On the subject of warp drives and the like, we're please to finally announce the second FQXi essay contest, on "What is ultimately possible in physics?" (Go here for details.) More specifically, to quote, "Essays in this competition will explore the limits of physics and the physics of limits. Appropriate topics are those such as, but not limited to: What are the limits of physics' explanatory and predictive power? What does this tell us about the world? What technologies are fundamentally forbidden, or may ultimately be allowed, by physics? What role do 'impossibility' principles or other limits (e.g., sub-lightspeed signaling, Heisenberg uncertainty, cosmic censorship, the second law of thermodynamics, the holographic principle, computational limits, etc.) play in foundational physics and cosmology?" As with the Nature of time, this is a pretty broad topic, and the challenge will be to maintain high relevance by focusing on *ultimate* possibility rather than trying to shoehorn any old interesting topic in.
Since the first contest, we've made a number of changes to how the contest is run, which you'll learn by carefully reading the rules. We've also made a number of changes to the FQXi website as a whole, many of which are apparent if you are looking at this, others that you will notice as you explore, and/or that will come online soon.
As for last time, it will be really interesting to see what the community comes up with. Also, please do let anyone know who you think might be interested -- the more people that get the notice the more fun things will be!