220. Jim Al-Khalili: The Joy of Thinking and Living Scientifically
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Release Date: 11/17/2023
241. Gary F. Marcus with Ted Chiang How to Make AI Work for Us (And Not the Other Way Around)
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Artificial intelligence is an actively surging field in today’s digital landscape, and as each new AI interface reaches the public it throws into sharper resolution that all the big tech players are getting involved. And quickly. But where are the roots of this rapidly expanding industry’s interests? How does AI impact individuals, established industries, and the future of our society if it continues to grow faster than it is critically examined? In his newest book Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure That AI Works For Us, author and scientist Gary F. Marcus uses his expertise in...
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240. Amorina Kingdon: Sing Like Fish – How Sound Rules Life Underwater
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
The ocean has proven endlessly mysterious and fascinating to all manner of people across the globe, but for centuries true knowledge of the depths was simply out of reach. As modern technologies advance, science has debunked much once held to be true – including the idea of the “silent world” of the ocean. What was once thought to be a muffled marine landscape with little to no perceptible sounds has now been revealed to be a complex interplay of aquatic acoustics. In her debut book Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water, science journalist Amorina Kingdon turns up the...
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239. Lynne Peeples with Bill Radke: Shining New Light on Our Rest and Routines
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Whether it’s staying up late in front of the screens or waking up before dawn for that early morning flight – it’s easy to tell when something big has thrown off our routines. But what about the little things that add up over the course of a day, a week, or our lives overall? How do small adjustments to our daily practices affect our long-term relationship with the balance between our bodies and the busy technology-driven world we live in? In her new book, author and science journalist Lynne Peeples explores how our often hectic habits can impact our physical, mental, and social...
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238. Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert with Daniela Rosner: The Secret Life of Data
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
With tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon, Seattle will be instrumental in the future of data and its effects on society. What are the long-term consequences of humanity’s recent rush toward digitizing, storing, and analyzing every piece of data about ourselves and the world we live in? How will data surveillance, digital forensics, and AI pose new threats––and opportunities? In their new book, The Secret Life of Data, authors Aram Sinnreich and Jesse Gilbert explore what might happen with all the data that we collect. They build on this basic premise: no matter what form data...
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237. Lawrence Ingrassia with Robert Merry: A Lethal Legacy — Genetic Predisposition to Cancer
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
One instance of grief can be difficult enough to cope with, but for Lawrence Ingrassia, losing multiple family members was not only devastating but perplexing. Typical discussions surrounding inheritance may include heirlooms or estates — not rare tumors in the cheeks of toddlers, as was the case for Ingrassia’s two-year-old nephew. After he lost his mother, two sisters, brother, and nephew to different types of cancer, Ingrassia was unsure whether his family’s generational heartbreak was merely misfortune or if there was some other cause. In his book A Fatal Inheritance: How a...
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236. Zoë Schlanger with Brooke Jarvis: The Light Eaters
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Did you know that plants can hear sounds? And have a social life? Science writer Zoë Schlanger shares even more remarkable plant talents in her latest book, The Light Eaters, illustrating the tremendous biological creativity it takes to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. They communicate. They recognize their own kin. Schlanger immerses into the world of being a plant, into its drama and complexity. Scientists have learned that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a...
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235. Elaine Lin Hering with Ruchika Tulshyan: Learning to Speak Up in a World That Wants You to Stay Quiet
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Can you think of occasions where you wanted to say something, but couldn’t? Perhaps you stopped yourself out of fear, or due to outside pressures. Having a seat at the table doesn’t necessarily mean that your voice is welcome. A new book is aiming to examine the influence of silence and offer ways that we can begin to dismantle it to find our voices at home and work to shift the paradigm. In Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully author Elaine Lin Hering explores the difficulty that can come with speaking up, especially when there may be...
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234. Anjali Nayar and Dr. Sean Gibbons: Hack Your Health — The Secrets of Your Gut
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Your gut microbiome consists of trillions of microbiota and is a critical health determinant, affecting your immune system, mood, energy level, and much more. As a scientific field, microbiome research is new to the scene, but the intricate relationship between our gut and our overall health is clear – and getting clearer. In April, Netflix started streaming Hack Your Health, an informative documentary about the gut microbiome, gut health, and the science of eating. In this collaborative event between Town Hall Seattle and the Institute for Systems Biology, Hack Your...
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233. Sabrina Sholts with Dr. Julianne Meisner: Pandemics and Human Potential
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
The very fact of being human makes us vulnerable to pandemics, but it also gives us the power to save ourselves. The COVID-19 pandemic most likely won’t be our last—that is the uncomfortable but all-too-timely message of Sabrina Sholts’ new book, The Human Disease. Traveling through history and around the globe to examine how and why pandemics are an inescapable threat of our own making, Sholts draws on dozens of disciplines—from medicine, epidemiology, and microbiology to anthropology, sociology, ecology, and neuroscience—as well as a unique expertise in public education about...
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232. Dori Gillam and Mack McCoy: Hello Old Lovers Wherever You Are!
Town Hall Seattle Science Series
Can you find lifelong love with an AARP card in your wallet? Dori (72) and Mack (69) did, and they’ve got a lot to say on the subject! Join them for a candid chat where they dish on discovering love later in life. Balancing time for each other, family, friends, and furry companions? Yep. Talking about merging households? Yep. Starting a family? Probably not going to happen. People in their third act of life tend to seek more than mere flesh and flash, instead craving depth and maturity. Ignorance of each other’s previous lives provides the bliss of having an abundance of stories,...
info_outlineToday’s information (and misinformation) overload is difficult and confusing to navigate.
Post-truth politics and conspiracy theories abound. Science and scientists are under growing suspicion, causing even more confusion and unrest. At the same time, we need science to survive today’s biggest threats like pandemics and climate change. To bridge this gap, acclaimed physicist and New York Times bestselling author Jim Al-Khalili wants us all to start thinking like scientists.
Al-Khalili believes that the practice of science can offer us a way of thinking and understanding our complex world. He’s created a guide to leading a more rational life, inviting people to engage with the world as scientists have been trained to do. He defines the “how” and “why” behind science, as well as what science is (and what it’s not).
With today’s scrutiny over science, Al-Khalili admits that scientists need to do more to communicate how they work to build trust and credibility in the public eye. One way to do that is for everyone to adopt the scientific method in our daily lives. Science may not only solve today’s biggest problems, but it can be a way for everyone to make everyday decisions for themselves and their loved ones.
Jim Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-born theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey, where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in public engagement in science. He has written 14 books on popular science and the history of science, between them translated into twenty-six languages. His latest books include The Joy of Science and The World According to Physics, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Book Prize. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries, such as the Bafta-nominated Chemistry: A Volatile History and he hosts the long-running weekly BBC Radio 4 program, The Life Scientific.
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