But really, make sure The Bible is on the list. Actually having read it opens up a tremendous world of understanding of other art and literature, regardless of one's religion.

I loved that book. Also The Space Merchants, and pretty much anything of his I've encountered. One of the greats.

There has already been a metaphorical sequel: Christopher Nolan's "Inception". Look at how the ending worked, and the analogy is clear.

I'd like "Radio Free Albemuth" or "The Man in the High Castle" myself (although I have an affection for "Eye in the Sky", it's too dated with the anti-communism shtick and updating it could easily wreck it).

I agree with you about Blade Runner, but PKD did write one sort-of series: Valis, The Divine Invasion, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (cf http://www.philipkdick.com/covers/valis_trilogy.jpg )

Certainly there is no need for a sequel here, and I expect that this will be terrible.

As someone who has made major contributions to multiple areas of knowledge, which has been your favorite, and why?

PS - I thought "Disturbing the Universe" and "From Eros to Gaia" were magnificent - thank you!

I'm curious where you work...

s/clip/magazine/

Precision when discussing controversial issues is a good thing. Doubly so when the controversial issue involves lethal weapons.

The islands of elite surrounded by starving peasants reminds me of Feintuch's Voices of Hope, or perhaps Tiptree's "Backward, Turn Backward." Brrr...

My complaint is that the comcast wireless router I was given doesn't let you disable the wireless! I have a much better Apple wireless router, and now this crummy one interferes with it. Grr...

Absolutely true. I recently had a trauma which redefined my pain scale - it used to be that kidney stones and the EMG were the 9, while the spinal taps were about a 7. Now those are both 6, and the torsion was the 9. I only call it not a 10 because I have a particularly vivid imagination, and a 10 sounds like being drawn and quartered while alive, for instance...

Good catch, and for anyone playing along at home, gluten intolerance can manifest in much the same way. Gluten is present in barley, rye, wheat, oats, and spelt, and fortunately nowadays there are lots of products which are marketed "gluten free."

well said, with very minor nitpick: s/other Arab/Arab/ - whether Iraq is an Arab country (or Persian country) depends on who you ask, but I don't know of anyone with any knowledge of Iranian history who would call Iran an Arab country.

I have no knowledge of who's responsible for the worm, but Steve Bellovin wrote about it very intelligently.

I live in Washington DC, and the jury selection process here does not exclude a lot of typical cases (eg lawyers: we have a lot per capita, and the remaining pool wouldn't be big enough). This led to me being on a medical malpractice case regarding a plaintiff who suffered from a condition that I myself have (tinnitus). I like to think that I rendered fair service anyway, but it's still a bit distressing.

I am still amazed that the five most important concepts in mathematics can be expressed in one equation with nothing extraneous. Just reword the equation as e^(i*pi) +1 = 0.