I’m the Science Guest of Honor at ConFusion in Detroit later this month. How cool is that?
My schedule is packed. I’ll be giving two talks, and on several panels.
Worldbuilding with Sarah Goslee
We’re only really familiar with one world, but we know a lot about it. Concepts and principles from ecology and geography can help writers and GMs build new settings that feel real, whether fantastical other worlds or far-flung space habitats. Where do deserts belong on maps? How do the ecosystems around us shape our real lives, and how can that knowledge add depth to a fictional world?
The Voynich Manuscript
What makes this little block of parchment the “world’s most mysterious manuscript”? It was rediscovered by Wilfrid Voynich around 1912, but do we actually know anything about it? Why has it led so many people down so many rabbitholes? Scholars and crackpots alike have proposed a wide range of solutions: hoax, gibberish, women’s mysteries, Aztec herbal, aliens. They can’t all be right, can they? How would we know? There are drawings of plants, stars, lists, even naked women, but we can’t read a single word.
I’ll add some resources and references related to the talks once I finish pulling everything together.
My actual schedule includes these, plus all the receptions and festivities. This is going to be so much fun, and so exhausting.
Friday
1:00pm
Workshops? Worth it?
Moderators: D.M. Beucler (She/Them)
Panelists: Sarah Goslee, Kate Chenli, Steve Buchheit, K.S. Walker
6:00pm
Worldbuilding with Sarah Goslee
Panelists: Sarah Goslee
Saturday
11:00am
Fannish Hobbies
Moderators: Anna Carey
Panelists: Sarah Goslee, Michael J. DeLuca, Michael Cieslak, Megan Hoffman
12:00pm
Incorporating science into your work
Panelists: Christine Daigle, Sarah Goslee, Maurice Broaddus, Catherine Stein, Marsalis
2:00pm
Speculative Fashion
Moderators: Jen Nagle
Panelists: Sarah Goslee, D.M. Beucler (She/Them), Catherine Stein, Andrea Phillips
3:00pm
Voynich Manuscript
Moderators: Sarah Goslee
Sunday
1:00pm
The History of Astrology and Astronomy
Moderators: Louie Kuznia
Panelists: Sarah Goslee, Bill Higgins, Andrea Phillips