science

Phil D'Amato

Phil D'Amato is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Phil D'Amato rather than just read about it. In short: Dr. Phil D’Amato is the central character in three science fiction mystery novelettes and three novels written by Paul Levinson.

Key takeaways

Phil D'Amato belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Phil D'Amato to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Phil D'Amato from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Dr. Phil D’Amato is the central character in three science fiction mystery novelettes and three novels written by Paul Levinson. The first novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case", was adapted into a radio play which was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. The first novel, The Silk Code, won the Locus Award for the Best First Novel of 1999. The fictional D'Amato, who has a PhD in forensic science, is a detective with the NYPD.

Novelettes

"The Chronology Protection Case" Dr. Phil D’Amato debuted in "The Chronology Protection Case", published in the American magazine Analog in 1995. The novelette was nominated for Nebula and Sturgeon Awards. It has been reprinted five times:

The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF edited by Mike Ashley, 2013 The Best Time Travel Stories of All Time edited by Barry N. Malzberg, 2003 Nebula Awards 32: SFWA's Choices for the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year edited by Jack Dann, 1998 Supernatural Sleuths edited by Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg, 1996 Infinite Edge, a webzine, 1997 The novelette was adapted into a radio play written by Mark Shanahan (with Paul Levinson and Jay Kensinger) in 2002, and performed at New York City's Museum of Television and Radio. In addition to being nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Play, the radio play was later recorded and released as an audiobook by Listen & Live/Audible.com in 2004. "The Chronology Protection Case" was also adapted into a student film by director Jay Kensinger, which premiered at the I-Con SF Convention in 2002, and was later released on DVD by MODVEC Productions. A re-cut version of the movie, in black-and-white and with a new extended ending, was released in 2013 on Amazon Prime Video. "The Chronology Protection Case" extrapolates from Stephen Hawking’s chronology protection conjecture, and posits a vengeful universe that seeks to protect itself from time travel by killing any scientists who discover or even begin to understand how to do it.

"The Copyright Notice Case" D’Amato returned in "The Copyright Notice Case", published in Analog in 1996. The novelette was nominated for a Nebula Award, won the HOMer Award, and was reprinted in Levinson’s anthology, Bestseller: Wired, Analog, and Digital Writings in 1999. The novelette explores what might happen had an inviolable copyright notice been embedded in human DNA in the prehistoric past. Phil meets Jenna Katen for the first time in this story.

"The Mendelian Lamp Case" D’Amato’s last appearance in short fiction to date came in "The Mendelian Lamp Case", a novelette published in Analog in 1997. It was reprinted three times:

The Hard SF Renaissance edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer, 2002 Science Fiction Theater edited by Brian Forbes, 1999 Year's Best SF3 edited by David G. Hartwell, 1998 While investigating the mysterious death of a friend, D'Amato discovers an Amish-like group who use innocent-looking bio-technology for nefarious ends.

Novels

The Silk Code Levinson continues the intrigue of "The Mendelian Lamp Case" in his first novel, The Silk Code (Tor Books, 1999). Phil D’Amato uses his debut in longer form to explore not only bio-technology and groups masquerading as Amish, but the possible survival of Neanderthals into the present day. The Silk Code won the Locus Award for Best First Novel of 1999. A Polish translation —Kod Jedwabiu— was published in 2003. An "author's cut" Kindle edition was published by JoSara Media in 2012.

The Consciousness Plague D’Amato’s next novelistic outing was in The Consciousness Plague, published in 2002 by Tor Books. Here D’Amato gets caught up in the possibility that our very consciousness may be engendered by microorganisms that live in the brain. Paths of exploration in this novel range from Lindisfarne to Julian Jaynes’s Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. The Consciousness Plague won the Media Ecology Association’s Mary Shelley Award and was translated into Polish as Zaraza Swiadomosci and published in 2005. An audiobook narrated by Mark Shanahan was released by Listen and Live in 2005, and nominated for the Audie Award that year. An "author's cut" Kindle edition was published by JoSara Media in 2013.

The Pixel Eye Phil D’Amato’s most recent appearance is in The Pixel Eye, published in 2003 by Tor Books. In this chilling post 9/11 tale set in New York City, D’Amato contends with squirrels and other critters whose brains are outfitted with microchips that transmit everything they see and hear. Holography figures prominently in the story. Although all of the D’Amato stories are set in New York, The Pixel Eye has the most extensive New York ambiences - from Central Park to the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue to Grand Central Terminal. The Pixel Eye was nominated for the Prometheus Award in 2004. An "author's cut" Kindle edition was published by JoSara Media in 2014.

Critical commentary Multiple Nebula and Hugo Award winning author Connie Willis said "Forensic detective Phil D’Amato is one of my favorite characters."

See also The Plot to Save Socrates Paul Levinson

References

Illustrations

Phil D'Amato: The Silk Code (1999). — The Silk Code (1999).

Phil D'Amato: The Consciousness Plague (2002) — The Consciousness Plague (2002)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phil D'Amato

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phil D'Amato claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Phil D'Amato before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Phil D'Amato ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Phil D'Amato

In research: Phil D'Amato appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Phil D'Amato in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Phil D'Amato is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Characters in 20th-century American novels, Characters in 21st-century American novels, Fiction about Neanderthals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phil D'Amato outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Phil D'Amato in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Phil D'Amato means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Phil D'Amato out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phil D'Amato in simple terms?

Dr. Phil D’Amato is the central character in three science fiction mystery novelettes and three novels written by Paul Levinson.

Why does Phil D'Amato matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Phil D'Amato?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Phil D'Amato.