Opening the Doors to Science 30 November 2009

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS AT THE STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND

A bookend Brisbane Writers Festival event in partnership with BrisScience proudly presents

OPENNING THE DOORS TO SCIENCE Presented by UK Author, Len Fisher

IgNobel Prize winning physicist, Len Fisher, has captured the public imagination with his personal approach to popular science writing. Topics range from the physics of biscuit dunking to the use of the mathematics of co-operation to help resolve resource depletion and global warming. Len Fisher is author of Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life; How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Life; Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Ideas; and, The Perfect Swarm: The Science of Complexity in Everyday Life.

WHEN: 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm (Doors open at 6 pm) WHERE: State Library of Queensland, Auditorium 1 Questions? Contact Lynelle Ross (l.ross@smp.uq.edu.au)

====================================================== UPCOMING BRISSCIENCE TALKS visit www.BrisScience.org for further details.

14 December – Numbers: From -1 to 2 raised to the power of infinity Presented by Dr Daryl Cooper, University of California, Santa Barbara One cornerstone of mathematics is the concept of number. We learn in primary school that when you multiply two negative numbers the answer is positive. A few years back a prominent columnist claimed that this was wrong and that the answer is really negative. We will start by explaining why the answer is indeed positive. This explanation illustrates a key stepping stone for tonight’s lecture: all numbers are abstractions. From here we will explain exactly what infinity is, how to do basic arithmetic with infinity, why there are different sizes of infinity, and why 2 raised to the power infinity is always bigger than the infinity you first thought of!

Two lessons come from this. First one must have a very precise understanding of a concept before trying to reason about it. Second, and perhaps most importantly: advanced mathematics is full of amazingly beautiful and intriguing ideas, some of which are far crazier than the weirdest science fiction, or the most bizarre hallucinations. However these ideas are as real and certain as that 2+2=4.

* Time: 6:30pm to 7:30pm (Doors open at 6pm) * Venue: Ithaca Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall * Refreshments: There will be complimentary drinks and nibblies following the talk, and Daryl will be available to answer any questions. * Questions? Contact Lynelle (l.ross@smp.uq.edu.au)

====================================================== To join or leave our mailing list please email l.ross@smp.uq.edu.au or visit BrisScience at www.BrisScience.org Become a friend of BrisScience on Facebook! Visit us at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5211859132 Please forward this email to friends, colleagues and family!

===================================================== From your friendly BrisScience Co-ordinators, Joel, Andrew and Lynelle c/o School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia, 4072 ======================================================

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