I am old enough to remember when “The Andromeda Strain” came out in 1969; it caused quite the sensation although “Jurassic Park” has overshadowed it since then among casual Michael Crichton fans.
So I’m happy to be part of a panel discussion about the book, sponsored by NHTI, Concord’s community college. From 7 to 9 p.m. next Wednesday Nov. 11, “Scientists, history buffs, policy makers, journalists, and students explore the plausibility of this novel and how it compares to our current pandemic.”
You can watch or ask questions: Zoom ID is 95849047229
Other virtual N.H. events coming up:
Nov. 10: SEE Science Center’s “Science on Tap” via Zoom, 7 p.m., Topic is cybersecurity: “Securing out Digital Future”. Details here.
Nov. 18: Science Cafe NH via Facebook Live or YouTube: “Climate change and food: What will we eat and grow in a hotter, wetter, wilder world?” Details at sciencecafenh.org/
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Crichton talked to a class I had, just after the movie “Andromeda Strain” came out. A key point he made was that the “5 minutes” on the countdown to detonation portrayed in the movie was a sequence 15 minutes long. Crichton’s books often have a “clock” running to heighten the dramatic tension. What is fun about the Andromeda Strain is it hypothesizes a pathogen that is not organic, just chemicals. Which predates prions and “mad cow” disease. Looking forward to the event!
The prion connection hadn’t occurred to me – nice point.
the clock countdown sequence was the lamest part of the book, IMHO – that sort of thing requires writing skills beyond Critchton’s reach. Providing tons of interesting information in the form of serviceable fiction is his forte.