1. There are an interminable number of older science fiction novels out there which have as plot devices the notion that the protagonist has some ‘top of his head’ recollection about reasonably obscure bits of astronomical data. This was even a part of Mark Twain’s “a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” How many people do you know who are conversant enough with astronomical data to recall solar eclipse in the first millennium of the Common Era?

Most people I know have a pretty hard time coming up with the names of all of the planets, let alone knowing their relative distances from Earth, the length of their respective years, how many satellites they have, and other bits of solar system trivia. With the increasing numbers of science fiction based movies (I know, CGI fests…) which are parts of our collective consciousness, it would seem reasonable to presume that growing numbers of people are becoming more and more involved in the arcane of amateur astronomy… Not too surprisingly , this is certainly not the case, where we have so much light pollution in most of our towns and cities that sky watching in any regard becomes more and more difficult. Also Astronomy does involve the use of some mathematics and Newtonian physics (a less than big hit with the hordes of the math phobic in our culture…).

All of this makes you wonder where the future astronauts are coming from…

2. As I sit and wonder about some of the changes which technology has rendered into our culture, I often see some of the seemingly obvious cases on TV, where you could watch lots of old movies and TV shows. These forms of entertainment have been recycling plot devices and themes for centuries (re: a 1950’s TV show “wagon Train’ using parts of Shakespeare’s King Lear as plot elements!). The fact that the greats of literature have been plundered for about as long as the masterpieces have existed is no surprise (nor is it a problem, with me, at least).
But there are some interesting parts of some of these early TV shows and Movies which have been effectively rendered as obsolete in our culture. Obsolete to the degree that in only a couple years they might seem so quaint and naïve as to not be worth watching at all. Most of you (at least those who watch TV) have seen any number of old movies where, as a plot device, the protagonist separately needs to contact: his sidekick, girlfriend, the police, the army, the hospital, etc. etc. This has been used as a cheap means with which to create dramatic tension for years. Now, in this world of interconnectedness, where nearly everyone has a cell phone, has online access, can contact virtually anyone anywhere at any time…this plot device has been unceremoniously dealt a death blow…

How do you create drama in so many situations where everyone already has all of the information, and where they can all interact and resolve things in a virtual manner, in real time?

3. Every culture has some boundaries, where the members on the inside have rituals, and predilections with which they define their culture for themselves and others. Food is one area where this has been a notable case, and most people have known about this for years.

There are plenty of cases of various cultures having specialty foods (delicacies), which may be an acquired taste (to be very polite), and by creating this low entry barrier; keep the definitions of who is in the culture.

To the outsiders, the notion of eating such foods as: Lutefisk, Durian melon, or even Fugu are fraught with danger, disgust, and are sometimes associated with myths and legends.

This topic contains any number of questions, such as:

What is the strange food of your culture?

Are there other aspects of food besides the actual food item itself which could be seen as one of these barriers? There are many other categories, such as very hot and spicy foods, overly complex methods of preparations, and even fabled or mythical origins to the food itself.

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