School of Arts and Sciences

October 12, 2022

Do our senses collect an accurate image of reality? Actually, our brains almost never give us all the data our senses collect: that would overwhelm us. Instead, they draw on memories of everything we’ve seen before to make quick decisions about what we’re seeing now. This allows us to react quickly to dangers, but also favors speed over accuracy and nuance — whether we are trying to figure out the physical world or social realities. 

These mechanisms are often useful, but they present their own problems. Some of our background knowledge comes from our experience, but much also comes from media and education. If these "priors" are flawed, we might sort people too quickly into easy, familiar categories. Can we rid ourselves of these mental shortcuts? Or must we simply learn to manage a fundamental neurological process that affects us all?

Participants

• Jennifer Gutsell, Associate Professor of Psychology

• Donald Katz, Professor of Psychology

• Chandler Rosenberger, associate professor of sociology and international global studies

Moderator

• Michael Randall, professor of French and comparative literature

Watch Video

February 28, 2023

Some objects are simple, such as a block of ice or a glass of water. One is a solid that holds its shape, and the other is a liquid that flows. But other in-between objects force the question: “What is it, exactly?” Scientists and artists ask this question in different ways, using diverse methods and seeking distinctive results to unravel their mystery. This conversation focuses on how scholars from different disciplines engage the puzzle of “transitional states.” Beginning with things that are neither liquid nor solid — or perhaps both — we will use interactive exercises that enable students to participate in the workings of such transitional states. We will explore how the “in between” cannot be neatly categorized. Making use of professor Chakraborty’s work on sand, poetry by Yeats and immersive sculptures by artists such as Yayoi Kusama and James Turrell, we will invite students to reflect on how poets, artists and physicists may all approach such in-between objects with wonder and curiosity. 

Participants

• Bulbul Chakraborty, Enid and Nate Ancell Professor of Physics

• Tory Fair, Professor of Sculpture

Moderator

• >John Plotz, professor of English and Barbara Mandel Professor of the Humanities

March 23, 2023

Belief in God or other supernatural beings arose in ancient times when there was limited scientific understanding of the world and the universe. So one could ask, as scientific knowledge has developed over millennia, has the rationale for faith diminished? As science explains more and more, is it irrational to maintain a belief in God and in other supernatural concepts? Are science and religion inevitably at odds in their contrasting explanations of events, or can they coexist and even support one another?

Participants

• Paul Miller, professor of biology
• John F. Wardle, professor of physics, emeritus

Moderator

•  Rajesh Sampath, associate professor of the philosophy of justice, rights and social change, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management