I had a sleep-deprivation induced moment of clarity this weekend, and the idea wouldn’t go away, so here it is:

The Big Bang Theory, speaking of the TV series, not the cosmological model, is an elaborate creation myth. Let me explain.…

The Difference Engine starts off with a fantastic premise: what if Babbage’s ideas turned out to be more than mere ideas? The resulting history brings the information age a century early, complete with mechanical computers, punched cards, and a “clacker” culture.…