I have nothing deep to add to this conversation (I loved both Dune and Foundation serieses), except to say that I cannot look at a photo of Asimov without immediately thinking of The Goodies (Graeme Garden in particular)! That is all. (Glad to have you writing again!)

I'm always reading, but not always on the same schedule you're posting :) There's definitely been a few thought-provoking chapters in this latest series (and it was a significant series!) Looking forward to the next one!

I've heard the type of knowledge granted by 'objective' science as "is, but not ought". I've always thought that a good summary. By studying a physical object, I can discover facts about its current state, can infer some about its previous state, and can even make some predictions about its future state, but I can never know how, or even _if_ it should be used.

Here is Australia we are apparently the number one in the world for contactless payments. I use it for every payment I ever do with a card. Can't think of the last time I didn't. You have to enter a PIN for amounts over $100, but that's still pretty simple. I actually work for a bank, and it's way safer to tap than it is to swipe, which surprised me when I first learnt it!

I'm not sure whether that would be better or not. It means I'd have to sign in with Disqus then :) Might be worth giving it a try - if you don't have too many commenters anyway, would it hurt too much to see if it boosted comment numbers?