A List of Every Book I've Ever Read
Here's a ridiculous thing that nobody asked for and nobody wants.
Read MoreStrictly Spoilers: Prometheus
When I heard that Ridley Scott was planning an Alien prequel, way back in 2012, I was pretty hyped. Then, I was disappointed. Now, after Alien: Covenant, I find myself appreciating Prometheus a whole lot more.
Read MoreMemories: Near-Drownings and Bee Stings
When I was six I managed to almost drown and get stung by a bee at the beach, all in the one holiday.
Read MoreThe Universe and Me, Part 8: Nations
The Romans were the first of many kingdoms to lay claim to Great Britain over the centuries, which would rise from these hardships as an important international power...
Read MoreReview: The God Engines
Hey all! I'm just writing to let you know that I've made my first post on Oddity.me Magazine, formerly known as ReadersDoor. It's also my first review, John Scalzi's The God Engines. Take a look! You know, if you want. Or not. Not that I care. (Please look)
The Universe and Me, Part 7: Humans
Human beings, the anatomically modern kind, have lived on Earth for the last quarter of a million years. Although that is a tiny amount of time compared to the vast spans I’ve described so far, I feel we’ve achieved rather a lot.
Read MoreThe Universe and Me, Part 6: Mammals
Mammals lived, for 135 million years, in the shadows of much larger reptiles. Dinosaurs dominated the land, giant marine reptiles owned the seas, and pterosaurs patrolled the skies. Mammals did not rest on their laurels, however, developing the traits that define them today.
Read MoreThe Universe and Me, Part 5: Sex
Sexual reproduction has been a powerful force for the last 1.2 billion years. Exactly why and how it evolved remains unclear, but it does offer some advantages.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me: Life
How, exactly, the complex biochemistry that animates our cells came to be remains mysterious. The best guess we have is that RNA, ribonucleic acids, were the first part to materialise.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me: Earth
The Earth formed in the same manner as its brethren: by accretion from the disk of dust left behind by the sun’s birth. Heated by the many collisions that grew it, the planet was molten at first.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me: The Solar System
Around five billion years ago, an average-sized white star swelled from the dust of a barred spiral galaxy. From the disc of remains that surrounded it, smaller bodies pulled together and fell into line around it, until it was orbited by a swarm of planets, from gas giants to tiny, rocky worlds.
Read MoreThe Story of the Universe and Me, Part 1
Everything that makes up my body was once packed into a single point, along with all the other energy that has ever existed. That includes everything that makes up the planet Earth, every star in the sky, and you, dear reader.
Read MoreLjubljana: A Tale from the Gap
I first met Gaja in Rome, where myself and my friend had shared a hostel room with her and her two friends. They were on holiday from Slovenia. I was very taken with her. When it was time for us to leave, she gave us her email address and told us to get in touch with them when we were in Ljubljana.
Read MoreCome With Me If You Want to Live - Time Travel in Fiction, Part III
Something about Skynet has bugged me for a while. Okay, I know that in Part I I spent considerable words criticising the criticism of time travel, but now I’m going to play the hypocrite. I feel somewhat justified, though, as it’s not the mechanics portrayed in the franchise I’m criticising so much as a character within that franchise.
Read MoreTimey-Wimey Stuff - Time Travel (in fiction?) Part II
We usually think of time travel as purely fictional. Mostly, it is. Travel into the past is still considered impossible by most physicists, although there are exceptions (more on that later). However, travelling into the future is, with some help from Albert Einstein, perfectly plausible, as long as you have access to either a powerful gravitational field or a craft that can travel near the speed of light.
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