After Hours Conversations 2008-2009
October - November 2008 ; February - March 2009
This year we will continue our program of interdisciplinary conversations, in the form of after-hours conversations. As before, these conversations will be led by Caroline Bynum and Piet HutThe after-hours meetings will be held in Harry's Bar, from 5:15 pm till 7:00 pm, three days a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, during the first semester, in October and November. During the second semester, in February and March, we will have two meetings a week, on Mondays and Thursdays; and occasionally on a Tuesday if there is a scheduling conflict on one of the other two days that week.
At 5:30 pm, someone will give an informal presentation of no more than 10 minutes, intended for a general audience. The topic will be a brief description of a major open problem in his or her field, together with suggestions for possible future progress with respect to that problem. This talk will be followed by 15 minutes of discussion, until 6:00 pm. During the remaining hour, everyone is free to mingle in more general discussions, preferably with others not from their own School.
Note that in Harry's bar all beverages including bottled water must be purchased with an IAS card.
Here is the list of speakers for the 10-minute presentations:
First Semester
Monday, October 6, 2008
Presentation by Piet Hut, Program in Interdisciplinary Studies:
Doing Real Research in Virtual Worlds: Astrophysics in Second Life
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
[ no meeting this day; there is a talk in the dining hall by Sheila Hicks ]
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Presentation by Nicola Di Cosmo, School of Historical Studies:
The Great Wall of China
Monday, October 13, 2008
Presentation by Ashvin Chhabra, Director's Office:
Investing: Conventional Wisdom and Unconventional Advice
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Presentation by Irving Lavin, School of Historical Studies:
The Story of O from Giotto to Einstein
Thursday, October 16, 2008
[ no meeting this day; there is a Math cocktail party in the dining hall ]
Monday, October 20, 2008
Presentation by Rajiv Sethi, School of Social Science:
Public Disagreement
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
[ no meeting this day; there is a joint HS/SSS Reception in the dining hall ]
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Presentation by Ed Turner, Program in Interdisciplinary Studies:
From Other Worlds to Other Earths
Monday, October 27, 2008
[ no meeting this day; there is a Public Policy Lecture ]
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Presentation by Jessica Cattelino, School of Social Science:
Thinking Anthropologically About the US
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Presentation by Kristina Milnor, School of Historical Studies:
Cultural Literacy, Then and Now
Monday, November 3, 2008
Presentation by Joanna Smith, School of Historical Studies:
Figural Scale and Time Perception in Archaeology
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Presentation by Noga Alon, School of Mathematics:
Voting Paradoxes
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Presentation by Peter Holquist, School of Historical Studies:
Are 'Laws of War' a Utopian Project?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Presentation by Russell Impagliazzo, School of Mathematics:
Can You Solve Problems Quickly Without Flipping Coins?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Presentation by Barry O'Neill, School of Social Science:
Apologies, Interpersonal and International
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Presentation by Chang Chan, School of Natural Sciences:
What Do We Know about Autism?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Presentation by Regina Grafe, School of Historical Studies:
Spain and the Historical Myth of Conservative Cores and Progressive Peripheries
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
[ no meeting this day; scheduling conflict with "Doctor Atomic" ]
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Presentation by Wiebke Denecke, School of Historical Studies:
The Ancient Far East and The Ancient Mediterranean: Why Compare Incomparable Worlds?
Monday, November 24, 2008
Presentation by Tom Phillips, Director's Visitor:
Art and War in Conflict: Prince Incognito Meets the Elites
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Presentation by Yaacov Deutsch, School of Historical Studies:
Jewish Responses to Christianity in the Medieval and Early Modern Period
Thursday, November 27, 2008
[ no meeting this day; it is Thanksgiving ]
Monday, February 2, 2009
Presentation by Nathan Seiberg, School of Natural Sciences:
Some Thoughts about the New Collider
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Presentation by Martin Powers, School of Historical Studies:
Are there Sources for Human Rights Policy in Chinese Tradition?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Presentation by Patricia Crone, School of Historical Studies:
A Muslim View on Tolerance
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Presentation by Benjamin Greenbaum, School of Natural Sciences:
The Coevolution of Cellular Immunity and Viruses
Monday, February 16, 2009
[ no meeting this day; IAS-wide holiday ]
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Presentation by Joan Scott, School of Social Science:
Gender: Is It Still A Useful Category of Historical Analysis?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Presentation by Charles Macdonald, School of Social Science:
Are Personal Names Important, and Why?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Presentation by Margaret Pan, School of Natural Sciences:
Collisional Cascades (of Asteroids or Space Debris)
Monday, March 2, 2009
[ this meeting was cancelled because of the snow storm; it has been rescheduled for March 17, 2009 ]
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Presentation by Jonathan Mitchell, School of Natural Sciences:
Saturn's Moon Titan: Earth's Strange Analog
Monday, March 9, 2009
Presentation by Margaret Mehl, School of Historical Studies:
Translating the Violin to Japan
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Presentation by Elisheva Baumgarten, School of Historical Studies:
How Jewish is Jewish History?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Presentation by Priya Natarajan, Program in Interdisciplinary Studies:
Women in Physics - What is the Fuss All About?
*** NOTE ***: Tuesday special session:
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Presentation by Peter Holquist, School of Historical Studies; Eric Maskin, School of Social Science; Julia Smith, School of Historical Studies:
Rankings of Academic Journals: The Social Science Model Moves to the Humanities
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Presentation by Erling von Mende, School of Historical Studies:
A Childish, but Natural Approach to China
Monday, March 23, 2009
Presentation by Darrel Moellendorf, School of Social Science:
The Right to Development and the Avoidance of Dangerous Climate Change
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Presentation by David Moon, School of Historical Studies:
Does History Have to be About People?