@sinedogmate.bsky.social
Mensus Eram Coelos, nunc terrae metior umbras. Mostly for posting blogs on creative writing/book reviews.
Revisited the reading. I think I sort of get it now.
12.02.2026 10:18 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
So, another update on van Fraassen...
We learned about constructive empiricism in the lecture, and I don't get it... I just can't, it drives me crazy whenever I try to deal with it.
This meme is the last of my (hopefully) appropriate understandings of constructive empiricism.
In thinking "progress", I found no meaning. I realised I have grown used to a narrowed vision of Future in general, dominated by "progress" or "destruction". Luo's article really helps me find some flexibility in life and imagination, and to that I cheer for its ability to resonate and inspire.
08.02.2026 16:47 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Reading by Luo Xiaoming assigned by my lecturer this week, on Chinese Science Fiction and Culture.
"...paradoxically, by fearing change and progress, and thus actively refusing to participate in evolution, meaning can no longer be found in a stagnant life" (Luo, p.241).
It has been three weeks, and looking back at this spontaneous mixture of my college coursework with the #SouthernReach Trilogy, it is just... random. Also too shallow.
But I really want to use this repost to properly introduce it again.
Care for a reading on #SciFi with some philosophy of science?
Next week in my course we are reading Bas Van Fraassen... I asked my lecturer and he pointed out my intuitions were very similar to Van Fraassen's constructive empiricism.
I always feel like scientific instruments are mutated lens.
βWhat did Galileo see in his telescope?" "We don't know."
Ultimately we can't see a lot of things that some machineries can "make" us see.
Seeing does not mean believing; we question the difference between the real world (if there is one) and what is observed. This is such a concerning issue; philosophers have been debating for it for centuries.
My odd take after watching Markiplier's Iron Lung:
When Mark played the original game of Iron Lung, the horror comes from the limited view given from a "flash camera". In the movie this uncertainty and unreliability of the scientific instrument is well recreated.
Occasionally the seminar is good (today's is meh), but when it starts at 5 pm before dinner...
You will be thinking intentionally hard just to kill the time, also to burn down your blood sugar so you actually appreciate dinner.
Problem then becomes getting too hungry you don't want to move...
My OC, Uridim, who also happen to be the avatar I am using for this account.
I need some variation to my posts other than about my studying and writing, so I might as well doodle from time to time and post them here.
(I am not good at illustrations, though)
Allowing Thomas Kuhn to both talk about political and scientific revolution is sort of a "mistake".
I am suppose to learn the scientific revolution part, but the political revolution part is just as approachable, if not more connected to real life.
(Political paradigms? Sounds like ideology/values)
When writing, I suddenly remembered the influence of the NeiR franchise on my general storytelling style.
NeiR: Automata and Gestalt were both extremely "erratic" in worldbuilding and plotline.
Weird Fiction, Analog Horror, Games... There is a RANDOM bunch of creators I admire out there!
Luckily through a quick read of Wikipedia I learned that Buckland later changed his mind and rejected his own Deluge theory.
It is just a fascinating alternative narrative, imagine the world as the natural theologists depicted - it must be very different and filled with biblical mystique.
The most striking things Lanzas introduced to me through his animation was the Antediluvian narrative by William Buckland. Buckland attempted to explain fossils with a catastrophist view in which the Deluge has led to the extinction and destruction of an ancient world.
19.01.2026 18:09 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
In today's history of science seminar, we were very lucky to closely examine Duria Antiquior (1830) by Henry De La Bech!
Around a year ago I happen to come across this excellent animation based on the Duria Antiquior and many other paleontologists by Mario Lanzas: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHsz...
#SouthernReach #BookReview #ScienceFiction #Authority #Acceptance
Previous reviews available at:
https://sinedogmate.wordpress.com/reviews-jeff-vandermeer/
Next book review update will likely be on a non-fiction or on Earthsea from Ursula K. Le Guin. Stay in touch for a new review series.
#SouthernReach #BookReview #ScienceFiction #Authority #Acceptance
Previous reviews available at:
https://sinedogmate.wordpress.com/reviews-jeff-vandermeer/
Next book review update will likely be on a non-fiction or on Earthsea from Ursula K. Le Guin. Stay in touch for a new review series.
After one day of lecture, seminar, reading, and chatting: the hype is but an illusion, but you get the point.
12.01.2026 20:37 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
From a novice STS student about to return back to learning.
12.01.2026 05:41 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 1Thinking about how much stuff from real life should I post here.
The world is depressing (also sometimes very exciting), should we retreat to a digital representation of ourselves?
#Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Devil as in Faustian sense.
Back from vacation now. This update works somewhat like a remote fan fiction of the historical figure Maria Sibylla Merian.
Day 7- Plant, Chained Shepherd
#Fantasy #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
#Romance (A concerning tag)
Day 7 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
Did not mean to write about love and romance, but here we go now!
Day 6- The Spider, Indoorsy
#ScienceFiction #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Day 6 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
Instead of worrying about your insurance plan and your rent, go touch some grass!!!
Day 4- The Naga, the Stupa of the Universe
#Fantasy #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Day 4 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
I worry my knowledge of Buddhist philosophy is not deep enough for this story to convey the right message... I'll keep on learning!
Day 2- Centaur, That Night Before You Go on Stage
#Fantasy #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Day 2 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
Do monsters look different, or are they just trying to be themselves?
Day 5-The Mermaid, Ocean
#Fantasy #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Day 5 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
Depending on whether I still have the interest, I will see if I should also update on weekends...
Day 4- The Naga, the Stupa of the Universe
#Fantasy #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Day 4 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
I worry my knowledge of Buddhist philosophy is not deep enough for this story to convey the right message... I'll keep on learning!
Day 3- The Slime, A knife on top of your heart is called temperance
#Sciencefiction #Shortstory #Creativewriting #Fiction
Day 3 of Monster Boys/Girls 30 Days Writing Challenge.
My stories are unrelated to any situations in the real world. If they look similar, it is just a coincidence.
According to my clock, I am just around 2 hours before my deadline...
Day 3 upcoming.
