Madison
Chaos and Complex Systems Seminar
Summer 2018 Discussions
At the seminar on May 5, 2015, we decided to make our long-standing
summer
discussions slightly more formal by having a topic, a
facilitator, and a web-accessible reading or video. The reading or
video should take no more than 20 minutes, and the facilitator
should be prepared to give at most a 5-minute introduction to the
topic and lead the ensuing discussion. All discussions are Tuesday
noon on the Memorial
Union Terrace (under the big tree, or in Lakeview Lounge
in the event of bad weather). Anyone interested in facilitating a
topic should contact Myrna
Casebolt.
Short List
- May 8, 2018 - Jim Blair
- May 15, 2018 - Terry Allard
- May 22, 2018 - Clint Sprott
- May 29, 2018 - Myrna Casebolt
- Jun 5, 2018 - Deric Bownds
- Jun 13, 2018 - Jeff Mattox
- Jun 19, 2018 - Deric Bownds
- Jun 26, 2018 - Bill Hibbard
- Jul 3, 2018 - Jeff Mattox
- Jul 10, 2018 - Bernard Z. Friedlander
- Jul 17, 2018 - Peter Sobol
- Jul 24, 2018 - Guillermo Dopico
- Jul 31, 2018 - George Hrabovsky
- Aug 7, 2018 - Jeff Mattox and Bernard Z. Friedlander
- Aug 14, 2018 - Jim Blair
- Aug 21, 2018 - Jeff Mattox
- Aug 28, 2018 - Jeff Mattox
- Sep 4, 2018 - Myrna Casebolt and Jeff Mattox
Topics
May 8, 2018
Topic: Was Marx right?
Facilitator: Jim Blair
Reading: Was Marx right?
May 15, 2018
Topic: Homo Deus: the end of humanism
Facilitator: Terry Allard
Reading: Homo Deus: The End of Humanism
May 22, 2018
Topic: What is chaos?
Facilitator: Clint Sprott
Reading: Wikipedia
article on Chaos
May 29, 2018
Topic: The veil of ignorance
Facilitator: Myrna Casebolt
Reading: The Veil of Ignorance
June 5, 2018
Topic: Homo Deus: the end of humanism (continuation)
Facilitator: Deric Bownds
Reading: Homo
Deus: The End of Humanism
June 12, 2018
Topic: Ethical issues in advanced robotics and AI
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: Are
you scared yet?
and Review
of Future and Ethical Perspectives of Robotics and AI
June 19, 2018
Topic: Dangers and potential of social media
Facilitator: Deric Bownds
Reading: Ten
Arguments for Deleting your Social Media Accounts Right Now
and Six
or Seven Things Social Media can do for Democracy
June 26, 2018
Topic: Privacy
Facilitator: Bill Hibbard
Reading: When
our Thoughts are no Longer our Own
and Everything
you need to Know about GDPR
July 3, 2018
Topic: The disappearance of flight MH370 and the development of
conspiracy theories
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: The Disappearance of Flight MH370
and the Development of Conspiracy Theories
July 10, 2018
Topic: Epigenetics
Facilitator: Bernard Z. Friedlander
Reading: New
York Review of Books: Epigenetics: The Evolution Revolution
July 17, 2018
Topic: The anthropic principle
Facilitator: Peter Sobol
Reading: Fine-tuned
Universe
and Anthropic
Principle
July 24, 2018
Topic: Tribalism
Facilitator: Guillermo Dopico
Reading: Does
American 'Tribalism' End in a Compromise or a Fight?
July 31, 2018
Topic: Entropy
Facilitator: George Hrabovsky
Reading: Wikipedia
article on Entropy
August 7, 2018
Topic: Influence of technology on children
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox and Bernard Z. Friedlander
Reading: The Tech Industry's Psychological
War on Kids
August 14, 2018
Topic: Memory
Facilitator: Jim Blair
Reading: Moonwalking
with Einstein
August 21, 2018
Topic: Longevity, cryonics, and life extension
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: Longevity, Cryonics, and Life
Extension
August 28, 2018
Topic: Longevity, cryonics, and life extension (continued)
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: Ethics
of Lifespan and Healthspan Extension
and
Cryogenics
Explained
September 4, 2018
Topic: A recap of the summer discussions
Facilitator: Myrna Casebolt and Jeff Mattox
Reading: None