Science in the Streets: A free public engagement event from the History of Science Society Thursday, Nov 21, 3-6 pm, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center [I have asked Conevery Bolton Valencius , who teaches at UMass Boston, to write a guest post about an event she is helping to organize at this year's HSS. Many readers of this blog are interested in popular science & science popularization, and I urge everyone to join us for what promises to be a fascinating discussion!] Current newspaper headlines make clear how anti-science and science-illiterate many Americans are, at least about some political issues. But there are effective and interesting efforts going on all around to engage people in the workings and the wonderings of science. Further, historians of science are doing a lot of that work – and sometimes have particular insight about what is new or very old about rhythms of scientific skepticism or scientific enthusiasm. At next week’s annual...
He's Got the Moves: Computer Scientist Christoph Bregler lectures on "Virtual You" Don't move a muscle . . . Every human being has a unique body signature. Your hand gestures. Your facial expressions. The way you walk. Computer scientist Christoph Bregler of NYU's Courant Institute is a master of analyzing and recreating such subtleties--designing systems to track human movement and train computers to recognize and animate all that "you-ness." Jumping off from recent collaborations with dancers, animators, film producers, and game designers, Dr. Bregler discusses: -- motion capture in science and entertainment --massive multiplayer "Mocap" games and flying "Squidballs" -- "Obama-ness" versus "Palin-ness" --his "GreenDot" iPhone app, an experiment in community video and nonverbal expression Before & After --Groove to animated tunes --Try our machine-coded cocktail of the night, the Wet Wire --Sti...
Moran Cerf is a computer hacker turned neuroscientist . Security companies once paid him to break into banks. Now he hacks the human brain . Using electrodes implanted deep inside the craniums of patients undergoing neurosurgery, Dr. Cerf and his colleagues are studying “thought” as it’s never been studied before . . . He asks: How do we control our perceptions, thoughts and emotions? What does the brain look like when it’s most intrigued? What is the future of brain-machine interfaces? Could brain-powered prosthetics not only replace lost limbs, but even enhance the human body? Dr. Cerf runs the C-Lab (Curiosity, Creativity, Cognition, Complexity, Consciousness, Consumer Behavior, Computation) and is assistant professor of neuroscience and marketing at Northwestern University, visiting professor in neurosurgery at UCLA, and Alfred P. Sloan professor of screenwriting at the American Film Institute. He is also a Moth storytelling GrandSlam champion . Before & Af...