About us
Marginal Thoughts is a discussion group for people who enjoy talking through ideas with critical curiosity. The aim is exploration rather than persuasion: a good session is one we leave with better questions than we arrived with.
Each session centers on a shared text or other material, which give us something concrete to think about together. Materials are drawn from a wide range of domains, including literature, philosophy, science, art, and popular culture, with essentially everything fair game. No prior expertise is expected - just a willingness to engage with the material and think together. Discussions are in English.
Featured event
Discussion: "How to look upon an exhaling universe?"
Are there fundamentally different ways of looking at the world? Do different intellectual cultures - such as the arts and the sciences - embody these perspectives? Should they be in greater dialogue, or left to their own devices?
In this session of Marginal Thoughts, we will explore what happens when different intellectual cultures confront the same phenomenon - namely, the cheery prospect of the heat death of the universe. Before expending our breath on these questions, we'll read three short pieces:
- A short story by Ted Chiang: "Exhalation" (alternative: audio version; ~30 min read)
- An essay by C. P. Snow: "The Two Cultures" (~20 min)
- A poem by Neil Rollinson: "Entropy" (~2 min)
In these, Ted Chiang trolls his readers into becoming aware of their own breathing, C. P. Snow leaves both artists and scientists feeling self-consciously uncultured, and Neil Rollinson subtly suggests that poetry doesn't pay well enough to cover energy bills or stave off entropy.
How to prepare
Please read all the materials in advance. As you do, try to identify at least one point of curiosity, confusion, or uncertainty - these will be natural starting points for our discussion.
What to expect
This is an in-person, conversational meetup in English. The goal isn't to debate, lecture, or "confess" - it’s to explore ideas and leave with better questions than we arrived with.
Optional stuff for the extra curious
The Ted Chiang story is a part of the collection "Exhalation: Stories". C. P. Snow's "The Two Cultures" was later expanded into a lecture and then a short book "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution". For those interested in going further, possible follow-ups on entropy include this short essay by Steven Pinker and this video by Veritasium.
Upcoming events
1
Discussion: "How to look upon an exhaling universe?"
Café Votiv, Reichsratsstraße 17, Wien, ATAre there fundamentally different ways of looking at the world? Do different intellectual cultures - such as the arts and the sciences - embody these perspectives? Should they be in greater dialogue, or left to their own devices?
In this session of Marginal Thoughts, we will explore what happens when different intellectual cultures confront the same phenomenon - namely, the cheery prospect of the heat death of the universe. Before expending our breath on these questions, we'll read three short pieces:
- A short story by Ted Chiang: "Exhalation" (alternative: audio version; ~30 min read)
- An essay by C. P. Snow: "The Two Cultures" (~20 min)
- A poem by Neil Rollinson: "Entropy" (~2 min)
In these, Ted Chiang trolls his readers into becoming aware of their own breathing, C. P. Snow leaves both artists and scientists feeling self-consciously uncultured, and Neil Rollinson subtly suggests that poetry doesn't pay well enough to cover energy bills or stave off entropy.
How to prepare
Please read all the materials in advance. As you do, try to identify at least one point of curiosity, confusion, or uncertainty - these will be natural starting points for our discussion.What to expect
This is an in-person, conversational meetup in English. The goal isn't to debate, lecture, or "confess" - it’s to explore ideas and leave with better questions than we arrived with.Optional stuff for the extra curious
The Ted Chiang story is a part of the collection "Exhalation: Stories". C. P. Snow's "The Two Cultures" was later expanded into a lecture and then a short book "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution". For those interested in going further, possible follow-ups on entropy include this short essay by Steven Pinker and this video by Veritasium.4 attendees
Past events
3
