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Olga Werby's books on Goodreads
Becoming Animals Becoming Animals
reviews: 13
ratings: 15 (avg rating 4.60)

The FATOFF Conspiracy The FATOFF Conspiracy
reviews: 6
ratings: 18 (avg rating 3.50)

Harvest Harvest
reviews: 11
ratings: 18 (avg rating 4.50)

Suddenly, Paris Suddenly, Paris (Many Worlds, One Life #1)
reviews: 6
ratings: 8 (avg rating 4.00)

Twin Time Twin Time
reviews: 4
ratings: 5 (avg rating 4.40)

SciFi Bites: A collection of short stories.

Pipsqueak Articles, sci-fi bites, short story

Time travel, Hitler, and killing babies–a short audio story

by Olga Werby February 27, 2020

Kill Hitler

What if you could go back in time and kill Hitler? This is a premise of many science fiction stories. Here’s my version:

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Cultural Differences, My Books, sci-fi bites, short story

Time Travel Suicide Therapy

by Olga Werby July 14, 2019

Cleopatra's Death

“Can I help you?” Dax stood up and quickly covered the screen with his body. It was five minutes to closing time and he wasn’t interested in helping on yet another bored teenager, or house partner, or grandpa, or history student, or whatever to fulfill their sick time travel dream.…

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sci-fi bites, short story

Shifting Sands

by Olga Werby June 11, 2019

Shifting Sands

The wind howled northward, as normal for this time of the year. The angle of planetary spin resulted in a decreased amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere during this portion of the orbit cycle. The atmosphere precipitated onto the surface as ammonia and water snow, lowering the air pressure,…

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sci-fi bites, short story

Word Magic, narrated by Mariah Avix of 600 Second Saga

by Olga Werby August 2, 2018

cool word

Word Magic is a short story prequel to a larger piece of fiction I’m working on about language and its power to shape the world. I love Mariah’s work. She brings magic to my stories and to those of other writers. Please visit her site and subscribe to her work.…

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Cultural Bias, Group Decision Errors, My Books, sci-fi bites, short story

600 Second Saga: The Perfect Gene

by Olga Werby January 3, 2018

The Perfect Gene

“The Perfect Gene” — a short story about cultural biases narrated by Mariah Avix, 600 Second Saga Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, found at http://insani-x.com/ Read along with the audio story.

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My Books, sci-fi bites, short story

600 Second Saga: The Test

by Olga Werby October 4, 2017

The Test

It was beside me on the bed when I woke up — the little bag to pack my most cherished belongings before leaving to take the test. Our dorm has eight living in one great room and none of us heard anything in the night. No one ever does. This…

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Cultural Differences, My Books, Pipsqueak Articles, sci-fi bites, short story

Another Wave of Refugees

by Olga Werby October 3, 2017

Refugees

“Another wave of refugees is arriving,” the TV news announcer said in a grave voice. George Tiggleson, the news anchor for XWTZ Christian Voice of Americas, has been practicing this voice — deep, resonant, with a slight lamenting quality — for almost twenty years. This voice got him this job.…

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by Olga Werby May 17, 2010

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← Cognitive Blindness: Super-recognizers

Archives

book promotion, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

The Powerful, Fame, and Anonymity

by Olga Werby January 12, 2025

All powerful being noticing a human for the first time

Those who crave fame don’t truly appreciate anonymity. And those who have it, desire to find a way to hide from it. We live in the world where everyone seems to want their 15 minutes of fame and attention. For artists and writers having a wide audience is must if they want to sign with large agencies to represent them, if they want their work to be bought and sold. Or even if they want representation by an agent or a contract with a publisher — everyone wants an established market for stories.

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Book, book promotion, My Books, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

Change

by Olga Werby December 9, 2024

Lizard_Girl_and_Ghost-Cover-Front

We mark the passage of time through personal milestones and seasonal holidays. Another major marker is bearing down on us — December! All the gift giving, family gatherings, end-of-year parties, and toasting mark another round trip around our star. We are on a continuous ride through time and space. We…

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Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles, Working Memory

Room for Creativity

by Olga Werby November 11, 2024

The lion man from the Stadel Cave in Hohlenstein, Lonetal.

We often say someone is “creative”, but what is creativity good for? It’s not just for solving problems, although it takes a lot of creativity and expertise to figure out the thorniest issues. Creativity is a way we express ourselves and stand out; there are lots of experts but the…

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Background Knowledge, book promotion, Cultural Bias, Ethnographic & User Data, Mental Model Traps, My Books, Newsletter, Perception, Pipsqueak Articles

Changelings

by Olga Werby October 9, 2024

Changeling

We define ourselves by the stories we tell each other. Myths, fairytales, fantasy, scifi, fiction, drama, superhero movies, et., they are all different ways to look at ourselves in a mirror. Consider metal illness and cognitive developmental disorders.

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Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

Reading the Same Stories Over and Over Again

by Olga Werby September 14, 2024

Gargoyles Reading Books

Lately, I feel like I’m reading the same story over and over again — a smart woman who might be a scientist or librarian meets a tall dark stranger with supernatural strength and military expertise and with an unlimited bank account; together, they save the world and may or may…

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Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles, Scaffolding

Making Stories

by Olga Werby August 9, 2024

Nocturne in Blue and Silver

Every morning, my husband, cousin, and I play Wordle and share screen shots. It’s a gentle competition, and we laugh at our odd guesses — Aline? But it’s interesting how we arrive at the correct word via different paths, demonstrating that the same “prompt” leads to wide-ranging results. Below are…

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Book, Conceptual Design, Errors, My Books, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles, Scaffolding

Summer Blues

by Olga Werby July 8, 2024

Covid

After four years of dodging COVID, we finally succumbed. It’s a nasty virus and, after two weeks in bed, I’m just starting to be able to write again. I did read a few books while sick, and I wasn’t fond of any of them! I didn’t find the characters interesting,…

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Ethnographic & User Data, Long Term Memory, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy, Reference, Short Term Memory, Users, Working Memory

Expanding and Shrinking Horizons

by Olga Werby June 6, 2024

Itsy Bitsy Spider

It’s a Father’s Day weekend, and we have a lot to celebrate. My son’s graduation ceremony is on Father’s Day! He earned his doctorate in physics! He is also a great dad to a little girl and his birthday is a day before. It’s a full weekend of joy! Fatherhood…

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book promotion, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

Essence

by Olga Werby May 6, 2024

Snow White

Stories can bring the salient details of life to light. Real life contains a lot of noise and extraneous detail that can obscure a through line. Fictional stories remove that noise to rise the core themes and emotions to the surface for observation and examination. Fictional stories both pare down…

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book promotion, My Books, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

Swan Lake, The Ultimate Sacrifice Story

by Olga Werby April 8, 2024

Swan_Lake-Poster-1931

When I was about five, I was obsessed with Swan Lake. I adored the score and played the record over and over again. I remember attending the ballet, but it was the music and the story that truly captivated my soul. The music, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between 1875…

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book promotion, Flow, Newsletter, Perception, Pipsqueak Articles

Musings About Time

by Olga Werby March 12, 2024

sand hour clock

The past is gone. The future hasn’t happened yet. The present is a liminal space between two non-existent things. We’re encouraged to stay present and live in the moment. But who really does that? Primarily, it’s young children and adults under duress. Young children live in the moment; their time…

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Book, My Books, Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

The Opposite of Play is Not Work But Depression

by Olga Werby February 11, 2024

Rosie the Riveter We Can Do It poster J. Howard Miller circa 1942-1943 World War II

People who are happy are able to turn even routine tasks into play. Or perhaps it is the other way around — people who can to turn routine tasks into play are generally happier. We know that people who manage to turn repetitive and tedious tasks — like working on…

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Newsletter, Pipsqueak Articles

Setting. Characters. Story.

by Olga Werby January 11, 2024

Australopithecines

Setting and characters dictate how the story will play out when told. The same story can be told in a Victorian setting, as a space opera, or as a modern day fiction. “Pride and Prejudice” in space? Sure! Darcy can be a dashing if deeply flawed space captain alien. The…

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Personal Sites

  • D.R.I.P.S. Project
  • Educational Evaluation
  • Pipsqueak Productions LLC
  • The Company Therapist
  • The Cost of Chicken

ICC Forum: Legal Debate

UCLA Human Rights and International Criminal Law Forum Logo

The International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor and UCLA School of Law partnered together to create ICC Forum—a place to discuss international criminal law issues. My company, Pipsqueak Productions, designed and developed the site. Please join the debate! ICCforum.com.

DRIPS Project

Tim and Nick Werby with DRIPS Prototypes

DRIPS project — stands for Deep Root Irrigation and Precipitation System — is a simple device that collects atmospheric water and delivers it to the roots of plants below the evaporation layer. My sons, Tim and Nick Werby, designed and developed the idea and the site. DRIPSproject.

Cost of Chicken

Cost of Chicken Project is a crowdmapping project that tracks the true costs of food around the world. Most data points are contributed by kids. My sons, Tim and Nick Werby, designed and developed the idea and the site. Please visit their site and contribute the data points from your area. Cost of Chicken.

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