Smartphone Seismology & Histamine Neurology – May 27
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with enhanced 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 seismologist Savvas Marcou on Smartphones Map Ground Shaking in Our Neighborhoods — California is earthquake country. Everyone would love to know how much shaking the next temblor will deliver to their neighborhood. Fortunately, the humble smartphone, available in everyone’s pockets, can record and map ground shaking patterns in unprecedented resolution, and may transform how we think about the next big earthquake.
• Stanford neuroscientist Ashley Moses on Rethinking Histamine: From Molecule to Motivation — Though primarily known for its role in allergies, histamine influences cognition, mood, and sleep, as well. In fact, this understudied molecule is indispensable for brain health. By studying histamine’s role in motivated behaviors, we can uncover groundbreaking insights into neurological problems like depression, Parkinson’s Disease, and stress disorders.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]

Experience Machine – May 6
My previous encounters with reality contribute to my internal mental predictions about the world that, in turn, help to shape my actual future experiences. So, seeing the “real world” (or hearing sounds, or feeling pain, or …) involves a personal, ideosyncratic filter/kaleidoscope. This prediction-based theory of mind is quite hopeful. More than a facile version of “positive thinking,” it suggests a realistic optimism where well-tuned expectations can actively help to bring about desired states and experiences.
Our speaker, Dr. Andy Clark, is Professor of Cognitive Philosophy at England’s University of Sussex. He will present ideas from — and answer questions about — his new book, The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality.

Dr. Andy Clark
BookShop West Portal [https://www.bookshopwestportal.com]
This free, unticketed event is a joint production of Wonderfest and San Francisco's BookShop West Portal. In the space below, please support Wonderfest's nonprofit work in science outreach. (NOTE: Despite the Eventbrite wording, your thoughtful donation is not a "sale.")

The Secret of Our Success: How Culture is Driving Human Evolution, Feb 2

Joseph Henrich
Map: [https://goo.gl/maps/Xmfhfi52pvx]
Co-presented with The Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley

The Neuroscience of Love, Aug 4
This is a ticketed event. Please purchase tickets here: http://bit.ly/1OqWGFX
Love is defined as a feeling of deep affection for someone or something, but why can it mean so much more to us? Why does who we are, and who we become, often depend on whom we love? Dr. Thomas Lewis, co-author of A General Theory of Love, will answer this and many other questions as he explores our human development, the nature of togetherness, and the multifaceted bonds that connect us. Join us as we learn how the human race evolved from solitary predators into the intensely social creatures we are today.
This is a ticketed event. Please purchase tickets here: http://bit.ly/1OqWGFX
- WHAT: The Neuroscience of Love
- WHO: Thomas Lewis, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF
- WHEN: Tuesday, Aug 4, 2015; 6:30pm check-in; 7:00pm program
- WHERE: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto <http://bit.ly/1gJH1X8>
- HOW: In association with Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley. <http://www.commonwealthclub.org/>
- TICKETS: http://bit.ly/1OqWGFX
- WHY: Because we’re curious creatures.
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Wonderfest works every day to promote the scientific outlook. For as little as $1/month, why not become a Wonderfest Patron? As the Medici family were patrons of popular art in old Italy, you can become a patron of popular science and rationality in the modern Bay Area. (And you’ll get that tax-deduction that the Medici never did!) Please become a regular supporter of Wonderfest, and help enlarge the concept of scientific community.
If you shop at Amazon.com, why not shop at AmazonSmile? It doesn’t cost you a dime extra, selection and prices are the same, and a small percent supports Wonderfest and science! http://amazon.wonderfest.org.
Watch more videos: http://videos.wonderfest.org
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Love in the Time of Facebook
Facebook is a great way to share news, keep in touch with friends, and make fun of old photos. It’s also a gold mine of information about human relationships. Data scientists have studied the communications of people who change their Facebook relationship status from “Single” to “In a relationship.” We now know how their timeline posts change, and how their use of positive wording (“love,” “nice,” “happy,” etc.) evolve. Aggregate, anonymized Facebook data tells us a lot about the formation of love, its duration, its stages, and the role of other factors like religion and age. Join Facebook scientist Dr. Carlos Diuk as he mines the data to explore love and relationships in the modern era.
- WHAT: Love in the Time of Facebook
- WHO: Dr. Carlos Diuk, Facebook Data Scientist
- WHEN: 7pm, Wednesday, March 18, 2015
- WHERE: Patreon HQ, 230 – 9th Street, San Francisco (close to BART Civic Center) <http://tinyurl.com/lljx2da>
- HOW: Purchase $5 tickets via Eventbrite, below. Complimentary snacks & drinks provided by Patreon. Co-produced with Ask a Scientist.
- WHY: Because we’re curious creatures.
Wonderfest works every day to promote the scientific outlook. For as little as $1/month, why not become a Wonderfest Patron? As the Medici family were patrons of popular art in old Italy, you can become a patron of popular science and rationality in the modern Bay Area. (And you’ll get that tax-deduction that the Medici never did!) Please become a regular supporter of Wonderfest, and help enlarge the concept of scientific community.
If you shop at Amazon.com, why not shop at AmazonSmile? It doesn’t cost you a dime extra, selection and prices are the same, and a small percent supports Wonderfest and science! http://amazon.wonderfest.org.
Watch more videos: http://videos.wonderfest.org
Join us on:
http://facebook.com/wonderfest
http://twitter.com/wonderfest

LOVE AMONG THE NEURONS: A Neuroscience Guide to Valentine’s Day – Feb 13
Mathematician Blaise Pascal famously wrote, “The heart has reasons that reason cannot comprehend.” Perhaps. But, on Valentine’s Day Eve, and with the expert help of UCSF’s Thomas Lewis, Wonderfest and Ask a Scientist will give comprehension a try.
How did the human race evolve from solitary predators into the intensely social creatures that we are now? Where in the brain can we find the roots of our multiple connections to each other, and how do those connections reverberate within and between us? Join Dr. Thomas Lewis, assistant clinical professor at UCSF and professor at USF’s Fromm Institute, and coauthor of A General Theory of Love, as we explore the nature of togetherness and the multifaceted bonds that connect us.
- WHAT: Love Among the Neurons: A Neuroscience Guide to Valentine’s Day
- WHO: Thomas Lewis, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSF
- WHEN: 7:00 PM, Friday, Feb 13, 2015
- WHERE: StrEat Food Park, 428 – 11th Street, San Francisco 94103 <http://goo.gl/maps/u6fVu>
- HOW: FREE admission, but please register with Eventbrite. Co-produced with Ask a Scientist.
- WHY: Because we’re curious creatures.
Wonderfest works every day to promote the scientific outlook. For as little as $1/month, why not become a Wonderfest Patron? As the Medici family were patrons of popular art in old Italy, you can become a patron of popular science and rationality in the modern Bay Area. (And you’ll get that tax-deduction that the Medici never did!) Please become a regular supporter of Wonderfest, and help enlarge the concept of scientific community.
If you shop at Amazon.com, why not shop at AmazonSmile? It doesn’t cost you a dime extra, selection and prices are the same, and a small percent supports Wonderfest and science! http://amazon.wonderfest.org.
Watch more videos: http://videos.wonderfest.org
Join us on:
http://facebook.com/wonderfest
http://twitter.com/wonderfest

Incomplete Nature: Consciousness, and Purpose?
Prof. Deacon's presentation will focus on the central idea of his new book, "Incomplete Nature," namely that key elements of consciousness (values, feelings, meanings, etc.) emerge from specific CONSTRAINTS on the physical processes of a nervous system. "Incomplete Nature" is the inaugural selection of the brand new Wonderfest Book Club. As physicists work toward completing a theory of the universe and biologists unravel the molecular complexity of life, a glaring incompleteness in this scientific vision becomes apparent. The "Theory of Everything" that appears to be emerging includes everything but us: the feelings, meanings, consciousness, and purposes that make us (and many of our animal cousins) what we are. These most immediate and incontrovertible phenomena are left unexplained by the natural sciences because they lack the physical properties—such as mass, momentum, charge, and location—that are assumed to be necessary for something to have physical consequences in the world. This is an unacceptable omission. We need a "theory of everything" that does not leave it absurd that we exist.