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Seventy-Two Letters
“Seventy-Two Letters” is a science fiction novella by American writer Ted Chiang, published in June 2000 in the Ellen Datlow's anthology ''Vanishing Acts''. The novella can also be found in the anthologies '' Year's Best SF 6'' (2001), edited by David G. Hartwell and '' Steampunk'' (2008), edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer. It is included in the collection '' Stories of Your Life and Others'' (2002). Plot summary The novella focuses on an alternate history of the world where the science and technology are based on the use of golems and, accordingly, the Kabbalistic names embedded in them. Biologists discover that the number of human generations is a constant value and that in about 100 years the human race will die out due to the lack of sperm in the last generation. An unexpected way out of the impasse has yet to be found. Reception Greg Bitty of ''Strange Horizons'' wrote, ""Seventy-two Letters" is one of the finest representations of the SF subgenre of steampunk. As the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang (born 1967) is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the film ''Arrival'' (2016). He was an artist in residence at the University of Notre Dame in 2020–2021. Early life, family and education Ted Chiang was born in 1967 in Port Jefferson, New York. His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan (). Both of his parents were born in Mainland China and immigrated to Taiwan with their families during the Chinese Communist Revolution before immigrating to the United States. His father, Fu-pen Chiang, is a distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Stony Brook University. Chiang graduated from Brown University with a computer science degree. Career Chiang began submitting stories to magazines in high school. After attending the Clarion Workshop in 1989 he sold his first story, "The Tower of Babylo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golem
A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague. According to '' Moment'' magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, Jew or non-Jew, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair."Cooper, MarilynJewish Word , Golem" '' Moment''. 17 July 2017. 24 August 2017. Etymology The word ''golem'' occurs once in the Bible in Psalm 139:16, which uses the word (; my golem), that means "my light form", "raw" material, connoting the unfinished human being before God's eyes. The Mishnah uses the term for an uncultivated person: "Seven characteristics are in an uncultivated person, and seven in a learned one", () (Pirkei Avot 5:7 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pi (film)
''Pi'' (stylized as ) is a 1998 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky in his feature directorial debut. ''Pi'' was filmed on high-contrast black-and-white reversal film and earned Aronofsky the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award. The title refers to the mathematical constant pi. The film explores themes of religion, mysticism, and the relationship of the universe to mathematics. The story, about a mathematician with an obsession to find underlying complete order in the real world, contrasts two seemingly irreconcilable entities: the imperfect irrationality of humanity; and the rigor and regularity of mathematics, specifically number theory. Plot Unemployed number theorist Max Cohen, who lives in a drab apartment in Chinatown, Manhattan, believes everything in nature can be understood through numbers. He suffers from cluster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Aronofsky attended Harvard University, where he studied film and social anthropology, and then the American Film Institute where he studied directing. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, ''Supermarket Sweep'', which became a National Student Academy Award finalist. In 1997, he founded the film and TV production company Protozoa Pictures. His feature debut, the surrealist psychological thriller '' Pi'' (1998), was produced for $60,000 and grossed over $3 million; It won Aronofsky the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. Aronofsky's follow-up, the psychological drama ''Requiem for a Dream'' (2000), was based on the novel of the same name by Hubert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Names Of God In Judaism
Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, Adonai, El ("God"), Elohim ("God," a plural noun), Shaddai ("Almighty"), and Tzevaot (" fHosts"); some also include Ehyeh ("I Will Be").This is the formulation of Joseph Karo (SA YD 276:9). Maimonides (MT Yesodei haTorah 6:2), Jacob b. Asher (AT YD 276), and Isaac Alfasi (HK Menachot 3b) also included Ehyeh, as do many later authorities, including Moses Isserles (SA YD 276:9). The original lists are found in y. Megillah 1:9 and b. Shavuot 35a, with some MSS agreeing with each authority. Maimonides and followers give the number of names as seven; however, manuscript inconsistency makes it difficult to judge which are included. Early authorities considered other Hebrew names mere epithets or descriptions of God and wrote that they and names in other languages may be written and erased freely. However, some moderns advise special care even in these cases, and many Orthodox Jews have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hayakawa Award
The is an annual poll conducted by '' Hayakawa's S-F Magazine'' for the best Japanese short story, illustrator, and foreign short story, voted by the readers from their issues in the previous year. The honor has been awarded since 1989. Award winners Foreign Short Story * Thomas M. Disch, "The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars" (''Translator: Hisashi Asakura'') (1989) * Mike Resnick, "For I Have Touched the Sky" (''Translator: Masayuki Uchida'') (1990) * John Varley, "Tango Charlie and Foxtrot Romeo" (''Translator: Hisashi Asakura'') (1991) * John Morressy, "Timekeeper" (''Translator: Youko Miki'') (1992) * James Tiptree, Jr. "With Delicate Mad Hands" (''Translator: Norio Itou'') (1993) * Ted Chiang, "Understand" (''Translator: Shigeyuki Kude'') (1994) * Greg Egan, "Learning to Be Me" (''Translator: Makoto Yamagashi'') (1995) * Greg Bear, "Heads" (''Translator: Kazuko Onoda'') (1996) * James Tiptree, Jr. "Come Live With Me" (''Translator: Norio Itou'') (1997) * Greg Egan, " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidewise Award For Alternate History
The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in which a strange storm causes portions of Earth to swap places with their analogs from other timelines. The awards were created by Steven H. Silver, Evelyn C. Leeper, and Robert B. Schmunk. Over the years, the number of judges has fluctuated between three and eight and have included judges in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa. Two awards are normally presented each year, usually at WorldCon or at NASFiC. The Short-Form award is presented to a work under 60,000 words in length. The Long-Form award is presented to a work or works longer than 60,000 words, which may include a single novel or a multi-volume series. The judges have four times also recognized an individual with a Special Achievement Award in recognitio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore Sturgeon Award
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story published in English in the preceding calendar year. It is the short fiction counterpart of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, awarded by the Center at the same conference. The award is named in honor of Theodore Sturgeon, one of the leading authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1939 to 1950. The award was established in 1987 by his heirs—including his widow, Jayne Sturgeon—and James Gunn, at the time the Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. From 1987 through 1994 the award was given out by a panel of science fiction experts led by Orson Scott Card. Beginning in 1995, the committee was replaced by a group of jurors, who vote on the nominations submitted for consideration. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locus Poll Award
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the plaques awarded to the winners, publishers of winning works are honored with certificates, which is unique in the field. Originally a poll of ''Locus'' subscribers only, voting is now open to anyone, but the votes of subscribers count twice as much as the votes of non-subscribers. The award was inaugurated in 1971, and was originally intended to provide suggestions and recommendations for the Hugo Awards. They have come to be considered a prestigious prize in science fiction, fantasy and horror literature. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' regards the Locus Awards as sharing the reputation of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Gardner Dozois holds the record for the most wins (43), while Neil Gaiman has won the most awards for works of fict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Fantasy Award For Best Novella
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a "plurality of worlds". Some treat the world as one simple object while others analyze the world as a complex made up of many parts. In ''scientific cosmology'' the world or universe is commonly defined as " e totality of all space and time; all that is, has been, and will be". '' Theories of modality'', on the other hand, talk of possible worlds as complete and consistent ways how things could have been. ''Phenomenology'', starting from the horizon of co-given objects present in the periphery of every experience, defines the world as the biggest horizon or the "horizon of all horizons". In ''philosophy of mind'', the world is commonly contrasted with the mind as that which is represented by the mind. ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hugo Awards
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine ''Amazing Stories''. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards were originally given in seven categories. These categories have changed over the years, and the award is currently conferred in seventeen categories of written and dramatic works. The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base; the design of the trophy changes each year, though the rocket itself has been standardized since 1984. The Hugo Awards are considered "the premier award in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugo Award For Best Novella
The Hugo Award for Best Novella is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novella award is available for works of fiction of between 17,500 and 40,000 words; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette and novel categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing". The Hugo Award for Best Novella has been awarded annually since 1968. In addition to the regular Hugo awards, beginning in 1996 Retrospective Hugo Awards, or "Retro Hugos", have been available to be awarded for years 50, 75, or 100 years prior in which no awards were given. Retro Hugos may only be awarded for years after 1939 in which no awards were originally given. To date, Retro Hugo awards have been given for novellas for 1939, 1941, 1943–1946, 1951, and 1954. During the 63 nomination ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
