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EvolutionOfConsciousness

Evolution of Consciousness – Jan 13

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Philosophers, cognitive scientists, and animal welfare advocates tend to agree that consciousness evolved to support action. Yet, puzzlingly, most accounts take relatively passive sensory experiences and bodily sensations (e.g. pains, visual perceptions, and hunger pangs) to be the basic contents of subjective experience. What if consciousness were not a “point of view,” but rather a “point of do,” where the conscious subject is not an observer but a participant who interacts with an environment that pushes back? Thinking carefully about action experience might help us better understand the biological evolution of consciousness on Earth.
 
Our Wonderfest speaker is Dr. Mariel Goddu, PhD in developmental psychology (UC Berkeley) and PhD candidate in philosophy (Stanford). Mariel was — and remains — a wonderful Wonderfest Science Envoy.

Dr. Mariel Goddu

WHAT: Evolution of Consciousness: The Participatory Perspective
WHO: Dr. Mariel Goddu, PhD (Psychology) and PhD candidate (Philosophy) [https://philosophy.stanford.edu/people/mariel-goddu]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: Tuesday, January 13 — 7:00pm (1.5 hr)
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have FOR YOU (and, indirectly, for society)? Accordingly, please use the DONATE button (below) to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Help share the scientific outlook - donate!
Screenshot

Precious Science – Dec 16

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Albert Einstein: “One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike — and yet it is the most precious thing we have.” This quotation graces the very top of Wonderfest’s large-format Layers of Scientific Understanding (LoSU) poster. In the spirit of holiday appreciation, this special year-end Wonderfest event will review — with much audience participation — each of the fifteen layers within this wonderful graphic depiction of Einstein’s “most precious thing.” Published in the year 2001, and distributed to every high school science department in the Bay Area, the LoSU poster celebrates science as “a worldview for the 3rd millennium” … perhaps with principles that last for eternity.

 
Our speaker is Tucker Hiatt, founding director of Wonderfest. Twenty-five years ago, Tucker created the LoSU poster with the help of six renowned scientists and the graphic artist behind key elements of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos television series.

Tucker Hiatt

WHAT: Most Precious: Layers of Scientific Understanding
WHO: Tucker Hiatt, Wonderfest Founding Director
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: Tuesday, December 16 — 7:00pm (1.5 hr)
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have FOR YOU (and, indirectly, for society)? Accordingly, please use the DONATE button (below) to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Help share the scientific outlook - donate!
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Math and Magic – Dec 2

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Startling magic sometimes relies on deep mathematical principles. However, if the magician is doing her job, those principles should not be apparent to the spectator … unless the magician is a math professor giving a Wonderfest presentation! Combining the mathematics of playing cards with sleight of hand can: (1) allow even more powerful magic to arise, (2) raise some intriguing mathematical questions, and (3) illuminate the creative process that leads to original card magic.
 
Our Wonderfest speaker is Dr. Tori Noquez, Asst. Professor of Mathematics and of Computer Science at Saint Mary’s College of California. Tori is a regular performer at Hollywood’s famous Magic Castle, and she has been featured on Penn & Teller: Fool us.

Dr. Tori Noquez

WHAT: Mathematics and Card Magic
WHO: Dr. Tori Noquez, Asst. Professor of Mathematics & Computer Science, Saint Mary's College of California [https://www.torinoquez.com]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: Tuesday, December 2 — 7:00pm (1.5 hr)
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have FOR YOU (and, indirectly, for society)? Accordingly, please use the DONATE button (below) to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Help share the scientific outlook - donate!
OriginOfLife

Origin of Life – Nov 18

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It’s an age-old question: How did life come about? Even the simplest creatures that exhibit the two hallmarks of life, namely metabolism and replication, are astoundingly complex. While the search for life’s origin has fascinated humans for centuries, recent breakthroughs point us in a more conclusive direction, and have remarkable implications. Among important side insights are the unexpected similarities between prebiotic and human innovation, and the central role that energy and information have played in transforming the planet over the last 4 billion years, leading right up to the present climate crisis.

Our Wonderfest speaker, Dr. Charles Marshall, is Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley. He is also Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology.


Dr. Charles Marshall

WHAT: On the Origin of Life
WHO: Dr. Charles Marshall, Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley [https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/people/charles-marshall/]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: Tuesday, November 18 — 7pm (1.5 hr)
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have FOR YOU (and, indirectly, for society)? Accordingly, please use the DONATE button (below) to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Help share the scientific outlook - donate!