Wonderfest 2005: SF Bay Area Festival of Science

Science comes alive at Wonderfest 2005 on the weekend of November 5-6. At UC Bekeley on November 5th and Stanford November 6th, pairs of world-class researchers will present public dialogues on some of the most

provocative scientific questions of our time. Come join them to

absorb, to reflect, to question, and to challenge.

Wonderfest aspires to challenge unexamined beliefs, stimulate curiosity, promote careful reasoning, and encourage life-long learning. Listen to pairs of articulate and accomplished researchers debate compelling questions at the edge of scientific understanding.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

PIMENTEL HALL, UC BERKELEY

1:00-2:30 PM: When Can We Trust the Claims of Medical Research?

David Freedman, Professor of Statistics, U.C. Berkeley

Diana Petitti, Vice Chair, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

3:30-5:00 PM: Is Free Will an Illusion?

William Newsome, Professor of Neurobiology, Stanford

John Searle, Professor of Philosophy, UC Berkeley

5:30-6:00 PM: BASIC WonderCup ChallengeChampionship (open attendance)

The Bay Area's two top high school science quiz teams square off (more...)

8:00-10:00 PM: Can We Expect New Einsteinian Revolutions?

Shamit Kachru, Associate Professor of Physics, Stanford and SLAC

Hitoshi Murayama, Professor of Physics, UC Berkeley

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

HEWLETT TEACHING CENTER, STANFORD

10:00-11:30 AM: How Does Thinking Depend On Language?

Lera Boroditsky, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Stanford

Geoffrey Nunberg, Professor of Linguistics, Stanford

1:00-2:30 PM: Does Quantum Mechanics Make Sense?

Michael Fayer, Professor of Chemistry, Stanford

Leonard Susskind, Professor of Physics, Stanford

3:30-5:00 PM: Should We Ever Set Foot On Mars?

Chris McKay, Planetary Scientist, NASA-Ames Research Center

Margaret Race, Principal Investigator, SETI Institute

For more information go to http://wonderfest.org