This is our second time going into Boston for the Boskone con. Last time we had Alyssa along.

I attended a couple of panel discussions today so far and its reminding me why its worth coming here. It does seem that the number of sessions that I’m interested in this time is smaller than last. The sessions I’ve been in have had their through provoking aspects though…and that’s worth the price of  admission right there.

The panel on fairy tales and their modern reinterpretation had Jane Yolen on it and she is generally insightful. I was particularly struck by the break between the world before infinite copyrights and the one after. We can reinterpret/spin/play with fairy tales in large part because they are out of copyright. Once we pass that magic and largely unmoving boundary, everything is off of the table. I expect to write a bit more on this later.

Later in the morning I went to a panel on technology and its potential issues with Charlie Stross on the panel. He did a wonderful job of pulling the discussion away from a strict AI focus and on a broader slate of issues. It is often hard to pull ones gaze away from the flashy stuff and realize that changes in transportation and the garment industry could be just as transformative (sometime more as they strike at more foundational aspects of our lives) as the flashy, new tech bits.