Part One : (of many parts ( Neat Stuff I've found that I find to be interesting.
Interesting Stuff I've found while researching for Writing Books.
I'm an aspiring scifi writer (that means I'm a writer that doesn't sell much). I try to make my Science believable. I try to make it as easy as possible for the reader to 'suspend disbelief' while reading my stuff. Consequently I do a LOT of research. In fact I do more research than writing. (I think I'm more of an article writer than a novelist...oh well) In the course of my research I've ran across some interesting stuff that I've listed below.
You might find them to be interesting.
Alter Ego
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alter_ego
Quote: An alter ego (Latin, "the other I") is a second self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. A person who has an alter ego is said to lead a double life. The term appeared in common usage in the early 19th century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists.[1] Cicero first coined the term as part of his philosophical construct in 1st century Rome, but he described it as "a second self, a trusted friend".[2]
EndQuote:
An Alter Ego is another mind, another person, living inside the same skull. From my research I've concluded that a 'mind' or the 'soul' is an emergent property of the wetware in the brain. In some ways it can be compared to a program running on a computer. Marvin Minsky wrote a book years ago entitled "Society of mind" http://aurellem.org/society-of-mind/ in which he compared the mind to an ant bed or a bee hive (my interpretation).
IF all the subcomponents of the mind are all properly integrated then they manifest as ONE mind. Otherwise some are in charge while the others are in the background. (my understanding of his book may be in error. It's pretty deep and I'm a layman)
Years later the Science Fiction Author Walter Jon Williams wrote the Book Aristoi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristoi_(novel) among other things it deals with Daemons which is his term for Alter Egos. It's a fascinating book and I highly recommend it if you want to stretch your imagination a bit.
California Mega Flood(1861-62) 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atmospheric-rivers-california-megaflood-lessons-from-forgotten-catastrophe/
Quote
The only megaflood to strike the American West in recent history occurred during the winter of 1861-62. California bore the brunt of the damage. This disaster turned enormous regions of the state into inland seas for months, and took thousands of human lives. The costs were devastating: one quarter of California’s economy was destroyed, forcing the state into bankruptcy.
End Quote
Carbon NanoTubes
Carbon is a the next best thing to magic. It comes in several flavors. (allotropes) Among them are diamonds, a girls best friend and graphite. (pencil lead), and graphene.
Graphene is much lighter as well as MUCH stronger than steel. It's the up and coming wonder material.
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Quote
The Mississippi River broke out of its levee system in 145 places and flooded 27,000 square miles (70,000 km2). This water flooded an area 50 mi (80 km) wide and more than 100 mi (160 km) long. The area was inundated up to a depth of 30 ft (9 m). The flood caused over US$400 million in damages and killed 246 people in seven states.
EndQuote
This is interesting. The flood happened not long (one lifetime) after the Civil war. Many former slaves and their familes still lived in the south. They worked as sharecroppers for big plantations owners. The flood disrupted that way of life and either caused or augmented the 'great migration' in which southern rural blacks move to norther cities. I never heard about this in school. It was one of the GREAT turning points in American history.
I hope that you found this interesting. I have more that I'll post at a later date. In the meantime if this kind of thing interests you I wrote a book (several books) involving this type of thing (in a sci fi setting ) My author page for Kindle on amazon is
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DXISW74
Note: all illustrations are linked to point of origin. (wikipedia or pixabay) They are either public domain or permitted for commercial use.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atmospheric-rivers-california-megaflood-lessons-from-forgotten-catastrophe/
Quote
The only megaflood to strike the American West in recent history occurred during the winter of 1861-62. California bore the brunt of the damage. This disaster turned enormous regions of the state into inland seas for months, and took thousands of human lives. The costs were devastating: one quarter of California’s economy was destroyed, forcing the state into bankruptcy.
End Quote
Carbon NanoTubes
Carbon is a the next best thing to magic. It comes in several flavors. (allotropes) Among them are diamonds, a girls best friend and graphite. (pencil lead), and graphene.
Graphene is much lighter as well as MUCH stronger than steel. It's the up and coming wonder material.
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Quote
The Mississippi River broke out of its levee system in 145 places and flooded 27,000 square miles (70,000 km2). This water flooded an area 50 mi (80 km) wide and more than 100 mi (160 km) long. The area was inundated up to a depth of 30 ft (9 m). The flood caused over US$400 million in damages and killed 246 people in seven states.
EndQuote
This is interesting. The flood happened not long (one lifetime) after the Civil war. Many former slaves and their familes still lived in the south. They worked as sharecroppers for big plantations owners. The flood disrupted that way of life and either caused or augmented the 'great migration' in which southern rural blacks move to norther cities. I never heard about this in school. It was one of the GREAT turning points in American history.
I hope that you found this interesting. I have more that I'll post at a later date. In the meantime if this kind of thing interests you I wrote a book (several books) involving this type of thing (in a sci fi setting ) My author page for Kindle on amazon is
Note: all illustrations are linked to point of origin. (wikipedia or pixabay) They are either public domain or permitted for commercial use.