Gholas and the Eternal Golden Braid

On September 30, 2025, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University announced they had developed functional eggs from human skin cells. Immediately, I thought of Frank Herbert’s gholas. Duncan Idaho is the most-reborn man in Dune. From his first appearance on Arrakis, he is marked as archetype: Swordmaster of Ginaz, sensual, loyal, utterly alive. (JasonContinue reading “Gholas and the Eternal Golden Braid”

The Meaning of Life

I learned about Sara Walker from a podcast with Lex Fridman. The entire conversation is worth the listen: Her conceptualization is brilliant and presented in an unassuming manner that belies the seriousness of the implications. Fridman’s long-format interviews are excellent in mining a guest’s breadth and depth of thought and I found Sara’s conceptualization ofContinue reading “The Meaning of Life”