Loncon 3 Schedule [Thu 14 August to Mon 18 August]

[nanila]

Like many others, I have received my schedule for Worldcon/Loncon 3/That Big Science Fiction Convention Thingie. I get to participate in an exciting range of items, in addition to giving my usual bouncy SPAAAACE talk, this time about Rosetta. Dates and times aren't final. Name replacement to protect pseudonymity. Also: Wheee!

Liechester Square: Getting London Wrong

Thursday 14 August 19:00 - 20:00
If there's one thing you can guarantee about the reaction to any piece of SF set in London, it's that British fans will delight in nit-picking the details: you can't get there on the Piccadilly Line! So who are the worst offenders? Whose commodified Londons do we forgive for the sake of other virtues in their writing? Do we complain as much about cultural errors as geographic ones, and if not, why not? And given London's status as a global city, is it even fair to claim ownership of its literary representation?
Tony Keen, nanila, Cherry Potts, Mike Shevdon, Russell Smith

Scientists Without Borders

Friday 15 August 13:30 - 15:00
Science may strive for objectivity, but all scientific communities are grounded in their host cultures. The panellists talk about working in different scientific cultures, working in multinational teams or transporting a team or project elsewhere.
Guy Consolmagno SJ , Katie Mack, nanila, Sharon Reamer, Rachel Berkson

Secrecy in Science

Sunday 17 August 13:30 - 15:00
What role does secrecy have in science? Should drug companies be allowed to hide trial data from their competitors? Should scientists be allowed to publish papers and not the data they are based on? Is there a place for commercial confidentiality in space missions? But if everything is open, how will anybody get commercial benefit from new inventions and discoveries? And do we really want DNA sequences for super-flu, and the designs for dirty bombs and plutonium refineries to be available to all?
David L Clements , Katie Mack, Heather Urbanski, Carolina Gómez Lagerlöf, Sunil Patel, nanila

Rosetta talk

Monday 18 August 11:00 - 12:00
Into the heart of the comet
nanila

The Scientific Culture

Monday 18 August 15:00 - 16:30
Is there a scientific culture? The success of The Big Bang Theory, XKCD and PhD Comics suggest that there is, but if so, what is scientific culture? What values and attitudes can there be in common between fields as diverse as biology and cosmology? What experiences and views are shared by scientists across such disparate fields, and why are they different from the experience and views of non-scientists? Is this important, and should SF writers and fans be taking notes?
David L Clements, Katie Mack, nanila, Prof David Southwood, Rachael Acks

How space missions happen

Monday 18 August 16:30 - 18:00
How do space missions like Hubble or Curiosity come to happen? Where do the ideas come from and what happens after that as mission proposals go to NASA, ESA and others and work their way through the system? What problems and benefits do different funding agencies have? And why do budgets sometimes expand, delays stack up and satellites explode?
Jordin Kare, Geoffrey Landis, Stephanie Osborn, Prof David Southwood, Laura Burns, nanila

Comments

[soliano]

No timey-wimey stuff? :(

[nanila]

I'm not the biggest consumer of sci-fi (written or otherwise, including Doctor Who) and I'm much more an applied than theoretical scientist, so I wouldn't be the best person for a timey-wimey panel. :P

[soliano]

So all business and no fun at the Con?

[nanila]

I have to say, that judgement puzzles me! I think all these look like great fun. :)

[lark_ascends]

Wow, you're going to be busy!

[nanila]

Yeah, my Monday looks pretty rammed! At least I have Saturday free, and only one thing on each of the other days.

[ironed_orchid]

That looks like aq great set of panels! I really love the concept of the London geography one.

[major_clanger]

I think it's safe to say that this was probably inspired by a line in Thor: The Dark World that was a great gag for everyone in the global audience except Londoners, who all went "But the Underground doesn't work like that!!"

(Also: Oxford. Phillip Pullman set His Dark Materials in a parallel-universe version of Oxford, but so did the production team for Morse, at least in terms of how you get from A to B...)

[nanila]

I think it'll be fun! The London geography one has the potential to turn into a proper bitchfest of drunk Londoners if the beer flow is left unmoderated. :P

[ironed_orchid]

I will admit to sometimes pulling up Google Maps on my phone when reading the Rivers of London series, especially the latest one which is all in areas I never explored.

[pulchritude]

Will you write up reports? Some of these panels sound really interesting!

[nanila]

I hadn't thought of writing them up! I'll keep notes and will post reports when I can - will be with bloke & baby throughout the con, so they may not appear in a timely fashion.

[ironed_orchid]

Timely for cons usually means in the weeks following.

[nanila]

Ah, good. I may be just about able to manage that. :P

[liv]

OMG, I'm on a panel with you! The Scientists without Borders one, I'm the last person on the list. Now I'm even more excited about getting some programming (even though I was totally disorganized about actually applying).

[nanila]

YAY! Oh, that will be fun. I'm excited to hear your perspectives on that topic.

(I was disorganised too - I did OK with the initial volunteering but badly with the follow-up. Am going to need to buy purplecthulhu a lot of beer for his patience...)

[ankaret]

This sounds like SO MUCH FUN. Have a great time!

[nanila]

Yes, I think it will be!

I'm still amused that I'm at best a dilettante sci-fi fan but have got sucked into this Con thing.

[forthwritten]

Those panels sound really interesting - I especially love the idea of the London geoography one.

Relatedly, are you going to NAME at Portsmouth? If you are, you might bump into my sister!

[nanila]

Yes, I'm looking forward to hearing the other panelists' perspectives, especially on Secrecy in Science and The Scientific Culture.

Sadly, I don't know what NAME is. Please explain?

[forthwritten]

Sorry, it's NAM - National Astronomy Meeting, taking place at the University of Portsmouth. My sister is involved with the organisation.

[nanila]

Ah, of course! I won't be going next week, sadly, as I'm up to my ears in Royal Society exhibition planning. We have our dry run on Monday. Meep.

[rmc28]

I'm so pleased you've got on so many panels :-) Look forward to seeing at least some of them.

[nanila]

Thanks, me too! I'm rather excited about "How Space Missions Happen", especially with Prof. Southwood (my PI's predecessor) there. I want to hear his stories. ;)