Ottawa SF Society April meeting

[Joel Polowin]

In 1973, Arthur C. Clarke wrote his Third Law: "Any sufficiently
advanced
technology is indistinguishable from magic." Later, others have
proposed
variations on the theme: "Any sufficiently advanced magic is
indistinguishable from technology", "Any sufficiently advanced
technology
is indistinguishable from a rigged demo", and many others.

Many science fiction stories have involved people dealing with
technology
so far in advance of their own that it appears to work by magic. And
many fantasy stories have involved "magic" that functions by well-
defined
rules that are, in essence, the laws of physics of those worlds. Some
SF
characters have intentionally used advanced tech to create the
appearance
of magic -- comic book character Abra Kadabra and Babylon 5's
Technomages,
for example.

The April meeting of the Ottawa Science Fiction Society will feature
a
discussion on the subject of "Any Sufficiently Advanced..." --
exploring
the boundaries between technology and magic, and when one is used to
simulate the other. Club members will give presentations, and there
will
be general discussion.

The meeting will be on Sunday, April 27th, at 2 p.m.,
at the Dalhousie Community Centre at 755 Somerset St. West.

For more information please call 727-6379 or see our website at
http://osfs.ncf.ca . Members of the public are welcome to
attend without charge.

Joel Polowin
Treasurer, Ottawa Science Fiction Society