Upcoming Events

Why should nothing matter? If anything matters, why should nothing matter? And yet it does, for there isn’t anything, it seems, that nothing does not touch, or anything that does not touch nothing. History, philosophy, religion, science, art, literature, music – all look towards nothing at some point, stimulating questions that would otherwise not be asked.

Who, for example, could have believed that nothing held back progress for 600 years in the Middle Ages, all because of mistaken translation, or that nothing is a way to tackle (and answer) the perennial question "what is art?"? Ronald Green uses nothing in a genuine attempt to look at the world in a different way, to give new angles to old problems and so to stimulate new thoughts.

What is this nothing, that we can’t actually see, touch or feel? Is it absolute? Is it relative to everything else? If we are able to think about it, write and read about it, is it something, and if so wouldn’t it then not be nothing?

This is precisely the mystery of nothing – that the more we think about it, the more there is to it.

Disarmingly invisible, the point of nothing – to paraphrase Bertrand Russell on philosophy – is to start with something so simple as to seem not worth examining, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.

Ronald Green is the author of "Nothing Matters – a book about nothing" (iff-Books). Philosopher, linguist, university lecturer and ESL teacher, with 13 ESL books published, Ronald has lectured and given workshops in Europe, North and South America and the Middle East on linguistics, ESL and the use of the Internet in education. His  short stories have been published in Nuvein magazine, Tryst, Aesthetica, the Sink and Unholy Biscuit. He has completed a philosophical novel and co-authored a psychological thriller with strong philosophical underpinnings. For the past five years he has been thinking seriously about nothing, culminating in his recently-published book.

Knowing how long we have before we interact with a zombie could mean the difference between life, death and zombification. Here, we apply the same mathematical models to zombies that you would use to describe flu, or measles. We use this model to derive exact and approximate interaction times and use these to develop strategies which allow the human race to survive impending doom.

Please note prebooking is availible for this event from http://wegottickets.com/ThinkOutreach from the 5th Febuary. If you do book a ticket, please make sure you are seated/known to the organiser by 7pm.

Tickets Price: Free for talks or £6 for food. Tickets puchase options will be announced soon: sign up to the Mailing List or on Facebook to make sure you don't miss out. You can also just turn up to individual talks as you desire. 

Progamme

11:00am	Lewis Dartnell
12:00pm	Iszi Lawrence
1:00pm	Stephen Law
3:30pm	Martin Robbins, Jane Gregory & David Whitehouse
5:00pm	Michael Brooks
6:00pm	Helen Keen
6:45pm	Richard Wiseman

Richard Wiseman

Prof Richard Wiseman started his working life as a professional magician, and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. He then obtained a degree in psychology from University College London and a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh.

It is rocket science

Helen Keen

Award-winning comedian & creator of BBC Radio 4.s space science comedy hit *It Is Rocket Science*, Helen Keen returns to Cambridge with a low budget, highly subjective look at the history of space travel.

Free radicals - the secret anarchy of science

Michael Brooks

How did Newton, Galileo, Einstein and myriad Nobel laureates create the modern world? Through anarchy. In science, anything goes...

From the newstands to Twitter

The future of science communication

Jane Gregory (UCL), Martin Robins (Guardian) and David Waterhouse (Science author) come together for an hour session answering your questions on the future of science communication.

Believing bullsh*t

Stephen Law

Stephen Law's latest book, Believing Bullsh*t, is a guide to avoid getting sucked into "intellectual black holes". Law "Belief in homeopathy, psychic powers, alien abduction - these are examples of intellectual black holes. As you approach them, you need to be on your guard because if you get sucked in, it can be extremely difficult to think your way clear again."

Experiences of an awkward atheist

Iszi Lawrence

Stand-up comedian Iszi Lawrence be discussing "the experiences of an awkward atheist" - how superstition, belief and reason are intermingled in comedy and everyday life.

Astrobiology - the hunt for alien life

Lewis Dartnell

'Astrobiology' is a brand new field of science, encompassing research into the origins and limits of life on our own planet, and where life might exist beyond the Earth. But what actually is 'life' and how did it emerge on ourown world? What are the most extreme conditions terrestrial life can tolerate? And where in the cosmos might we reasonably expect to find ET?

Let us know you are coming on ThinkCon 2012 Facebook Event.

Imagine the sporting champions of the future: humans so enhanced by pharmaceuticals and prosthetics that they smash the world records we consider impressive today.

It sounds far-fetched, but developments in science and technology mean it could become a reality. This event explores the research that is taking place now that could produce the "designer athletes" of tomorrow. We will offer a glimpse of the future and ask: should our sporting champions rely on their natural ability, or be allowed to embrace pharmacological and technological enhancements?

We will also explore the fine line between "doping" and natural enhancement through training that exists today.  We are already seeing athletes living and training at altitude to increase how much oxygen their blood can carry, so should the drug that mimics this effect - EPO - still be banned in professional sports? Where do we draw the line?

The Physiological Society invites you to discuss these controversial questions and the science behind them with Steve Ingham, Head of Physiology at the English Institute of Sport; Steve Haake, director of the Centre for Sports Engineering Research at Sheffield Hallam University; and other panellists from the world of sports. Tell us what shape you think our future sporting champions should be in.

Alastair Mundy is head of Contrarian Equities at Investec Asset Management where his team manages in excess of £3bn of clients’ money. Alastair will discuss how a great deal of conventional wisdom in investment markets should actually re-labelled as investment myths. Fortunately the blind acceptance of these myths creates a slight slope in what might otherwise be viewed as a level-playing field and this provides investment opportunities for patient, long-term investors willing to oppose the herd.