Perimeter Institute brings great thinkers from around the world to Canada to share their ideas on a wide variety of interesting and topical subjects. These lectures and debates are aimed at non-specialists. No mathematical or scientific knowledge is necessary or assumed. Each event is explicitly tailored for the general public and everyone is welcome to attend. http://pirsa.org/podcast/C04001 Science 2013 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en-ca Thu, 23 May 2013 10:48:57 -0400 sbradwell@perimeterinstitute.ca Thu, 23 May 2013 10:48:57 -0400 G 180 pirsa-admin@perimeterinstitute.ca Steve Bradwell's - Podcast Generator For over three hundred years, physicists and mathematicians have been trying to understand how stable the Earth really is. Could gravitational forces from other planets lead to drastic changes in Earth’s orbit? Will we collide with other planets or be ejected into interstellar space? Scott Tremaine http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/e74a4975-9f9b-4d31-9f65-b01ef7add6f5.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/e74a4975-9f9b-4d31-9f65-b01ef7add6f5.mp3 Wed, 02 Jun 2004 19:00:00 -0400 Do you have to see it to believe it? James Robert Brown, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, will discuss the highly interesting but controversial topic of the legitimate role of visual thinking in mathematics and science. Examples of picture proofs and thought experiments will be given. An explanation of how they work will be sketched. James Brown http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8cee2b41-842b-41d7-a478-9581fc52c7c3.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8cee2b41-842b-41d7-a478-9581fc52c7c3.mp3 Wed, 03 Nov 2004 19:00:00 -0500 Are you ready for this upgrade? The very foundation of computer science is changing. As Moore's Law draws to a close, rules of quantum physics are taking over. Learn how leading researchers are using counterintuitive effects, such as superposition, in their quest to build ultra-powerful quantum computers. You'll see how quantum particles behave, are controlled and, ultimately, used to calculate. Raymond Laflamme http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/0b2b3160-4b5b-42b3-be2f-1bda85e5561a.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/0b2b3160-4b5b-42b3-be2f-1bda85e5561a.mp3 Thu, 02 Dec 2004 16:20:00 -0500 Galileo’s campaign on behalf of the modern view of the solar system is one of the most dramatic events in the history of relations between Christianity and science – endlessly portrayed as a battle between theological interests and scientific freedom. But this traditional story is filled with factual errors. And when human fears, rivalries, revenge and the like are taken into account, the story takes on an altogether different cast. In Professor Lindberg’s retelling, the ideological side of the story will be balanced with its richness as a human event. David Lindberg http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/21258205-2257-4d63-b6da-e377ab063bdc.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/21258205-2257-4d63-b6da-e377ab063bdc.mp3 Wed, 05 Jan 2005 16:05:00 -0500 The strange paradoxes and puzzles of the quantum behaviour of black holes and the things that fall into them led to a spirited battle of ideas between Stephen Hawking, Leonard Susskind and other scientists. Resolving the debate may change our entire understanding of space, time, matter and information – is the entire world, for example, a quantum hologram? Leonard Susskind http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/489b17e8-c836-44fd-aef2-dd663243613e.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/489b17e8-c836-44fd-aef2-dd663243613e.mp3 Wed, 02 Feb 2005 18:30:00 -0500 Anton Zeilinger, a renowned physicist who successfully teleported light particles, will explain how quantum properties are used today to process and transmit information. Anton Zeilinger http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/f25bfc6a-7415-4d54-9562-bf6b32e2a6c8.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/f25bfc6a-7415-4d54-9562-bf6b32e2a6c8.mp3 Wed, 02 Mar 2005 19:00:00 -0500 Edward Witten is one of the world’s preeminent string theorists. Among his many accomplishments, he is widely known for showing how five different variations of string theory all belong within a single framework. His awards range from a MacArthur 'genius grant' to the Fields Medal - the highest honour in the world of mathematics. Professor Witten will examine key discoveries made by physicists in the 20th century such as the detection of antimatter. He will then describe how many of today’s leading scientists are working at the high energy frontier of elementary particle accelerators in their quest to uncover the quantum structures of space and time. Edward Witten http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/428dd794-cbac-443b-ab6e-25d6d5466ec6.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/428dd794-cbac-443b-ab6e-25d6d5466ec6.mp3 Wed, 06 Apr 2005 19:00:00 -0400 The final part of the 04-05 Public Events series turns the spotlight on you. It’s your chance to ask a panel of Perimeter researchers for their thoughts on a wide variety of scientific topics. Christian Romelsberger,Rafael Sorkin,Thomas Thiemann,Joseph Emerson,Laurent Freidel,Cliff Burgess http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/e85488c8-dbf6-4ba4-9bc6-07c40bd52b5e.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/e85488c8-dbf6-4ba4-9bc6-07c40bd52b5e.mp3 Wed, 01 Jun 2005 19:00:00 -0400 Einstein’s profound ideas about relativity and the quantum have provided generations of people with some of the most thought-provoking concepts ever proposed about the wonders and mysteries of our universe. This lively panel discussion will examine Einstein’s enormous contributions to our understanding. John Moffat,Howard Burton,Lee Smolin,John Stachel http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/88dc6b6e-4a60-4960-a294-2cf1eef709bb.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/88dc6b6e-4a60-4960-a294-2cf1eef709bb.mp3 Fri, 12 Aug 2005 12:35:00 -0400 Simon Singh grew up in Somerset, and completed his undergraduate work at Imperial College London, and his Ph.D. at Cambridge University and CERN. He has worked with the BBC’s Science Department since 1990. In 1996, Singh directed the award-winning documentary “Fermat’s Last Theorem”. The documentary was also nominated for an Emmy under the American title “The Proof”. He is the author of three books, most recently, the “Big Bang”, a history of cosmology. Simon Singh http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/39e5c7df-25ef-43b9-a0ba-f920daca60b4.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/39e5c7df-25ef-43b9-a0ba-f920daca60b4.mp3 Wed, 02 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500 How do you advise a scientist who says she has information that could be vital to the event health but she’s been told to keep it a secret? In this talk Dr. Shuchman will discuss the dramatic act of blowing the whistle in science. Drawing on the extensive information in her best-selling book including interviews with whistleblowers, surveys of scientists and public testimony - and adding new material that isn’t in the book –Shuchman will outline the benefits of scientific whistleblowing over the past 40 years. Then she will describe its aftermath. In case after case, Shuchman will give audience members the information and ask their opinions of what should have happened. Miriam Shuchman is a psychiatrist with a background in medical ethics, who teaches at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her features on ethics and psychiatry have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Globe and Mail, as well as on CBC Radio and National Public Radio in the United States. Her articles on medical whistleblowers have appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the British Medical Journal and the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Dr. Shuchman trained in psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and studied ethics at Dartmouth College. Her book, “The Drug Trial”, tells the full story of the Olivieri affair, Canada’s biggest science scandal, and exposes problems that should concern us all in the systems of scientific research, corporate financing and peer review. Miriam Shuchman http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/338fd496-0011-45a8-a3e2-9d376458a8db.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/338fd496-0011-45a8-a3e2-9d376458a8db.mp3 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500 The scientific approach to consciousness is a relatively new pursuit, but it has already revealed some startling facts about the cavalcade of feelings, images and thoughts that stream through our heads every waking moment. Jay Ingram will present some of the most surprising of these in a talk based on his best-selling book, Theatre of the Mind. Jay Ingram is the author of several bestselling books, including The Science of Everyday Life, The Barmaid’s Brain and The Velocity of Honey. He is producer and co-host of the Discovery Channel’s award-winning show Daily Planet, and also contributes a weekly science column to the Toronto Star. He holds two ACTRAs, the Royal Society of Canada McNeil Medal, the Sandford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute, the Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion and three Canadian Science Writers Awards. Jay Ingram http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/a5107c19-2f9d-49c6-9654-86fadba6a371.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/a5107c19-2f9d-49c6-9654-86fadba6a371.mp3 Wed, 04 Jan 2006 19:00:00 -0500 An expected 90 day robotic odyssey on Mars has stretched into a two year scientific marathon. Dr. Grant, a geologist with the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, helped pick the landing sites and works on day-to-day operations of the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers. You’ll see the latest photos, learn what Martian mysteries have been uncovered and find out how scientists plan to push the limits of future robots in space. Dr. John A. Grant, III joined the Smithsonian in the fall of 2000 as a Geologist at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the National Air and Space Museum. He has been a member of the Science Team for the Mars Exploration Rovers since 2002, is one of six Science Operations Working Group Chairs and is co-leading site selection activities for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory mission to Mars. Since 2001, Dr. Grant has served as a Co-Investigator on the High Resolution Camera (HiRISE), which is being flown on the 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, currently on its way to Mars. In addition, he is leading development of a ground-penetrating radar for possible future deployment on a Mars rover and conducts fundamental research related to the history of geologic processes on the Earth and Mars. He has been interested in Mars ever since reading Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles as a child. Dr. Grant earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh and received his master’s in geology at the University of Rhode Island and his doctorate in geology at Brown University. He maintains a strong connection to the classroom and has held several professorial and teaching posts at both Rhode Island College and SUNY College at Buffalo. He has authored or contributed to numerous articles in many professional journals, including Science, Geology, Geomorphology, and the Journal of Geophysical Research. John Grant http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/1deec78c-f755-4803-b20f-1f376d9af488.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/1deec78c-f755-4803-b20f-1f376d9af488.mp3 Wed, 01 Feb 2006 19:00:00 -0500 The universe computes: every atom, electron, and elementary particle registers bits of information, and every time two particles collide those bits are flipped and processed. By ‘hacking’ the computational power of the universe, we can build quantum computers which store and process information at the level of atoms and electrons. This computational capacity underlies the generation of complex systems, and provides insight into the origin of life and its future. Seth Lloyd is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is the author of 'Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos' which asks the startling question 'Is the universe actually a giant quantum computer?'. Seth Lloyd http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/056ea666-bebd-45ee-b966-80a8f68e7e77.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/056ea666-bebd-45ee-b966-80a8f68e7e77.mp3 Wed, 19 Apr 2006 19:00:00 -0400 Inside Harvard College Observatory in 1904, a young woman named Henrietta Swan Leavitt sat hunched over a stack of glass photographic plates, patiently counting stars. The images had been taken by a telescope high in the Peruvian Andes, and Miss Leavitt was given the tedious chore of measuring the brightness of thousands of tiny lights, something that would now be done by machine. Her job title was 'computer,' but during the next few years she rose above her station as a tabulator of data and discovered a new law, one that would change forever our view of the universe. George Johnson, the author of Miss Leavitt's Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe, writes about science for The New York Times from Santa Fe, New Mexico and is winner of the AAAS Science Journalism Award. His other books include A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to the Quantum Computer, Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith, and the Search for Order and Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in 20th-Century Physics. He is co-director of the Santa Fe Science-Writing Workshop and can be reached on the Web at talaya.net. A graduate of the University of New Mexico and American University, his first reporting job was covering the police beat for the Albuquerque Journal. George Johnson http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/f34de643-10dc-4f4f-84fb-9d4e75d1a245.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/f34de643-10dc-4f4f-84fb-9d4e75d1a245.mp3 Wed, 03 May 2006 19:00:00 -0400 Einstein's famous equation E=mc2 asserts that energy and mass are different aspects of the same reality. It is usually associated with the idea that small amounts of mass can be converted into large amounts of energy. For fundamental physics, however, the more important idea is just the opposite. Researchers want to explain how mass itself arises, by explaining it in terms of more basic concepts. In this lecture targeted for a general audience, Prof. Wilczek will explain how this goal can, to a remarkable extent, be achieved. He will also discuss some of the consequences - an explanation of why gravity is so feeble - and suggestions for new physical phenomena at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva. Prof. Wilczek is a distinguished scientist and lecturer. He is the author of Fantastic Realities: 49 Mind Journeys and a trip to Stockholm and co-author of Longing for the Harmonies. In addition to many distinguished memberships and affiliations, he is a member of Perimeter Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Frank Wilczek http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/62c9d419-8b21-42f8-b7c5-fe0f5ea7606c.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/62c9d419-8b21-42f8-b7c5-fe0f5ea7606c.mp3 Tue, 06 Jun 2006 19:00:00 -0400 Long before the emergence of planets, stars, or galaxies, the universe consisted of an exploding quantum soup of “elementary” particles. Encoded in this formless, shapeless soup were seeds of cosmic structure, which over billions of years grew into the beautiful and complex universe we observe today. The lecture will explore the connection between the “inner space” of the quantum and the “outer space” of the cosmos. The inner space/outer space connection may hold the key to the nature of the dark matter holding together our galaxy and the mysterious dark energy pulling apart our universe. Edward W. Kolb (known to most as Rocky) is a founding head of the NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Group at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The University of Chicago. Presently he is the Director of the Particle Astrophysics Center at Fermilab. A native of New Orleans, he received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas. Postdoctoral research was performed at the California Institute of Technology and Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was the J. Robert Oppenheimer Research Fellow. He has served on editorial boards of several international scientific journals as well as Astronomy magazine. In addition to over 200 scientific papers, he is a co-author of The Early Universe, the standard textbook on particle physics and cosmology. His book for the general event, Blind Watchers of the Sky, received the 1996 Emme Award of the American Aeronautical Society. Rocky teaches cosmology to non-science majors at the University of Chicago and is involved with pre-college education enrichment programs. He has traveled the world, if not yet the Universe, giving scientific and event lectures. He has appeared in several television productions, and can also be seen in the OMNIMAX/IMAX film The Cosmic Voyage. His distinctions include: Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the American Physical Society, recipient of the 2003 Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers, winner of the 1993 Quantrell Prize for teaching excellence at the University of Chicago, Harlow Shapley Visiting Lecturer and Centennial Lecturer with the American Astronomical Society. He has also presented event lectures at the Royal Society of London, and in Rio de Janeiro, Valencia, and Barcelona. Edward Kolb http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/b4a0e90f-a159-4fd6-8d5d-b2f450a0ad05.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/b4a0e90f-a159-4fd6-8d5d-b2f450a0ad05.mp3 Wed, 07 Jun 2006 19:00:00 -0400 The laws of physics are usually meant to be set in stone; variability is not usually part of physics. Yet contradicting Einstein's tenet of the constancy of the speed of light raises nothing less than that possibility. I will discuss some of the more dramatic implications of a varying speed of light. João Magueijo is Professor of Physics at Imperial College London. He is currently visiting Perimeter Institute and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics in Toronto. He received his doctorate in theoretical physics at Cambridge University, and has been a visiting scientist at the University of California at Berkeley and Princeton University. Joao Magueijo http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/4a84a977-a876-47c1-b83c-e95e9bd75ba6.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/4a84a977-a876-47c1-b83c-e95e9bd75ba6.mp3 Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:00:00 -0400 This is a story of how the impossible became possible. How, for centuries, scientists were absolutely sure that solids (as well as decorative patterns like tiling and quilts) could only have certain symmetries - such as square, hexagonal and triangular - and that most symmetries, including five-fold symmetry in the plane and icosahedral symmetry in three dimensions (the symmetry of a soccer ball), were strictly forbidden. Then, about twenty years ago, a new kind of pattern, known as a 'quasicrystal,' was envisaged that shatters the symmetry restrictions and allows for an infinite number of new patterns and structures that had never been seen before, suggesting a whole new class of materials. By chance, solids with five-fold symmetry were discovered in the laboratory at about the same time. Even so, for nearly twenty years, many scientists continued to believe true quasicrystals were impossible because, they argued, such a pattern could only be formed with complex and physically unrealistic inter-atomic forces. In this talk, you will see simple, beautiful patterns and a series of geometrical toys and games that demonstrate, with subtlety and surprise, how this last conceptual barrier has been recently overcome - leading to new insights on how to grow perfect quasicrystals and inspire new technological applications. About the Speaker: Paul J. Steinhardt is the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University and is on the faculty in the Department of Physics and in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences. He received his B.S. in Physics at Caltech in 1974; his M.A. in Physics in 1975 and Ph.D. in Physics in 1978 at Harvard University. He was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 1978-81 and on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania from 1981-98, where he was Mary Amanda Wood Professor from 1989-98. He is a Fellow in the American Physical Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2002, he received the P.A.M. Dirac Medal from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. Steinhardt is a theorist whose research spans problems in particle physics, astrophysics, cosmology and condensed matter physics. He is one of the architects of the .inflationary model. of the universe, an important modification of the standard big bang picture which explains the homogeneity and geometry of the universe and the origin of the fluctuations that seeded the formation of galaxies and large-scale structure. He introduced the concepts of .quintessence,. a dynamical form of dark energy that may account for the recently discovered cosmic acceleration. He has also explored novel models for dark matter. Recently, Steinhardt and Neil Turok (Cambridge U.) proposed the .cyclic model. of the early universe, a radical alternative to big bang/inflationary cosmology in which the evolution of the universe is periodic and the key events shaping the large scale structure of the universe occur before the big bang. In condensed matter physics, Steinhardt and Dov Levine (Technion) introduced the concept of quasicrystals, a new phase of solid matter with disallowed crystallographic symmetries. Steinhardt continues to make contributions to understanding their unique mathematical and physical properties. He has written over 200 papers, edited 4 books, and holds three U.S. patents. Paul Steinhardt http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/3572c4a7-8a78-47bd-b4ce-1f695407b47a.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/3572c4a7-8a78-47bd-b4ce-1f695407b47a.mp3 Wed, 06 Sep 2006 07:00:00 -0400 From Levin’s recent book comes a strange if true story of coded secrets, psychotic delusions, mathematics, and war. This story of greatness and weakness, of genius and delusion, circulates around the parallel lives of Kurt Gödel, the greatest logician of many centuries, and Alan Turing, the extraordinary code breaker during World War II. Taken together their work proved that there are limits to knowledge, that machines could be taught to compute, that one day there could be artificial intelligence. Yet Gödel believed in transmigration of the soul and Turing concluded that we were soulless biological machines. And their suicides were complementary. Gödel, delusional and paranoid, starved himself to death fearing his food was poisoned. Turing ate a poison apple, driven to suicide after being arrested and convicted of homosexual activities. These two men were devoted to truth of the highest abstract nature, yet were unable to grasp the mundane truths of their own lives. Through it all, you will explore, along with these two odd heroes, if any of us can ever really grasp the truth. Janna Levin http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/73214d38-74fa-4bf5-b308-bf75b1f92fe9.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/73214d38-74fa-4bf5-b308-bf75b1f92fe9.mp3 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:00:00 -0400 Newton's first law of motion - and the very meaning of inertia - has been described as either completely obvious (D'Alembert) or a 'logician's nightmare' (ex-editor of the American Journal of Physics). Sometimes the simplest things in physics are the most subtle. The first law will be described in historical context, explaining a connection with the ancient Greeks’ distinction between natural and violent motion and with Descartes' natural philosophy. You will also learn why it still requires careful handling and what it tells us about time in physics. Harvey Brown http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8aa09531-d995-4796-a386-e6d0fc0fd537.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8aa09531-d995-4796-a386-e6d0fc0fd537.mp3 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500 Using results from models of the atmosphere/ocean/sediment carbon cycle, the impacts of fossil-fuel CO2 release will be examined – including the effect on climate many thousands of years into the future, rather than for just a few centuries as commonly claimed. Prof. Archer will explain how aspects of the Earth system, such as the growth or melting of the great ice sheets, the thawing of permafrost, and the release of methane from the methane hydrate deposits in the deep ocean, take thousands of years to respond to a change in climate. The duration of our potential climate adventure is comparable to the pacing of climate changes in the past, which enables us to use the geologic record of past climate changes to predict the trajectory of global warming into the deep future. In particular, the record of sea level variations in the past suggests that the ultimate sea level response to fossil fuel CO2 use could be 10 to 100 times higher than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecast for the year 2100. David Archer http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8e34dcb5-15a8-4cb0-acde-c304471ea52c.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8e34dcb5-15a8-4cb0-acde-c304471ea52c.mp3 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:00:00 -0500 Will big questions be answered when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) switches on in 2007? What will scientists find? Where might the research lead? Nima Arkani-Hamed, a noted particle theorist, is a Professor of Physics at Harvard University. He investigates a number of mysteries and interactions in nature – puzzles that are likely to have experimental consequences in the next few years via particle accelerators, like the LHC, as well as cosmological observations. Nima Arkani-Hamed http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/1801f4c3-46d6-4838-8ee8-97f55653775f.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/1801f4c3-46d6-4838-8ee8-97f55653775f.mp3 Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:00:00 -0500 Hollywood movies about aliens abound, but do they really exist? The real scientific search for evidence of life, and particularly intelligent life, elsewhere in the cosmos is just as exciting as the “reel” version, and a lot more logical. So far, there is ‘life-as-we-know-it’ to guide our speculations and observations. But a new appreciation for the tenacity of life, a growing respect for the world of microbes, and new search technologies involving observatories and spacecraft are rapidly expanding our viewpoint. Many expect surprises. SETI is at the forefront of this research and has plans to extend its range out even further into the galaxy, looking for evidence of someone else’s technology. In the next few decades, scientists will take a much closer look at places within our solar system where liquid water (even vast oceans) may exist and harbor life. They will also probe the closest stars to see if other ‘Earths’ and biospheres exist. Dr. Jill Tarter will describe research in a discipline some call “the archaeology of the future”. Jill Tarter http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/57c0ce15-db2d-4a9f-8769-8717f8e92931.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/57c0ce15-db2d-4a9f-8769-8717f8e92931.mp3 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:00:00 -0500 Sensitive information can be valuable to others - from your personal credit card numbers to state and military secrets. Throughout history, sophisticated codes have been developed in an attempt to keep important data from prying eyes. But now, new technologies are emerging based on the surprising laws of quantum physics that govern the atomic scale. These powerful techniques threaten to crack some secret codes in widespread use today and, at the same time, offer new quantum cryptographic protocols which could one day profoundly alter the way we safeguard critical information. Daniel Gottesman http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/5dceef4d-3a15-4530-93f5-674cbd228d82.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/5dceef4d-3a15-4530-93f5-674cbd228d82.mp3 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:00:00 -0400 Sixty-five million years ago dinosaurs ruled the warm Cretaceous Earth. Without warning, this world was swept away forever by the impact of an asteroid about 15 km in diameter, leaving a huge scar now called the Chicxulub crater in Yucatan, Mexico. This catastrophe set the stage for the ascendance of our own biological group, the mammals. Although the fact of this impact is now established beyond doubt, the precise means by which an impact could wipe out such a large fraction of the Earth's inhabitants is not fully understood. Recent study of the physical consequences of a large impact on the Earth have revealed a plethora of potentially disastrous effects, ranging from an immediate firestorm that ignited global wildfires to sulfuric acid aerosols, acid rain, and ozone depletion lasting decades. The extinctions caused by these physical traumas changed the way that the Earth's biosphere recycles carbon, leading to climatic changes lasting nearly a million years longer. Although no other major extinction in the past 500 million years can yet be tied unambiguously to an extraterrestrial impact, there is geological evidence of even larger impacts farther back in Earth's history, including the one that created the Sudbury ore body in Ontario more than a billion years ago. Concerns over the future possibility of such large impacts have led to a worldwide program to identify potentially threatening asteroids and has generated discussion of what humans might do to deflect such an asteroid if it is found. Jay Melosh http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/fb1f908b-2193-4cf4-98a9-4c4aaf40a777.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/fb1f908b-2193-4cf4-98a9-4c4aaf40a777.mp3 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:00:00 -0400 Many experts are convinced that large scale, practical implementations of quantum information systems hold great promise for society, much as the laser and the transistor have already revolutionized the world. This stems from a long history of research that included an intense, raging battle of epic proportions between scientific giants. In tracing these steps, you will learn why Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr argued over the nature of entangled states where pairs of sub-atomic particles are strangely correlated from 1935 until their very deaths. You will also find out how, decades later, John Bell discovered his famous inequalities that made it possible for experimentalists, including Alain Aspect and others, to settle the great debate and help propel a new era of fundamental understanding with concepts and methods that seek to harness unique properties of atoms to process and transmit information. Alain Aspect http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/1b0d64b4-8875-4718-b44d-254b98b6466a.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/1b0d64b4-8875-4718-b44d-254b98b6466a.mp3 Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:00:00 -0400 International researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in Geneva, Switzerland, will soon embark on one of science's greatest adventures. With its very high energy, previously seen only in cosmic rays, the particle collider will probe the inner structure of matter at distances ten times smaller than any previous experiments. The LHC will address many of the mysteries surrounding the smallest particles of matter. It may also pierce secrets that the Universe has hidden since the early stages of the Big Bang, such as the nature of dark matter and the origin of matter itself. This will be the largest scientific experiment ever attempted and the complex international efforts to bring the 27km-long machine to life, including Canada’s involvement, will also be explained. Robert Orr,John Ellis http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/2f4ddcc2-b892-4afa-95ec-75f3fea216a7.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/2f4ddcc2-b892-4afa-95ec-75f3fea216a7.mp3 Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:00:00 -0500 Do ideas about information and reality inspire fruitful new approaches to the hardest problems of modern physics? What can we learn about the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, the beginning of the universe and our understanding of black holes by thinking about the very essence of information? The answers to these questions are surprising and enlightening, but also controversial. The topic of information within physics has involved some of the 20th century's greatest scientists in long-running intellectual battles that continue to the present day. In this special debate, hosted by the CBC's Bob McDonald of 'Quirks and Quarks', you will enjoy a lively discussion between four prominent physicists who have thought long and hard about these questions. Leonard Susskind,Sir Anthony Leggett,Chris Fuchs,Seth Lloyd,Bob McDonald http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/885c534d-2140-496a-8f73-6db23b011504.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/885c534d-2140-496a-8f73-6db23b011504.mp3 Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:00:00 -0500 In the 'second space age', human spaceflight is no longer the domain of governments. Dream-chasing entrepreneurs and clever engineers are aggressively blazing new trails into the heavens and preparing the world for an era of space tourism, ultra fast point-to-point earth travel and even orbiting hotels. Having gained inside access into the top private space programs, science journalist Michael Belfiore will share his many insights on the history-making flights, the failures and fatalities, as well as the enduring passion and dreams of the real estate tycoons, dot-com billionaires, a video game programmer and other business mavericks for whom the sky is no longer the limit. They are fueling the highest-flying private rockets ever built, testing "vertical dragsters", and preparing to launch an inflatable space station - with the mock-up already in earth orbit. Can your ticket to ride be that far behind? Michael Belfiore http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/0e5ffe7e-036b-4c93-bef8-6f657cb364c0.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/0e5ffe7e-036b-4c93-bef8-6f657cb364c0.mp3 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:00:00 -0500 The evidence that the universe emerged 14 billion years ago from an event called 'the big bang' is overwhelming. Yet the cause of this event remains deeply mysterious. In the conventional picture, the 'initial singularity' is unexplained. It is simply assumed that the universe somehow sprang into existence full of 'inflationary' energy, blowing up the universe into the large, smooth state we observe today. While this picture is in excellent agreement with current observations, it is both contrived and incomplete, leading us to suspect that it is not the final word. In this lecture, the standard inflationary picture will be contrasted with a new view of the initial singularity suggested by string and M-theory, in which the bang is a far more normal, albeit violent, event which occurred in a pre-existing universe. According to the new picture, a cyclical model of the universe becomes feasible in which one bang is followed by another, in a potentially endless series of cosmic cycles. The presentation will also review exciting recent theoretical developments and forthcoming observational tests which could distinguish between the rival inflationary and cyclical hypotheses. Neil Turok http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/d4ff75ff-f9ff-4021-8cbd-f02d03e40c6c.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/d4ff75ff-f9ff-4021-8cbd-f02d03e40c6c.mp3 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:00:00 -0500 Probabilities and randomness arise whenever we're not sure what will happen next. They apply to everything from lottery jackpots to airplane crashes; email spam to insurance policies; medical studies to election polls. This exploration of odds and oddities will explain how a Probability Perspective can shed new light on many familiar situations in our everyday lives, and how computer algorithms which use randomness can be used to address problems in many branches of science. Jeffrey Rosenthal http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/fd237c0d-246d-4416-9c45-da1bb431bdf3.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/fd237c0d-246d-4416-9c45-da1bb431bdf3.mp3 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0400 In the recent past, rapid scientific and technological developments have had tremendous impact on human society. Notably, the personal computer, internet and mobile telephones changed the world and shrank our planet. These developments are vastly different from the forecasts by science fiction authors who promised us space travel and intelligent humanoid robots. Could real scientists have done a better job in forecasting the future? What can we say about the future now? Many science fiction fantasies will never materialize. Some will, but only over time spans of millions of years rather than a couple of centuries. Nature's laws are very strict and forbidding but also show gaps that might promise fantastic possibilities for a scientific future, even within our lifetime. Gerard T' Hooft http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/dd3831b9-d735-4c98-8df2-f2be485aabbe.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/dd3831b9-d735-4c98-8df2-f2be485aabbe.mp3 Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:00 -0400 At the beginning of the 20th century Einstein published three revolutionary ideas that changed forever how we view Nature. At the beginning of the 21st century Einstein's thinking is shaping one of the key scientific and technological wonders of contemporary life: atomic clocks, the best timekeepers ever made. Such super-accurate clocks are essential to industry, commerce, and science; they are the heart of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which guides cars, airplanes, and hikers to their destinations. Today, atomic clocks are still being improved, using Einstein's ideas to cool the atoms to incredibly low temperatures. Atomic gases reach temperatures less than a billionth of a degree above Absolute Zero, without solidifying. Such atoms enable clocks accurate to better than a second in 60 million years as well as both using and testing some of Einstein's strangest predictions. This will be a lively, multimedia presentation, including experimental demonstrations and down-to-earth explanations about some of today's most exciting science. William (Bill) Phillips http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/7b3cb530-64a9-483e-a092-38cafd9458cd.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/7b3cb530-64a9-483e-a092-38cafd9458cd.mp3 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0400 There is now a great deal of evidence confirming the existence of a very hot and dense early stage of the universe. Much of this data comes from a detailed study of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) - radiation from the early universe that was most recently measured by NASA's WMAP satellite. But the information presents new puzzles for scientists. One of the most blatant examples is an apparent paradox related to the second law of thermodynamics. Although some have argued that the hypothesis of inflationary cosmology solves some of the puzzles, profound issues remain. In this talk, Professor Penrose will describe a very different proposal, one that suggests a succession of universes prior to our own. He will also present a recent analysis of the CMB data that has a profound bearing on these issues. Roger Penrose http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/682b6519-df34-4402-b5ba-bef1565a3f7c.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/682b6519-df34-4402-b5ba-bef1565a3f7c.mp3 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:00:00 -0400 Our present Core Theory of matter (aka “standard model”) was born in the 1970s, a Golden Age for fundamental physics. To date it has passed every experimental test, extending – by many orders of magnitude – to higher energies, shorter distances, and greater precision than were available in the 1970s. Yet we are not satisfied, because the Core Theory postulates four separate interactions and several different kinds of matter, and its equations are lopsided. In this lecture, Prof. Wilczek will describe powerful and extremely beautiful ideas for restoring unity and symmetry to the fundamental laws. These ideas are firmly rooted in empirical reality, but at present the evidence for them is circumstantial. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will provide critical tests. If Nature has been teaching, not teasing, discoveries at the LHC will inaugurate a new Golden Age, bringing our fundamental understanding of the physical world to a new level. Frank Wilczek http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8a77dc33-995a-4bb5-adde-6025733a08f4.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/8a77dc33-995a-4bb5-adde-6025733a08f4.mp3 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:00:00 -0500 Some things can happen in our Universe, and others cannot. The laws of physics establish the boundary between possibility and impossibility. Physicists naturally spend most of their time thinking about the possible. In this lecture, however, we will make a brief reconnaissance across the frontier to study impossible things and discover the surprising connections between them. We will encounter standard science-fiction devices like time machines and faster-than-light spaceships -- as well as other, less-familiar prodigies including quantum cloners and bounded electromagnetic miracles. A safe return to the real world is unconditionally guaranteed. Ben Schumacher http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/c99e847e-314a-4a9b-b539-40099859ccaa.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/c99e847e-314a-4a9b-b539-40099859ccaa.mp3 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:00:00 -0500 Black holes are regions of space with gravity so strong that nothing can escape from them, not even light. This isn't science fiction - there's even a gigantic black hole at the center of our galaxy. It's hard to imagine a more effective way to irrevocably erase and destroy a computer's hard drive than to drop it into a nice big black hole. But is the information on that drive really gone forever? Paradoxically, there's a good chance that not only does the information come back, it comes back in the blink of an eye. This surprise return of the information is based on the same principles that might someday make reliable quantum computers a reality. In fact, engineers are already exploiting these principles to help distribute software and stream video over the internet. And that's where the tornadoes come in... Patrick Hayden http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/86a9c88d-113f-45ad-9781-8fc1fa19b4ea.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/86a9c88d-113f-45ad-9781-8fc1fa19b4ea.mp3 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:00:00 -0400 I belong to the lucky generation who survived World War Two and unexpectedly found ourselves alive and young at the dawn of four simultaneous revolutions. We were present at the creation of four new technologies that were to continue transforming the world for the following sixty-five years. First revolution, Space, beginning with the first spacecraft, the V2 rocket, which came crashing down on our heads in London in the last year of the war. Second revolution, Nuclear Energy, beginning with the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Third revolution, Genomes, beginning with the experiment of Oswald Avery in 1944 which proved that the molecule DNA was the carrier of genetic information. Fourth revolution, Computers, beginning with the first electronic computer ENIAC which started operation in 1946. All four revolutions burst out within two years and gave us our chance to play small roles in big events. They gave drama and excitement to our lives. Freeman Dyson http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/e59a3757-fa2f-44fb-835c-e3fb55c87164.mp3 Science http://streamer.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/e59a3757-fa2f-44fb-835c-e3fb55c87164.mp3 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:00:00 -0400 Some numbers mean things, and some numbers do things. Making--and breaking--that distinction was central to renowned mathematician John von Neumann’s implementation of Alan Turing’s Universal Machine in 1945-56. In this lecture, you will learn about the unlikeliest place on earth to build such a device and how this vital 5-kilobyte step in the digital revolution was sparked by a collision of ideas between mathematicians and engineers. Combining soldering guns with science, Von Neumann and his Electronic Computing Instrument tackled previously intractable problems ranging from thermonuclear explosions, stellar evolution, and long-range weather forecasting to cellular automata, network optimization, and the origins of life. In this highly visual and informative presentation, George Dyson will impart the full story - from the people to their processors - and where our digital directions through history may lead us next. George Dyson http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090140.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090140.mp3 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:00:00 -0400 Learn about the future of “3D Printers” – machines that will fabricate arbitrary-shaped parts, layer by layer. Dr. Lipson will share a history of these technologies and preview a future in which we continue to gain unprecedented control over physical matter. If humans distinguish themselves from their evolutionary ancestors by making tools, then how might the ultimate tools – involving additive manufacturing – impact human culture forever? Dr. Lipson explores the science, technology and potential of programmable matter. Hod Lipson http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090137.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090137.mp3 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:00:00 -0400 The world's most ambitious scientific experiment is buried 100 meters underground, straddling Switzerland and France. A billion times every minute, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) slams together protons, while four giant detectors watch closely. - So how does the Large Hadron Collider work? - Why can slamming tiny particles into each other provide clues about the nature of all space and time? - What mysteries are physicists trying to solve with data from the LHC? - How does the cutting edge of particle physics relate to the world around us, from the patterns of stars in the sky to the fact that they shine at all? Natalia Toro, PI Faculty, works at the intersection of theories and hard data. She will explain how complex collision data from the LHC is being digested and examined right now, and how it may set the course for the science of the future. Natalia Toro http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090139.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090139.mp3 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:00:00 -0400 With a background in computer and systems engineering as well as language processing and automatic speech recognition, Ms. Ms. Payette was selected from a pool of 5,330 candidates to become a Canadian astronaut, focusing on technical issues in robotics. Today, following her amazing professional career and numerous life experiences, Ms. Payette is veteran of two missions to the International Space Station as a crew member and Flight Engineer. She also holds a commercial pilot license; earned military pilot captaincy on the 'Snowbird' jets; is a certified deep-sea diving suit operator; is fluent in French and English, and can converse in Spanish, Italian, Russian and German. She has received many awards, holds numerous degrees and, on a personal note, plays the piano and has sung with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Piacere Vocale in Basel, Switzerland, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto. Drawing from her many firsthand experiences and zest for life, Ms. Payette will share an astronaut's high level perspective on extraordinarily complex, yet highly collaborative, challenges in space - from both a research and international diplomacy policy point of view. Julie Payette http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090138.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11090138.mp3 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:00:00 -0400 Black holes are hot! This discovery made by Stephen Hawking ties together gravity, spacetime, quantum matter, and thermal systems into the beautiful and exciting science of "Black Hole Thermodynamics". Its beauty lies in the powerful way it speaks of the unity of physics. The excitement arises because it tells us that there is something lacking in our understanding of spacetime and, at the same time, gives us a major clue as to what the missing ingredient should be. Theoretical physicists at Perimeter Institute and elsewhere are pioneering a proposal, known as Causal Set Theory, for the structure held by these most fundamental atoms of spacetime.  In this talk, Professor Dowker describes  black hole thermodynamics and argue that it is telling us that spacetime itself is granular or "atomic" at very tiny scales. Fay Dowker http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11110125.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11110125.mp3 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:00:00 -0400 Apart from Einstein, Paul Dirac was probably the greatest theoretical physicist of the twentieth century. Dirac, co-inventor of the most revolutionary theory for 150 years 'quantum mechanics' is now best known for conceiving of anti-matter in his head and also for his deeply eccentric behaviour. For him, the most important attribute of a fundamental theory was its mathematical beauty, an idea that he said was 'almost a religion' to him. In this talk, Farmelo will argue that this obsession originated in his early life and training as an engineer and mathematician. An examination of Dirac's character will show why he was sometimes called 'the strangest man' in the modern history of physics. Graham Farmelo http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11120046.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/11120046.mp3 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:00:00 -0500 How do snowflakes form?  What creates their complex, symmetrical and strikingly beautiful shapes?  Is it true that no two are exactly alike?  Kenneth Libbrecht of Caltech, will reveal the secrets of snowflakes and the molecular dynamics of crystal growth through spectacular photographs of these miniature ice sculptures.  Kenneth Libbrecht http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12020152.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12020152.mp3 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:00 -0500 Albert Einstein wrote that “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.” In his talk, Dr. Epp will explore how the process of science—wonder & curiosity coupled with imagination & reasoning—has led to some of the greatest discoveries and deepest mysteries about the structure, evolution and origin of the universe.  This lecture will celebrate the power of science to deepen our sense of cosmic wonder as we stand before the present-day mysteries of Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Big Bang. Richard Epp http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12030138.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12030138.mp3 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:00:00 -0500 Lisa Harvey-Smith http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12040126.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12040126.mp3 Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:00:00 -0400 Donald Kurtz http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12050080.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12050080.mp3 Wed, 02 May 2012 19:00:00 -0400 Julian Barbour http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12060007.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12060007.mp3 Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:00:00 -0400 Neil Turok http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12100057.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12100057.mp3 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:00:00 -0400 Melissa Franklin http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12110055.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12110055.mp3 Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:00:00 -0500 Philip Ball http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12120004.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/12120004.mp3 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:00:00 -0500 Gravitational waves are "ripples of space-time" that were predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity almost a century ago.  The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) now pushes the frontiers of science and engineering to try and catch these waves for the first time.  This will allow us to explore the last dance of pairs of neutron stars colliding to give birth to a black hole and other astrophysical events in a way humans never have before.  Dr. Gonzalez will describe how a worldwide community of scientists is working to open a new window to the Universe searching for Einstein's gravitational waves. Gabriela Gonzalez http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/13020119.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/13020119.mp3 Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:00:00 -0500 What is time?  Is our perception of time passing an illusion which hides a deeper, timeless reality?  Or is it real, indeed, the most real aspect of our experience of the world?  Einstein said that "the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion,"  and many contemporary theorists agree that time emerges from a more fundamental timeless quantum universe. But, in recent cosmological speculation, this timeless picture of nature seems to have reached a dead end, populated by infinite numbers of imagined unobservable universes.  

In his talk, Lee Smolin explains why he changed his mind about the nature of time. Like many fellow theorists, he used to believe time is an illusion, but he now embraces the view that time is real and everything else, including the laws of nature, evolves.  Drawing from his new book, Time Reborn, Smolin explains how the great unsolved problems in physics and cosmology may be solved by adopting the view of a real time.  then he will go beyond physics to explain how our view of time affects how we think of everything from our personal and family lives to how we face major problems such as climate change and economic crisis.  In a world in which time is real, the future is open and there is an essential role for human agency and imagination in envisioning and shaping a good future. Lee Smolin http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/13040103.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/13040103.mp3 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:00:00 -0400 Based on her book, The Calculus Diaries, join, Jennifer Ouellette as she shows how calculus can be applied to everything from gas mileage, diet, the rides at Disneyland, surfing in Hawaii, shooting craps in Vegas and warding off zombies.  Even the mathematically challenged, can-and-should learn the fundamentals of the universal language. Jennifer Ouellette http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/13050004.mp3 Science http://streamer2.perimeterinstitute.ca/mp3/13050004.mp3 Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:00 -0400