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This week in science: 12/8 - 12/13
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The highlight this week is the 40th anniversary celebration of Douglas Engelbart's legendary demonstration of interactive computing. In this one demonstration, Engelbart and his SFI team introduced many of the concepts we take for granted today, such as the computer mouse, real-time text editing, hyperlinks, windows, online teleconferencing and much more. Much of the original team will be at this anniversary celebration, which takes place at Memorial Auditorium on the Stanford Campus Tuesday, December 9th, starting at 1PM.
Also this week: a presentation on the beauty and fossil history of seashells at the California Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, and a discussion of the evolution of cooperation at the Exploratorium on Sunday.
Headlines first, followed by the details.
Tuesday, December 9th, 1PM - 5:30PM
Englebart and the Dawn of Interactive Computing: 40th Anniversary Celebration of SRI's revolutionary 1968 demo
Stanford University, Memorial Auditorium (Directions)
Wednesday, December 10th, 12:30pm
Seashells: Beauty and Revelation from the Seashore and from the Academy Collections
Photographer Josie Iselin and professor Sandy Carlson, Geology Dept. UC Davis
California Academy of Sciences, Education Classroom
Sunday December 13th, 2:00 PM
Divided We Stand: Understanding the Evolution of Cooperation
A Conversation with Karthik Panchanathan
Exploratorium - McBean Theater
Details - text from source
Tuesday, December 9th, 1PM - 5:30PM
Englebart and the Dawn of Interactive Computing: 40th Anniversary Celebration of SRI's revolutionary 1968 demo
Stanford University, Memorial Auditorium (Directions)
They call it the "mother of all demos".
On December 9, 1968, Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart and the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) at Stanford Research Institute staged a 90-minute public multimedia demonstration at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. It was the world debut of personal and interactive computing: for the first time, the public saw a computer mouse, which controlled a networked computer system to demonstrate hypertext linking, real-time text editing, multiple windows with flexible view control, cathode display tubes, and shared-screen teleconferencing.
It changed what is possible. The 1968 demo presaged many of the technologies we use today, from personal computing to social networking. The demo embodied Doug Engelbart's vision of solving humanity's most important problems by using computers to improve communication and collaboration.
On December 9, 2008 at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, SRI International will present a commemorative 40th anniversary of this historic event. Join us to hear original participants recount what led up to the 1968 demo, the drama of the demonstration itself, and its impact—which no one could have imagined at the time. Learn about Doug Engelbart's vision to use computing to augment society's collective intellect and ability to solve the complex issues of our time.
For more information, check the event site
See video of the original demonstration
Wednesday, December 10th, 12:30pm
Seashells: Beauty and Revelation from the Seashore and from the Academy Collections
Photographer Josie Iselin and professor Sandy Carlson, Geology Dept. UC Davis
California Academy of Sciences, Education Classroom
Join photographer Josie Iselin and author Sandy Carlson for a lively presentation on the making of Seashells, a luminous book celebrating both the everyday shells we love to find at the beach and specimens from the Academy. Shells from the Academy’s collection were chosen to illustrate some fascinating shell or fossil story and will be on display for a closer look. Seashells celebrates forms in nature and is a wonderful example of collaboration between art and science.
Josie Iselin is a San Francisco photographer with a special interest in forms in nature. Her previous books include Beach Stones and Leaves & Pods. Her newest book is a tiny collection of Heart Stones. Iselin generates her imagery with a flatbed scanner and computer exclusively. Visit her website at www.josieiselin.com.
Sandy Carlson is a paleontologist specializing in marine invertebrates. She is a professor in the department of geology at UC Davis and is a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences.
The lecture is free with general admission, however seating is limited. To reserve a space, please call the Naturalist Center at 415-379-5494.
A book signing will be held after the presentation.
Sunday December 13th, 2:00 PM
Divided We Stand: Understanding the Evolution of Cooperation
A Conversation with Karthik Panchanathan
Exploratorium - McBean Theater
All of us have intuitions about and experiences with altruism. Are humans really altruistic, or do we help others merely to further our self-interest? Is altruism a specifically human phenomenon? Join evolutionary anthropologist Karthik Panchanathan to discuss the ways in which our capacity for helping others is investigated across scientific disciplines. Learn how different fields study altruism and where cultural notions of fairness diverge. Find out how research on everything from chickens to economics informs our understanding of altruistic behavior—and how using models and game theory might help us understand why individuals sacrifice for others.
During the presentation, we’ll re-create an experiment designed to investigate aspects of fairness around the world. With participants including university undergraduates, Amazonian hunter-gatherers, and Highland New Guineans, this research suggests that people may share some basic notions of fairness—with a few notable cross-cultural differences.
Karthik Panchanathan is currently writing his dissertation in evolutionary anthropology at UCLA. For his research on the evolution of human cooperation and culture, he draws from anthropology, evolutionary biology, economics, and psychology to investigate questions involving the mechanisms underlying human cooperation and competition and the ways in which our capacities for learning and cultural transmission change the rules when it comes to evolution and adaptation.
To find out more, go to http://buddha.bol.ucla.edu.
Have an event you want listed here? Send email to science.editor@gmail.com
