Wheee, I’m going to zip into New York again next week. I’m flying in on Monday to talk at the Inspiration Festival on Tuesday. I’m on the Seed slate with:
Chris Mooney – Washington Correspondent, Seed Magazine
Lisa Randall – Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Natalie Jeremijenko – Design Engineer / Technoartist, Yale University
PZ Myers – Associate Professor of Biology, University of Minnesota
Randy Olson – Lecturer
Jonah Lehrer – Editor-at-Large, Seed magazine
Pardis Sabeti – Researcher, Broad Institute / Lead Singer, Thousand Days
And here’s my job, in one very short talk:
From Galileo to da Vinci, and, from Einstein to Lichtenstein, such paradoxical contemporaries of their respective ages defy opposition in principal by the very existence of their creative nature. When modern Science and Culture collide, what can we learn about ourselves and the way we see the world? A look at 10 trends set to reveal the future of the future.
I’ll have to leave before the session is over to catch my flight home, but it looks like a good line-up and I wish I could hear it all. I’ll be talking about developmental biology and what it says about us, and I don’t think any of the others will be competing with me on that subject, at least.
Assuming I can use this space as an open thread (I can, right?) I thought you might like to know Dick DeVos, he’s the Amway kingpin running for governor in Michigan, just called for “Intelligent” Design to be taught in Michigan schools.
Charming! And in a state with a significant Muslim population, no less. I love what you’ve done with IDers in the past, so I figured you might like to hear this.
Should be “from Leonardo to Galileo”. Leonardo died in 1519, Galileo in 1642. As for “da Vinci”, leave that solecism to Dan Brown. You didn’t speak of “Galilei”…
Actually, Dick DeVos has been linked to a Hitler Zombie attack via political consultant Adolph Mongo.
Geoff Nunberg of Language Log points out that even Italians sometimes refer to Leonardo as “da Vinci” and suggests we not get worked up over it:
You can read his entire post here.
If you have a chance to ride the subways, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to catch an ad campaign, a combination ad actually for the New York Aquarium and a bookstore (name forgotten), which features an octopus reaching a tentacle across the frame to grab a book.
Are you sure you want to participate in an event that strives to answer these questions?
But I am a misplaced pedant.
That’s cool, PZ! I didn’t know Pardis Sabeti is in a rock band!? I’ve read some of here papers ….
“…such paradoxical contemporaries of their respective ages defy opposition in principal by the very existence of their creative nature.”
Say what?
Lisa Randall was in Dallas in — April? March? — with the American Physical Society, for a public lecture and book signing. Her presentation on strings was great, and didn’t lose me until about a half-hour in, which made me feel pretty good. Our 16-year-old got a lot more out of the talk than I did. In any case, it was great for APS to set up the talk and invite lots of high school kids in. It was just the sort of science demonstration that is absolutely never done by creationists, especially the IDists.
Randall also is much prettier in person than her photograph, which gives me reason to think all you science guys take lousy photographs just so you won’t develop groupies.
In any case, if you get a chance to listen to her talk, I’ll bet it would be worthwhile.
Hmm… might be worth cancelling my noon class and heading uptown for!
;)
Great… I have classes that day from 1:10 to 3:55. I’ll know on Thursday whether I can skip the first class; so far the lecturer has been recapping stuff I learned in college, but next week may be his first lecture introducing new material, in which case I’ll have to support you in spirit.
Every time someone talks about Lisa Randall’s looks, I’m left painfully aware that nobody ever talks about how male scientists look. I don’t think anybody here has ever made a crack about how cute Chris Mooney is, for example.
I think Chris is simply adorable.
Quote:
I don’t think anybody here has ever made a crack about how cute Chris Mooney is, for example.
Your kidding right? KAC (http://kellyanncollins.com/) has been blogging for the last week on whether or not Mooney is spongeworthy.
Stephanie: “a combination ad actually for the New York Aquarium and a bookstore (name forgotten),”
I don’t think that ad group is running anymore, but I’m pretty sure they were for the Bronx Zoo. The “intruded” ads were for fake stores, with no phone numbers or addresses. And did you see the titles on those books? The one the octopus was swiping was “Underwater Basket Weaving”, and some of the other titles were even sillier. Other ads in the series had mice invading a cheese-shop ad, and a penguin passing a bowtie into (?) a tuxedo ad. There was also a giraffe, but I don’t remember the other half of that ad.
Thanks David. I saw the at least two weeks ago on the subway but then again, the MTA isn’t the most timely in updating all their ads. Regarding the giraffe: I think it was helping itself to some flowers in what I could have sworn was an FTD ad.
Finally found the picture on flickr. I hope you like it PZ!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretcricket/208074377/
Damn, PZ, wish I could attend this just to hear the speakers, but I’ll be in class all day. Next time you’re speaking in the NY area, maybe I’ll get to hear you!
So, I can understand why we’d say “Leonardo”, I think, but why do we tend to say “Galileo”? He does have a family name in our sense, it seems. (I have read some stuff by his father, Vincenzo Galilei, as it happens. Interesting use of the “physical demonstration” in music.)