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Philosophers Wanted
Physicist Paul Steinhardt, Princeton University, describes how many advocates of inflationary cosmology now believe that no observational evidence could possibly invalidate their theory, leading Paul to conclude that philosophy should be...
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A Prizeworthy Initiative
Princeton University physicist Paul Steinhardt shares his novel idea of how scientific prizes can be improved to the benefit of all.
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Embracing Risk
Freeman Dyson, Institute of Advanced Study, describes how both making mistakes and encountering a wide variety of views is a necessary part of a vibrant scientific atmosphere, describing the welcoming reaction cognitive scientists had to...
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The Cosmological Constant Problem
Cosmologist Justin Khoury (Penn) describes what many have described as "the worst failure of contemporary theoretical physics".
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Scientific Storytelling
University of Chicago theoretical physicist Rocky Kolb relates his belief that a valuable way of teaching science is to focus on the compelling stories of the people at the root of scientific discovery.
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Peer Review
Princeton historian of science Michael Gordin reflects upon the internal mechanisms behind the publication of Immanuel Velikovsky’s notorious book Worlds In Collision in 1950, explaining how peer review was very different then than it is...
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Asking The Right Questions
Nobel Laureate Antony Leggett describes his gut feeling that cosmology is ripe for a major revolution, and describes why he is not particularly sympathetic to the field of "quantum cosmology".
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“Freezing in” the Wrong Picture
Particle physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed (Institute for Advanced Study) describes how popular science writing often communicates already outdated ideas to the public.
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In Freud's Shadow
UC Berkeley sleep scientist Matthew Walker describes how the attitudes towards sleep science have evolved over the years, and how the impact of Sigmund Freud still strongly lingers.
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Quantum Information
Physics Nobel Laureate Anthony Leggett (Illinois) gives a brief overview of quantum information theory.
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Sleep Attitudes
Sleep scientist Matthew Walker, UC Berkeley, describes how, while medicine and biology now firmly recognize the essential importance of sleep, most of the rest of us are still unaware, describing public attitudes towards sleep as akin to...
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Cultural Differences
Social psychologist Roy Baumeister, University of Queensland, describes how, while cultural differences clearly exist, he’s more focussed on studying the essence of what it means to be human.
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Historical Relevance
Princeton historian of science Michael Gordin describes a set of attitudes that most practicing scientists have towards historians, philosophers and sociologists of science, and outlines ways in which appreciating the past might help...
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Losing Control
UC San Diego psychologist Diana Deutsch describes how, despite their potential effectiveness for revealing how our brains work, many researchers are made uncomfortable by investigating auditory illusions.
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Sleep Sociology
UC Berkeley sleep scientist Matthew Walker ruminates on the sociology of sleep science within the broader domain of psychology, both past and present.
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Time to Dive In
Cosmologist Justin Khoury, University of Pennsylvania, relates his belief that we are, right now, at a critical juncture, on the threshold of a new revolution in physics, and that it is the perfect time for young people to jump in and...
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Looking For Mechanisms
Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson (UNC Chapel Hill) describes her scientific motivations in exploring positive emotions.
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Distracted by Language
Particle physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed, Institute for Advanced Study, describes how we must make sure that we don't distract ourselves by the language that we use to describe the physical world, and must instead simply focus on precisely...
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The Sociology of Cognitive Science
Neuroscientist Kalanit Grill-Spector (Stanford) gives her view on how psychology has evolved due to the influence of modern neuroscience.
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Language, Evolving
Cognitive scientist Victor Ferreira (UC San Diego) describes a current view in the linguistics community that our language systems evolve in response to our environments.
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Topological Quantum Computing
Nobel Laureate Anthony Leggett (Illinois) shares his excitement about the field of topological quantum computing.
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Theory And Observation
Imperial College cosmologist Claudia de Rham reflects upon how the fields of cosmology and particle physics have developed in the last 10-15 years based on a combination of experimental and theoretical considerations.
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The Physics of Information
Quantum physicist Artur Ekert, University of Oxford and NUS, describes how the field of quantum information science breathed new life into the foundations of quantum theory, while advances in understanding the physics of information...
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The Physics of Black Holes
Nobel Laureate in Physics Roger Penrose (Oxford) briefly summarizes Stephen Hawking's work on the temperature of black holes and Hawking radiation.