be for a reason and fulfill a need in the characters.
-Should be proceeded by occasional subtext that gets the readers to care the characters get together.
-Tension during trauma and hesitant resolution during quiet.
-Over a series, a slow burn is better than a quick get together and more realistic.
-Can end with an adult conversation and still be satisfying.
Nordic Horror in Nordic Settings: What scares us?; Mats Strandberg, Tiina Hantala, Emil Hjorvar Petersen, Kjarton Lindoe
-Thrillers have constant excitement that can be seen, with a closed resolution. Horror has constant excitement that is unseen but is horrific when it is seen, with open resolution.
-There is a difference between fear and the uncanny and it is a fine line in the horror genre. Horror is also in the eye of the beholder.
-Told the folklore story of the necropants, or nabrok. Click here for more information. Warning...its creepy.
Folklore and Myth in the Fantastic; Alexandra Rowland, K.A. Laity, Michael R. Underwood, Tim Phin, Carolyn Ives Gilman
-Folklore is the belief in how things got to be how they are. Answers questions the culture was trying to answer with violent and destructive punishment for not following the social norm. One person's folklore is anothers sacred texts.
-Oppressors have used a culture's folklore to alter the narritive, justify their world view, and suppress the rest.
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