Very honourable review of this summer’s LogicLounge by Richard Zach, professor of Philosophy at the University of Calgary and participant in this new format Helmut Veith and I developed for the Vienna Summer of Logic. For more see Richard’s blog entry: „Bringing Logic (and Philosophy, CS) to the Masses“
Things came full circle yesterday evening at the premiere of „Aftermath – The Second Flood“ at the Weltmuseum in Vienna in front of a packed house of 300 visitors. It was in the spring of 2005 that I met the anthropologist Simron Jit Singh in this overwhelmingly neo-Baroque environment of the Ethnological Museum. Weiterlesen
Dieses Panorama von den Nikobaren wirkt wie eine Traumlandschaft. Vor bald zehn Jahren wurde diese Inselgruppe im Indischen Ozean – und mit ihr ihre Kultur – fast völlig zerstört. Wie es dazu kam, davon erzählt der Film “Aftermath – Die zweite Flut”, bei dessen Premiere am Dienstag, den 21.10.2014, um 18.30 Uhr im Weltmuseum Wien ich eine Podiusmdiskussion moderiere. Weiterlesen
Emil Gataullin, Russia, „Towards the Horizon“.
Click to enlarge
On Monday, September 15, the Alfred Fried Photography Award was adwarded at the Austrian parliament. This year’s award for the world’s best picture on the theme of peace went to Emil Gataullin (Russia) for his image „Towards the Horizon“. The award ist named after the Austrian pacifist and author Alfred Hermann Fried (* 11 November 1864, Vienna; † 4 May 1921, Vienna). As founder of the journal Die Waffen nieder! (Lay down your arms!) and other peace activities, Fried received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911. Lois Lammerhuber, one of the organisers, asked me to contribute a text to the award’s website on what peace looks like. Here it is: Weiterlesen
Hosting a round table on „Gender Matters in Research Funding“ on September 4, 13.30-15.00, in the spectacular Kuppelsaal of the TU Wien (Karlsplatz 13). The event is part of the 8th European Conference on Gender Equality in Higher Education, hosted by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and organised by the Vienna University of Technology. My panelists are Lise Christensen (Research Council of Norway), Sabine Haubenwallner (FWF), Sabine Mayer (FFG), Maya Widmer (Swiss National Science Foundation), Alison Woodward (Institute for European Studies, Free University of Brussels).
Das war ein ausgesprochen spannender Arbeitskreis zum Thema Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft, den ich da am 22. August im Rahmen des Europäischen Forums Alpbach 2014 moderieren durfte. Die Beiträge der ReferentInnen sowie die Zusammenfassung der Diskussion finden sich auf der Homepage des FWF, ein paar illustrative Eindrücke hier, inklusive der fabelhaften Aufforderung von Erinma Ochu doch einmal die Perspektive zu wechseln, indem man seineN NachbarIn mit der „anderen“ Hand zeichnen möge und des Kommentars der an dem Klassenzimmer in der Hauptschule Alpbach vorbei watschelnden Entenfamilie. Weiterlesen
Preparing for the profil cover shooting at the Theseus temple in Vienna / Photographer: Phliip Horak / Click to enlarge
A brief reflection on the Vienna Summer of Logic 2014. Communicating the science of 2500 logicians did not sound like an easy task in the first discussions with Helmut Veith in the summer of 2013. Logic does not lend itself to easy comprehension as it deals with a truly complex challenge: the science of correct reasoning. There are no impressive images, no flashy videos, no witty one-liners to attract a general audience and journalists in particular. The reasons why this task turned out to be a fantastic experience are basically the following: Weiterlesen
Am kommenden Freitag (22.8.2014) leite ich beim Europäischen Forum in Alpbach den Arbeitskreis „Wissenschaft in der Gesellschaft – Wie man Barrieren überwinden kann“. Das Thema ist mir nicht völlig fremd, wie sich bei einem Blick ins Archiv heraus gestellt hat. Bei Interesse: Hauptschule Alpbach, 09.00-15.00 Uhr
Alpbach 670, 6236 Alpbach, Österreich
Some summer songs. As usual a random selection of inspiring and reflective tunes. Here are the samples. I do not own the rights to any of these songs. Go and buy the music. Lists from the past can be found here.
Preparing for a working group on „Science in Society – How to Overcome a Disjuncture“ which I am going to chair at this year’s European Forum Alpbach (in case of interest: August 22, 09.00-15.00, at the Hauptschule Alpbach) I came across the following text I had drafted for a working group I participated nine years ago. The title was „From scientific journal to breaking news: science and the media“. Among the panelists were Philip Campbell, then and now Editor-in-Chief of Nature, Rainer Esser, CEO of the Zeit Publishing House in Hamburg, and (for some reason not mentioned in the programme) Richard Dawkins as himself. The draft remains relevant and will offer a nice starting point for this year’s discussion. Weiterlesen