Non-Fiction Program

Rev. 18-Mar-2000

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Larry Ahern and Nick Winks are working on the programming for the Non-Fiction Track, and seeking ideas and participants. So far, the following topics have been suggested:

• GOH Ben Bova on Space
• GOH Ben Bova on Implications of Immortality
• History Must be Viewed with the Same Forward-looking Eye as the Future
• Chicago's Scientific History
• Using SF to Teach Science
• Any Scientific Presentations
• The Science in Science Fiction
• The Future of Genetic Research - will you have blue eyes with that?
• Orwellian Futures - possible or not?
• What Scientific Discipline offers the most for the Future?
• Attending authors (Name the author/s):
• Chicago Scientists (Name the scientist/s):
• Melissa, Chernobyl and Michaelangelo: The proliferation of virii
• Scientific Myths: Science "everyone knows" that is wrong.
• Mapping the Wild Genome: What is a genome and why so much research?
• Nanotechnology and Clarke's Law: Will nanotechnology live up to the hype?
• The Reference Shelf: What non-fiction books are essential to have on your shelves.
• The Ten Greatest Technological Advances of the Twentieth Century That Never Were.
• Ancient and Medieval Economic Systems: Before there was money, there was barter.
• Preindustrial Technology: Technology existed long before the industrial revolution.
• Light Pollution: A discussion of the problem and what can be done to solve it.
• Launch Windows and Orbital Mechanics: Why can't we go to Mars whenever we want?
• Favorite Science Authors: Who are good scientists to read to keep up?
• Mars: Planet of a Thousand Faces? First the face on Mars, now the Happy Face...
• Space Law: What rules govern the use of space and whose laws will apply?
• Spaceguard: How to get involved in the Spaceguard Project and will it do any good?
• Return to Luna: What could make a return to the Moon profitable?
• The Christian Ready Show
• The Christian Ready Show, Royal Encore Performance
• From the Distant Past: What do we really know about dinosaurs?
• Burial at Space: If it's good enough for Roddenberry and Leary...
• The Outer Planets: Mars and Venus are overused - what about the others?
• Coming Soon From the Phone Company: An Ameritech representative presentation.
• Web Resources You Should Know About.
• When Will the Privatization of Space Arrive: Talked about for years, when?
• What Constitutes Good Science Writing?
• Building a Successful Website: SF Site Case Study:
• Weird, Weird Chicago: Ghost hunter Richard Crowe.
• Haunted Chicago: Ghost hunter Richard Crowe returns.
• The Future Is Now: Trends and technology which will affect our future.
• Are Computers Becoming Our Significant Others?
• Manufacturing In Space: What will work better - and cheaper?
• Fiction to Fact: Science fictional devices which have become real.
• Preaching to the Choir: Why a strong space program is important.
• The Future of Low Earth Orbit: Near Space is getting crowded.
• The Price of Space: Why spend so much money of space travel?
• Earthgrazers: Comets and Asteroids that come a little too close for comfort.
• Library Acquisitions: You can help your library.
• Cancer Research in the Coming Millennium:
• Hovercrafts: How do they work, where can they go?
• But Heinlein Said. . . : A look at Robert Heinlein's predictive essay.
• Alien Intelligence Right Under Our Noses: Are there folks to talk to HERE?
• Cryptography: How are Codes created - and broken?
• Planetary Formation: How to design realistic planets.
• Lights in the Sky: Searching for UFOs and all those people who have been abducted.
• I Know What You're Thinking: Is there any evidence in support of ESP forms?
• Nature's Clones: The special relationship of twins.
• Buying a Telescope: What to look for in purchasing a ticket to the greatest show.
• An Uncharted Backwater of the Galaxy: Earth WAS the center of the universe...
• Claustrophobia in Space: How Astronauts and Cosmonauts deal with being cooped up.
• If There Were Concrete Proof That UFO's Landed on the White House Lawn...
• SETI@home: How to become involved in the search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
• Heaven on Earth: Meteorite retrieval and what these rocks tell us.
• When Chicago Was a Crater: Long ago, the Chicago area was struck by a meteorite.
• What is a Planet?: Brian Marsden's 1998 suggestion that Pluto be demoted.
• Shoot for the Moon: Why are we talking about Mars? We aren't back to the Moon!
• The Sources of Fantasy: Folklore
• The Sources of Fantasy: History
• The Sources of Fantasy: Dreams
• I'm Going to Live Forever: Science fiction has been predicting immortality. When?

We would also like to know if panelists/presenters will require anything unusual in the way of audiovisual aids for their panel.

Please send your comments to Larry.Ahern@chicon.org or non-fiction@chicon.org.

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Next: Pictures from Chicon 2000