As a huge fan of Ted Chiang's science fiction stories, I'm very excited to see him do a residency at the Santa Fe Institute:

Just as SFI’s scientists can’t predict what fresh perspective they might glean from conversations with Chiang, Chiang can’t predict whether those conversations will spur him to write new stories. He writes only when inspired.

Fingers crossed (and optimism!) that he finds that inspiration. Moreover, I think this approach is visionary, and that we should include more #scifi & #specfiction writers at our #science meetings:

Last summer, the normally reclusive writer took a more personal approach to contemplating big ideas when he joined a conference at SFI. The meeting had been convened to consider what a theory on life’s origins needed. What were the physical limitations of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? Could intelligent life be constructed with different sets of molecular building blocks or did carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen need to be present for life to conjure? Chiang had been invited to offer an artistic perspective on the interface between intelligence and life.

https://www.santafe.edu/news-center/news/ted-chiang-joins-sfi-miller-scholars