Freaky Friday - When Life Imitates Art

I recently reread I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. I'd read it years ago but became interested in it once again when I came across some research into the use of robotics in the military. The book was considered complete science fiction when it was first released. Those who thought robots could be in our lives some day thought it would occur centuries from now.

But the past fifty years - and even the last twenty - have shown us tremendous strides in all area of science and technology.

Robots are routinely used in detecting improvised explosive devices (IED's), originally in Iraq and Afghanistan, saving an untold number of lives. The device doesn't look anything like us - it's on wheels, is small, and boxy. But to the guys who routinely work with them, they care about their robot.

Then there's the work DARPA is doing. In my latest book, The Pendulum Files, I needed a scene involving the military and advanced technology. Enter DARPA. A real government agency, DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Their research is truly something out of Isaac Asimov's books: exoskeletons for our soldiers, robots that look more like humans...

Their work employs some of the brightest minds in the world in biology, chemistry, medicine, physics, astrophysics, engineering and mathematics, to name a few. Their work involves ground, sea and space, including superiority in outerspace.

Below is a fascinating video of just a few of the robots DARPA has developed. Imagine sending robots into battle in future years instead of men; with speeds exceeding 18mph, no human could outrun them. With robots capable of jumping heights of two stories, no human could climb faster in an attempt to escape. Just imagine what our future holds...



Thursday Thoughts

I am often asked by readers how I can write in more than one genre. In some literary circles, authors have informed audiences that it isn't "possible" for an author to be successful in more than one genre. I write in four: non-fiction (computer), historical adventure/suspense, contemporary suspense (some of which contain more romance and paranormal elements) and how-to books for authors.

But consider this: Isaac Asimov, considered brilliant by nearly everyone who knows of him, wrote in all ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System:

Computer Science/ Information Science
Philosophy and Psychology
Religion
Social Sciences
Language
Science
Technology
Arts
Literature
History, Geography & Biology

He may be known as the Father of Science Fiction but in more than 500 books, he clearly showed the world that he could write on any subject - and he was fluent in them all.

In the area of fiction, he not only wrote science fiction but he also wrote mysteries and suspense. Much of what he wrote as fiction was based on solid scientific principles, many of them in their infancy at the time of his writings.

If you are a writer, do you write in more than one genre or have you selected one in which to make your mark? As a reader, do you enjoy reading various genres from the same author or do you find it confusing?