Spark Talks (Philosophy and Physics, etc.)
Details
Topics for this week:
- Philosophy and Physics - Don will introduce the topic and discuss the following questions:
- What role does philosophy play in physics?
- What are the philosophical axioms that must be assumed before we can do science?
- Which aspects of our understanding of the world are dependent on a mind?
- Which aspects of reality exist independently of the human mind?
- Do numbers exist independently of the human mind?
- Are some physical particles actually abstract objects that depend on a human mind to be comprehended? (eg. photons, electrons, quarks?)
This topic could spark a lot of follow-up discussion and easily fill the entire hour! In case it doesn't, there are two other topics:
- If new attendees show up compared to last Spark Talks session, Abhir will briefly repeat his talk from last month on a system and method he came up with to visualize a timeline of scientists & people of significance. It helps put historical figures into context by showing who their contemporaries were and highlighting the major events that occurred during their lifetimes.
- Ajai will talk about some aspects of Error Detection and Correction in Data Transmission. He gave this talk several months ago. He will adapt his talk depending on attendee interest and skill level.