Introducing 'Device'

March 13, 2019 at 9:15 AM PDT

You like to read and some of your favorite novels have fascinating ideas and concepts seeds all water on Earth to freeze below one hundred and fourteen degrees Fahrenheit. Oh it's much closer to the earth. And there are widespread tsunamis around the world. Is it possible that we're all living in a simulated reality world and we don't know it but sometimes you think to yourself is this even possible. Coming soon is the device podcast where we take a closer look at literature by talking to real life San Diego scientists and innovators. If the oceans froze and taking a look at the world itself they'd be about 80 percent. That's a lot of coverage. So getting the mass of an object that doesn't have anything orbiting it is actually incredibly difficult. It's a little weird because the military and NASA who did a lot of the early work on VR and have truth in science can help shape a novel. Are these any explained that really well actually that's how this might go and it forces you to think and I think that's the basic thing that you'd want a book to convey to a reader like heart. Just think it to me like that was like the best part of the book the device podcast your monthly scientific book club coming in April with Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Junior. So get reading.

By Emily T. Griffiths

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“Device” is a monthly book discussion with a science-based twist. Frequently, authors incorporate scientific phenomena as a plot device in their fictional stories. This can create thrilling tension, progress the plot, and/or provide the foundation for a philosophical debate. Often a caricature of science is described; it isn't always realistically plausible. In each episode, we discuss a story that uses science to drive the action of the plot and dissect it for scientific integrity. San Diego has top-class research institutions and innovative technology start-ups which can help us review various scientific plot devices critically. We'll discuss how the author altered reality for the sake of the story. How much was intentional hyperbole, willful manipulation, or perhaps ignorance? Were the alterations minor, and the device highlights a natural wonder? Or does it contribute to the public’s misunderstanding of science? In short, does it pay off? Follow along and read all the books we’ll be examining in season 1: “Cat's Cradle,” “Jaws” “Life As We Knew It,” “The Poisonwood Bible,” “Time Out of Joint,” and “Cannery Row.”