Madison
Chaos and Complex Systems Seminar
Summer 2015 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 (Lakefront cafeteria in the event of bad
weather). Anyone interested in facilitating a topic should contact Clint Sprott.
Short List
- May 12, 2015 - Deric Bownds
- May 19, 2015 - Jim Blair
- May 26, 2015 - Blaise Thompson
- Jun 2, 2015 - Jerry Tutsch
- Jun 9, 2015 - Clint Sprott
- Jun 16, 2015 - Clint Sprott
- Jun 23, 2015 - Anonymous
- Jun 30, 2015 - Jeff Mattox
- Jul 7, 2015 - Bernard Z. Friedlander
- Jul 14, 2015 - John Young
- Jul 21, 2015 - Jeff Mattox
- Jul 28, 2015 - Bill Fischer
- Aug 4, 2015 - Deric Bownds
- Aug 11, 2015 - Jeff Mattox
- Aug 18, 2015 - Myrna Casebolt
- Aug 25, 2015 - Anda Xiong
- Sep 1, 2015 - Bill Fischer
Topics
May 12, 2015
Topic: Do we have mental autonomy? If so, what kind and how
much?
Facilitator: Deric Bownds
Reading: Thomas
Metzinger’s Essay on Cognitive Agency
May 19, 2015
Topic: Pricing electric power
Facilitator: Jim Blair
Reading: Jim
Blair's notes on the Pricing of Electric Power
May 26, 2015
Topic: Human obsolescence
Facilitator: Blaise Thompson
Reading: Humans
Need Not Apply
June 2, 2015
Topic: Synthesizing life
Facilitator: Jerry Tutsch
Reading: J.
Craig Venter's talk on Biology at the Speed of Light or his
more technical talk on Synthetic
Life
June 9, 2015
Topic: Hedonics
Facilitator: Clint Sprott
Reading: Dynamical
Models of Happiness
June 16, 2015
Topic: Immortality
Facilitator: Clint Sprott
Reading: Wikipedia
article on Immortality
June 23, 2015
Topic: Academic freedom
Facilitator: Anonymous
Reading: Wikipedia
article on Academic Freedom
June 30, 2015
Topic: Are you living in a computer simulation?
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: The
Simulation Argument and links therein, especially the podcast interview of Nick
Bostrom
July 7, 2015
Topic: Memes
Facilitator: Bernard Z. Friedlander
Reading: Excerpts
from Deutsch on Memes–in Beginnings of Infinity
July 14, 2015
Topic: Large data, large ideas: Discussion & examples from
weather & climate
Facilitator: John Young
Reading: John Young's Discussion
Outline
July 21, 2015
Topic: Forensic science and the law
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: Jordan Ellenberg's article on Doubt
and the Double Helix
July 28, 2015
Topic: The problem with psychiatry
Facilitator: Bill Fischer
Reading: Book reviews of The
Illusion of Psychiatry and The
Epidemic of Mental Illness
August 4, 2015
Topic: Cognitive enhancers - should we use them?
Facilitator: Deric Bownds
Reading: Wikipedia
article on Nootropics
August 11, 2015
Topic: Artificial intelligence
Facilitator: Jeff Mattox
Reading: Nick
Bostrom video: What Happens
When Our Computers Get Smarter Than We Are?
August 18, 2015
Topic: Scientific humility
Facilitator: Myrna Casebolt
Reading: What
Have You Changed Your Mind About and Why?
August 25, 2015
Topic: Censorship
Facilitator: Anda Xiong
Reading: TED
talk on Censorship in China
September 1, 2015
Topic: Necessary illusions: What can't be exactly true that we still
can't help believing
Facilitator: Bill Fischer
Reading: Deric Bownds' Mind
Blog