M51 Programming Brainstorm

The following is the list of ideas for panels/activities at Minicon 51. If you have an idea you'd like to add, you may either edit this page or send it to the Minicon 51 programming department at programming AT minicon51.mnstf.org

Fandom and Zeitgeist

Hugo Nominees Reaction Panel

The Hugo Award nominees have just been announced! What is your reaction to the list? Will there be tears of joy or cries of anguish?

Dead Puppies Aren't Much Fun

How did that Sad/Rabid Puppies thing turn out? What effect will they have on future Hugos? What did they do for the Hugos awarded in 2015, and what do we forsee for the future? Early on after the Puppy Slate, there was talk of amending WSF rules. What has been proposed?

Gaming

How to Make Memorable Non-Player Characters

Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are controlled and (usually) created by the Game Master (GM). NPCs may be one of the more challenging elements for any GM to facilitate in a game, and hearing from other GMs about how they run their characters is often a good way to learn new ways to do it.

Literature/Writing

Mermaids, Sirens, Selkies, and Other Water Creatures & Spirits

Oceanic water creatures have captured the imagination of humans since antiquity, as well as fresh lake mythological creatures. What are the differences between types of water spririts, such as Naiads, Nereids, and Rusalka? Why have some been portrayed as benign and others as dangerous?

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Fifty Years Later

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Horror Story Lovers Not-So-Anonymous

It can be argued that horror is one of the more maligned sub-genres of SF. Why is it so underloved? What do horror fans enjoy about a scary story? What makes a good horror story? What are some of the tropes that need to be bludgeoned with an ax?

Media

How to Survive a Horror Movie

Well now you've gone and done it, or somebody in your Scooby gang has ... you're now in the middle of a monster movie plot. How do you avoid doing something incredibly stupid that is going to result in making you a tasty, late-night snack? What gear do you need to scrounge up to be able to make it until daybreak? Should you split up (duh)?

J Horror

Japanese Horror is often noted for focusing on psychological or supernatural themes, though there's certainly no limit. What about J-Horror appeals to International Audiences? What American movies have been remakes of J-Horror, and what story elements were changed for American sensibilities? What recommendations do we have to share with each other?

The Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Superheroes

If unauthorized action figures were made, could superheroes sue for copyright infringement without revealing their identity? At the U.N. Council, does the ruler of Latveria get a vote without proper identification? Should Superman and Thor be deported as illegal immigrants? Lex Luthor asserts that an alien with near infinite power probably shouldn't be unconditionally trusted by humanity. Is he right?

Psi Phi - Mental-Based Superpowers in Comics

Psionics used to be huge in written SF, but appeared to drop in popularity in the late 20th century. However, in graphic media such as X-Men, psionic concepts such as Professor Xavier's telepathy and Psylocke's psychokinesis are readily accepted. Was this due to the counterculture of the 1960s when such stories originated, rites of passage for teens, or something else?

Science and Technology

Ice Cream Science

Ice cream can be used to teach about emulsions and foams in chemistry classes and demonstrate heat transfer in physics classes. What are the different types of saccharides? Why do monosaccharides such as fructose or glucose produce a much softer ice cream than disaccharides such as sucrose? What are the types of stabilizers used and what are their sources from the plant and animal kingdoms?

25 Years Of The Hubble Telescope

The Hubble Telescope was launched in 1990 and is still regarded as the best available space telescope. From early visual problems to the modern era of spectacular photos, what is Hubble's legacy? What did we learn from the development and implementation of Hubble? What did we learn about our universe? How has the political climate for large extra-terrestrial projects changed in the last twenty-five years? Will future telescopes have similar issues?

The Future Of Food

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The Future Of Sex

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3D Printers Don't Need Special Glasses

3D printers are rapidly becoming more affordable and available to everyone. We still shop at grocery stores instead of printing our food, we still shop for clothes 'off the rack' instead of having a computer pattern created to our measurements, and we still shop at the hardware store rather than printing out a washer when the sink starts to leak. How will 3-D printers feature in our daily lives in the years to come? What influence could they have? What areas are they already important in?