In principle, we all love to hate political gerrymandering. But how can we learn to deal with it, to manage it, ... to hack it? In the past decade, mathematicians and computer scientists have developed inventive and revealing tools to find all kinds of gerrymanders: from the pretty-but-partisan, to the hidden firewall. Join us to explore some ugly maps and some beautiful ideas about how to hack gerrymandering.
Our speaker, mathematician Dr. Ellen Veomett, is Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco. She helped design the nationally-acclaimed GEO metric to analyze redistricting maps created since the 2020 census.
Dr. Ellen Veomett
WHAT: Hacking Gerrymandering
WHO: Dr. Ellen Veomett, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of San Francisco [https://www.ellenveomett.com]
WHEN: 2024-11-26 — 7pm, Tuesday, Nov 26 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Darwin’s theory of natural selection sheds light on nearly every aspect of evolutionary biology. However, it does not address the source of varying structures and functions that are subsequently culled or preserved by natural selection. Advances in cellular and molecular biology are now bringing these generative processes to light. Such technical advances hint at processes that are complementary to natural selection (but on which natural selection depends) that can be called Inverse Darwinism — and that are changing our understanding of evolution.
Our speaker, Dr. Terrence Deacon, is Professor of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. He is the author of two particularly influential books: The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain and Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter.
WHEN: 2024-11-12 — 7pm, Tuesday, Nov 12 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Mathematicians have spent decades wrestling with questions about coloring. Here's one famous example: how many colors do mapmakers need to ensure that no two adjacent regions have the same color? Mathematicians struggled with that for over 100 years! In this colorful presentation, we'll share these coloring problems, the exciting breakthroughs, and the problems which still need to be solved today.
Our speaker isDr. Cornelia Van Cott, Professor of Mathematics (and department chair) at the University of San Francisco. As a geometric topologist, she studies knots, surfaces, and ... the occasional just-colorful-enough map.
Dr. Cornelia Van Cott
WHAT: Color Me Curious: The Mathematics of Coloring
WHO: Dr. Cornelia Van Cott, Professor of Mathematics, University of San Francisco
WHEN: 2024-10-29 — 7pm, Tuesday, Oct 29 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value do such science events have for you and for society at large? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Ancient and unhurried, long-lived and majestic, turtles — some individuals living longer than 200 years — have a lineage that stretches back to the time of the dinosaurs. In literary terms, turtles are "the perfect conduits for meditations on aging, disability, and chosen family," according to Scientific American. Such meditations suffuse the book Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell. Author Sy Montgomery and illustrator Matt Patterson join BookShop West Portal, the Turtle Survival Alliance, and Wonderfest for this special book event.
Sy Montgomery is the author of 16 non-fiction nature titles, including The Soul of an Octopus, a National Book Award finalist. She has been honored with a Sibert Medal, three honorary degrees, and two Science Book and Film Prizes from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
WHAT: Turtle Rescue, Enlarged
WHO: Sy Montgomery & Matt Patterson, Author & Illustrator, "Of Time and Turtles"
WHEN: 2024-10-18 — 7pm, Friday, October 18 (1 hour)
HOW:
Advance event registration is required (link below), and such registration is FREE for Wondernauts with promo code WONDERTURTLE. Simply add "General Admission for 1 (NO BOOK)" to your cart. [Book purchase and author signing are still available at the event.] During "CheckOut," within "Order Details," apply WONDERTURTLE as a "coupon" to transform the ordinary admission fee from $20 to $0.
Despite implications of the prefix "uni," many scientists now think that there might be more than a single universe! Our universe may be just one example in a far larger "multiverse," but an unusually complex one that is conducive to the existence of life. Come learn — and inquire — about the relevant lines of reasoning and their profound implications.
Our speaker, Dr. Alex Filippenko, is one of Earth's most highly cited astronomers. He was the only person to serve on both teams that simultaneously discovered the Nobel-worthy accelerating expansion of the universe. Alex earned Wonderfest's Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization, and he was voted UC Berkeley's "Best Professor" a record nine times!
Dr. Alex Filippenko
WHAT: A Universe of Universes? — Reflections on Life and the Cosmos
WHEN: 2024-10-01 — 7pm, Tuesday, October 1 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value do such science events have for you and for society at large? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Every second, we encounter enormous amounts of sensory information. How does the brain extract the most relevant bits from this information firehose?Attentionis one important brain mechanism for selecting certain aspects of the environment for enhanced processing.A better understanding ofattention's effecton perception improves a wide variety of human activities, including making policy for cell phone use while driving, improving performance of airport luggage screeners, and optimizing teaching methods in the classroom.
Our speaker isDr. Michael Silver, Professor of Neuroscience and of Optometry & Vision Science at UC Berkeley. Dr. Silver also directs Cal'sCenter for the Science of Psychedelics.
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value do such science experiences have for you and for society at large? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Since 1950, when physicist Enrico Fermi casually posed the question, the mystery has only deepened: Why hasn't ET visited us? Current evidence and reasoning suggest that life has been evolving in the cosmos for billions of years. Moreover, low-speed interstellar travel requires relatively modest technology. So why is the UFO evidence so poor, and the success of SETI so ... negative? This special Wonderfest event will feature more "audience participation" than usual. Bring your questions — and possible answers — to address Fermi's fabulous question.
Our host and speaker is Dan Werthimer, Chief Technologist at the Berkeley SETI Research Center. Dan is a SETI pioneer who has earned Wonderfest's Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization.
WHEN: 2024-08-27 — 7pm, Tuesday, August 27 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value do such FREE science experiences have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Around the world, people recognize that E=mc^2 oozes cosmic insight. But what does this "most famous equation" really say? What are energy and mass? And what makes the speed of light, c, so important? [Hint: mass, moving at speed c, doesn't turn into energy!] Using little more than common experience and middle-school math, Einstein's "special relativity" gem can come to life — with surprising insights into the nature of reality.
Our speaker is long-time physics teacher Tucker Hiatt, founding director of Wonderfest. Tucker has been a Visiting Scholar in the Stanford Chemistry Department, and is a recipient of the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.
WHEN: 2024-08-13 — 7pm, Tuesday, Aug 13 (1.5 hour)
HOW:
This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value do such science experiences have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
The nearest black hole lurks 1,500 light-years from Earth (~ 10 quadrillion miles!), and it neither emits nor reflects light. How can we possibly detect — far less investigate — such wondrous holes in the fabric of spacetime? High-precision astrometry is the key: adaptive optics allow ground-based telescopes to see through our turbulent atmosphere using ordinary light, and space telescopes provide high-resolution images in other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Today, high technology affords astronomers many ways to discover and explore the intriguing space around black hole singularities.
Our speaker, Dr. Jessica Lu, is Associate Professor of Astronomy at UC Berkeley. She also runs Cal's Moving Universe Lab, and she chairs the Astronomy Department.
What value do such FREE science experiences have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these three Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• Stanford ecologist Chinmay Sonawane on How Scavenging Animals Protect Human Health — Wildlife is rapidly disappearing globally. But why should we care? The loss of scavengers (consumers of already-dead animals) provides an intriguing example of how biodiversity loss has had, and will continue to have, profound consequences for human health.
• UC Berkeley physicist Bethany Suter on Direct Detection of Dark Matter — Ubiquitous, yet deeply mysterious, dark matter constitutes 85%(!) of the material universe. What do we know — and not know — of elusive dark matter particles? Novel laboratory materials may allow us to detect dark matter directly, shining light into the pervasive cosmic shadows.
• Stanford biophysicist Sean Waterton on Making Biomolecules from Electricity — Solar panels produce ever-more clean electricity. At the same time, human activity produces copious amounts of CO2. Modern research in synthetic biology allows us to use electricty and CO2 to create valuable molecules like fats and proteins — and, hopefully, more specialized molecules like medications.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Scavengers + Dark Matter + Biomolecules
What value does this free science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Human minds love to discover patterns, to find intuitive explanations, and, most of all, to be certain. Yet our world is complicated and filled with randomness. Statistical thinking provides us with practical tools for making sense of an uncertain world. It can lead us to make surprising conclusions from the data of everyday life. And it also teaches us useful humility in the face of uncertainty.
Our speaker, Dr. Jacob Bien, is Professor of Statistics at the University of Southern California. He is also a founding member of Wonderfest's Board of Directors.
WHERE: Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. (at Shattuck), Berkeley, CA 94704
WHEN: 2024-07-13 — 10am, Saturday, July 13 (1.5 hr)
HOW:
What value does this FREE event have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider using the Eventbrite space (below) to help nonprofit Wonderfest in its mission of science outreach.
As poet Carl Sandburg observed: "The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches, and then moves on." What is the nature of The City's renowned Karl the Fog? Do those super-fine droplets consist of more than just water? Why does our beloved(?) Karl creep over the Bay Area so often, and will that creeping continue in light of climate change?
Our speaker, Alicia Torregrosa, knows Karl inside and out. As Program Officer at the U.S. Geological Survey, Alicia is a physical scientist who led the USGS Pacific Coastal Fog Project, yielding an international and interdisciplinary expansion of coastal fog research.
What value do such free science experiences have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
What can we do, today, to improve muscle strength and, accordingly, to increase healthy longevity, i.e., healthspan? It starts by understanding the science of strength and of muscle function, and then appreciating how muscle changes with aging. Ultimately, we find that healthspan increases with simple and effective evidence-based strategies for improving muscle health and function.
Our speaker, Dr. Greg Tranah, PhD, is Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UC San Francisco, and Scientific Director of Biobanking at Sutter Health.
Dr. Greg Tranah
WHAT: The Science of Healthy Muscle, Strength, and Aging
WHO: Dr. Greg Tranah, Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF
What value do such free science experiences have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• UC Berkeley plant biologist Enrico Calvanese on The Interpreters of Life's Code — Proteins are molecular machines that enable all cellular life. How proteins are produced infuses our understanding of microbiology. New research proposes a novel understanding of how proteins come to exist, promising to open an entirely new dimension of cellular life.
• Stanford biophysicist Rachel Porter on The Bacterial Space Age — Like human communities, bacterial communities are shaped by the available food, water, and space. Researchers largely understand the importance of food and water for bacteria in the human digestive system. However, only now are we discovering the importance of spatial organization for bacteria within our gut microbiome.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Life's Code + Gut Feeling
What value does this FREE science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Naturalist Craig Foster has explored and studied some of Earth's wildest environments. He has also experienced the demands of professional life in our big cities — experiences that might tend to deaden a capacity to appreciate natural beauty. Foster's latest book, Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World, vividly addresses the challenge of staying open to the wonders of nature. Of the book, Jane Goodall wrote, "[It] will transform how we think about being human ... [and] inspire hope." In this Commonwealth Club conversation, Foster will help us understand how to attend to earthly beauty and deepen our love for all living things.
Craig Foster is one of Earth's leading nature filmmakers. Foster's My Octopus Teacher won the 2021 Academy Award for Best Documentary. We can participate in this Commonwealth+Wonderfest event either in person or online.
Visit the Commonwealth Club event webpage (link below) for info about the two types of tickets: in-person and online. During the final steps of ticket acquisition, use code WONDERFESTPROMO for a $10 discount. (That price reduction renders the online ticket entirely FREE.)
The ocean floor of our "water planet" is vast — rich in biodiversity and dense in mineral wealth. A single organization, the International Seabed Authority, governs roughly half of this undersea territory, and that governance is scientifically and economically challenging, to say the least. Wonderfest joins Cameo Cinema for a special Science on Screen presentation of the documentary Deep Rising (71% FRESH at Rotten Tomatoes), narrated and co-produced by Jason Momoa. Post-screening Q&A with Stanford marine scientist Dr. Steve Palumbi will highlight the vital need for wise use — and protection — of the seabed as the common heritage of humankind.
Dr. Stephen Palumbi is Professor of Marine Sciences at Stanford University. Steve is also a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment.
Arguably, quantum field theory (QFT) presents humanity's deepest insights into the rules of reality, i.e., into the laws of existence. QFT allows us to describe — with remarkable accuracy — the particles and forces that animate the cosmos, including the stuff of mind and body. Note that calling QFT a theory pays the highest scientific compliment: QFT has vast scope, and QFT is supported by an extraordinary amount of evidence.
Wonderfest and the Commonwealth Club present physicist Sean Carroll to discuss key ideas in his latest book, The Biggest Ideas In the Universe: Quanta and Fields. As in his first Biggest Ideas book (Space, Time, and Motion), Dr. Carroll goes beyond analogies to show how physicists really think about nature's underlying principles.
WHEN: 2024-05-14 — 3pm PT, Tuesday, May 14 (1 hour)
HOW:
Use the "Tickets" link (below) to access the Commonwealth Club's event webpage. During online ticket purchase, use discount code WONDERFESTPROMO for a ticket price reduction of $10, making this entire Sean Carroll online experience FREE.
Collaborators: The Commonwealth Club of California
Do spiders deserve much better press? Modern media tend to portray spiders as eight-legged, multi-eyed terrors. With deeper exposure, and open minds, can we come to see the beauty and benefits of our arachnid aquaintances? UC Berkeley scientist Trinity Walls thinks so. Her life-long journey — from curious child to rigorous researcher — reveals spider science to be an avenue of creative self-expression that offers rich insights into nature and society.
Our speaker, arachnologist Trinity Walls, is a PhD candidate in UC Berkeley's Laboratory of Animal Communication and Behavior. She is also a Wonderfest Science Envoy!
WHAT: Creepy or Captivating: A Spider Scientist's Perspective
WHO: Trinity Walls, Arachnologist, UC Berkeley
WHERE: ONLINE, via Zoom with the S.F. Public Library
WHEN: 2024-05-07 — 5pm, Tuesday, May 7 (1 hour)
HOW:
Via the "Register" link, below, please let the SF Public Library know that you intend to join this Zoom. You will receive this event's Zoom URL upon completion of registration with the Library.
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• UC Berkeley psychologist Sophia Li on Imperfect Communication — As a communicator, I want to transfer information from my mind into the minds of listeners. Research shows that both listeners and uninvolved observers have overly positive perceptions of any communicator. They believe that the communicator knows more than s/he actually does, and has articulated thoughts better than s/he actually has.
• Stanford physicist Josh Tong on Growth and Form — Living creatures grow and transform their shape, to the awe of many scientists. What does it mean to grow? How do we compare an organism at different stages of its growth? Mathematics can help us find the way to understand this fundamental transformation.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Imperfect Communication + Growth & Form
WHEN: 2024-04-30 — 7pm, Tuesday, April 30 (1.5 hr)
HOW:
What value does this FREE science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• Stanford computer scientist Teddi Worledge on Verifying AI with Attributed Sources — So-called large language models (LLMs) provide information and make judgments nearly everywhere — from online search engines to classrooms and medical clinics. But LLMs do make errors. Language model systems that attribute their sources can address this accuracy problem, as long as the attributions theselves are reliable!
• UC Berkeley physicist Matt Tao on What Ultracold Atoms Reveal — Atoms cooled to billionths of a degree can teach us much about the world. The wave nature of ultracold atoms allows interference experiments (interferometry) with astounding precision. Such tabletop interferometers even allow the study of gravity, nature's weakest — but most pervasive — force, at minute scales.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Verifying AI; Ultracold Atoms
WHO: Teddi Worledge (Stanford) & Matt Tao (UC Berkeley), Wonderfest Science Envoys
WHEN: 2024-04-16 — 7pm, Tuesday, April 16 (1 hour)
HOW:
What value does this free science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.
