Communication; Growth – Apr 30
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 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.
Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Verifying AI; Ultracold Atoms – Apr 16
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 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.
Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Biorhythms; Decarbonization – Apr 2
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 biologist Mila Pamplona-Barbosa on Biological Rhythms: From Ants to You — How can ants possibly organize their behavior? An ant colony can have hundreds to millions of individuals and, even with all that complexity, the colony still manages to get work done. How does this time-dependent self-organization happen? And what does this have to do with the internal timings of the human body?
• UC Berkeley climate policy scientist Ari Ball-Burack on Complexity in Controlling Greenhouse Gases — Social, technological, and economic systems are complex: they exhibit both balancing and reinforcing feedbacks, and they strongly interact. Wise policy can use this very complexity to advance the “decarbonization” of the atmosphere. Complexity-aware decarbonization policy addresses climate change at local, national, and global scales.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
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.
Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
BlackBerry Psych – Mar 26
How and why do corporations decline? BlackBerry (98% FRESH at Rotten Tomatoes) offers a tragicomic portrait of decline in Earth’s foremost business smartphone maker, 1999-2016. Following this special Science on Screen presentation of BlackBerry, UC Berkeley researcher Dr. Don Moore will illuminate the psychological challenges that face all businesses and, in fact, virtually all human relations.
Psychologist Dr. Donald A. Moore is Professor and Chair in Leadership & Communication at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. His most recent book is Perfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely.
Dr. Don A. Moore, UC Berkeley
Please pre-purchase tickets for this Science on Screen event via the "TICKETS" link below.
The Sense of Fairness – Feb 20
Do non-human animals possess a sense of fairness? In particular, do non-human individuals react negatively when they get fewer resources than others? New evidence suggests that the sense of fairness is a human-unique adaptation to our cooperative lifestyles, typically developing in children by age 8. Further, a new theory suggests that, maybe surprisingly, fairness is not about resources, but about social respect.
Our speaker, Dr. Jan Engelmann, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley. He runs Cal’s Social Origins Lab, dedicated to the study of human cognition and behavior from an evolutionary perspective.
Dr. Jan Engelmann
This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.
Most Famous Equation – Feb 17
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.
This event is co-produced by Wonderfest and the East Bay Astronomical Society. 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.
Tucker Hiatt
This event is free, unticketed, ... and valuable. Please assess its value for you, and, in the Eventbrite space below, consider a corresponding donation to nonprofit Wonderfest.
Collaborators:
East Bay Astronomical Society [https://eastbayastro.org]
Future Nuclear Power – Feb 13
Currently, nuclear power provides ten percent of world electricity generation. As physicists and engineers strive to make new reactors that are small, clean, and safe, what does the future hold for nuclear power in a warming world? Join this discussion of the current status and future directions for nuclear energy.
Dr. Per Peterson
This science event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.
Most Famous Equation – Jan 31
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.
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.
This event is co-produced by Wonderfest and Marin Science Seminar. 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.
Tucker Hiatt
This event is free, unticketed, ... and valuable. Please assess its value for you, and, in the Eventbrite space below, consider a corresponding donation to nonprofit Wonderfest.
Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]
Self Confidence – Jan 23
How confident should we be? Overconfidence leads people to delude themselves with wishful thinking, take too many risks, pursue impossible goals, and waste their time on doomed ventures. Underconfidence dissuades people from taking risks that would pay off, and scares them away from trying things they would enjoy. Psychological studies offer evidence pointing to a middle way between these twin risks.
Our speaker is Dr. Don A. Moore, Professor and Chair in Leadership & Communication at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. His most recent book is Perfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely.
Dr. Don A. Moore
This science event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.
Human Hibernation? – Jan 9
Sci-Fi movies often depict hibernation as the secret to long-duration human spaceflight. (Note: Even with ideal starship acceleration and deceleration — AND with the benefit of relativistic effects — the nearest exoplanet is 3.6 years away!) Of course, the boundary between science fiction and science fantasy is hazy. Advances in anesthesia may facilitate hibernation. Physiologically, however, general anesthesia is detrimental in the short term, and worse in the long term. Will long-spaceflight medical advances ever be able to deal with this sobering hibernation fact: roughly half of naturally-hibernating animals never revive!
Our speaker is Dr. Art Wallace, Professor and Vice-Chair of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at UC San Francisco. He is also Chief of Anesthesia at San Francisco's Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Dr. Art Wallace, MD, PhD
This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.