For seven years, the World Science Festival has hosted a group of innovative programs that explore complex and fundamental questions about everything from human origins to the nature of the universe. This Big Ideas series, sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, brings leading experts in physics, anthropology, genetics, technology, and many other fields together for can’t-miss discussions. Here are some photo highlights from 2015’s Big Ideas programs.
“Here, There, and Everywhere” participants, left to right: moderator and journalist Bill Blakemore, Perimeter Institute researcher Daniel Gottesman, NASA quantum computing researcher Eleanor Rieffel, University of Oxford physicist Artur Ekert, and MIT engineer Seth Lloyd.
“Here, There, and Everywhere” moderator Bill Blakemore, left, discusses the potentials and limitations of quantum computing with Perimeter Institute researcher Daniel Gottesman.
“Planet of the Humans: The Leap to the Top” brought four expert panelists together to talk about the evolution of humanity’s unique traits. From left to right: Florida State University researcher Dean Falk, Harvard University linguist Steven Pinker, molecular biologist Paul Bingham, and paleoanthropologist Lee Berger.
Linguist and author Steven Pinker talked about the influences of tool use and collaboration on human evolution in “Planet of the Humans.”
The program “Spark of Genius? Awakening a Better Brain” centered on the emerging cognitive enhancement experiments with magnetic and electrical stimulation of the brain. University of California, Irvine professor emeritus Richard Haier (center) set the stage by relating some of his early studies in brain plasticity back in the 1980s that made use of the hot new video game at the time—Tetris.
Audiences at the theatre and online got to join in the conversation around all the Big Ideas programs by sending in questions to the panelists over Twitter.
“Spark of Genius? Awakening a Better Brain” weighed the evidence for and ethical issues raised by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), an experimental cognitive enhancement technique.
In “To Infinity and Beyond,” theoretical physicist Neil Turok talked about how black holes, the Higgs field, and other factors have influenced the evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.
“Wizards of Odds” explored the powerful way that probability factors into science, technology, and daily life.
Geneticist Robert Green was one of the expert panelists at “Wizards of Odds.”
At “Time Is of the Essence… Or Is It?” experts discussed how new insights from string theory suggest that time and space may not be the most fundamental components of the universe.
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