Ask Neal Stephenson

Our latest Slashdot interview victim... err... guest... is Neal Stephenson, author of (among others) Snow Crash, CRYPTONOMICON, the much-discussed essay, In the Beginning was the Command Line, and more recently a series of books he calls The Baroque Cycle. (Last month Slashdot reviewed the series' third volume, The System of the World.) Now you can ask Neal whatever you want. As usual, we'll send him 10 -12 of the highest-moderated questions and post his answers verbatim when we get them back.

Comments

Re:Enoch

[bedford]

Someone at a book signing last week in Boulder asked Neal to explain Enoch. He reply was that to explain Enoch's purpose would be to destroy it. I'm not sure what impact this has on the question you're asking, but it seemed worth mentioning anyway.

Re:MOD PARENT UP: Re:Singularity

[mav[LAG]]

Gold *is* a particularly useful metal viz (shamelessly pasted from wikipedia):

Because of its superior electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion and other desirable combinations of physical and chemical properties, gold also emerged in the late 20th century as an essential industrial metal. Other uses:

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• Gold performs critical functions in computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines, and a host of other products.
  
• The high electrical conductivity and resistance to oxidation of gold has led to its widespread use as thin layers electroplated on the surface of electrical connectors to ensure a good, low-resistance connection.
  
• Like silver, gold can form a hard amalgam with mercury, and is sometimes used for dental fillings.
  
• Colloidal gold (gold nanoparticles) is an intensely colored solution that is currently studied in many labs for medical, biological and other applications. It is also the form used as gold paint on ceramics prior to firing.
  
• Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image.
  
• Disodium aurothiomalate is a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (administered intramuscularly).
  
• The gold isotope Au-198, (half-life: 2.7 days) is used in some cancer treatments and for treating other diseases.
  
• Gold is used as a coating enabling biological material to be viewed under a scanning electron microscope.
  
• Since it is a good reflector of both infrared and visible light, it is used for the protective coatings on many artificial satellites.