Crocheting the Hyperbolic Plane
A Talk by Daina Taimina and David Henderson

The surface of an orange is a sphere—what is the opposite of a sphere? The answer is a hyperbolic surface. Confused? Mathematicians Daina Tamina and David Henderson will explain the concept and share their exciting discovery that crocheting is an excellent means of modeling and understanding hyperbolic surfaces, and for exploring the ruffles of lettuce leaves and sea slugs, exponential growth, and potential shapes of the physical universe.

David Henderson and Daina Taimina, mathematicians, Cornell University
Authors of Experiencing Geometry: Euclidean and Non-Euclidean With History (Prentice-Hall, 2005)
http://www.math.cornell.edu/~henderson/ExpGeom/

Co-sponsored by Science & the Arts and the Institute For Figuring http://www.theiff.org

6375 - Thursday, September 22, 2005   5pm $5
6366 - Thursday, September 22, 2005   7pm $5

Staged reading of a play by Kate Aspengren. Should women be astronauts? The play leapfrogs through time and includes testimony from Congressional hearings on the subject in 1962. Presented by Break A Leg Productions.

6367 - Monday, October 17, 2005    6pm Free

A talk by Corey S. Powell.

Corey S. Powell, Senior Editor, Discover magazine; author, God in the Equation: How Einstein Became the Prophet of the New Religious Era.

6368 - Monday, October 24, 2005    6pm Free

A talk by Robert L. Park.

Robert L. Park, Professor of Physics, University of Maryland; author, Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud.

6369 - Monday, October 31, 2005    6pm Free

Registration and further event information at www.nyas.org/brainandart

This conference will explore the nature of the science-art interface, the inspiration this interface provides to scientists and artists alike, and the impact of such interactions in areas of research and other human endeavors. The morning session will explore scientific perspectives: what is vision? How do we perceive art and why do we respond to it emotionally? The afternoon session will feature discussions with artists and scientists on communicating the beauty and power of science as well as its social and ethical implications. This event is suitable for scientists interested in art and artists interested in science.

Participants:

Margaret Livingstone - Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School; author, Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing.

V.S. Ramachandran - Director, the Center for Brain and Cognition, UC-San Diego; author, A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers.

David Freedberg - Professor of Art History; Director, Italian Academy, Columbia Univ.; author, The Power of Images: Studies in the History and Theory of Respons.e

Felice Frankel - Director, Envisioning Science Project, MIT; author, Envisioning Science Project: The Design and Craft of the Science Image.

Barbara Tversky - Professor of Psychology, Stanford University.

Eric Heller - Professor of Physics and Chemistry, Harvard University.

Suzanne Anker - Chair, Department of Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts; co-author, The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age

Devorah Sperber - Visual Artist.

Torsten Wiesel - President Emeritus, Rockefeller University and Nobel Laureate.

Nell Breyer – Visual Artist, Center for Advanced Visual Studies, MIT

Co-organized by Science & the Arts and the New York Academy of Sciences. Supported in part by the David Schwarz Family and the National Science Foundation.

6370 - Saturday, November 5, 2005    10am-6pm. Registration and further event information at www.nyas.org/brainandart

6371 - Monday, November 7, 2005    7pm Free

Do you have an idea that you have been thinking about, something that you really want to share with others? Here is your chance to have your ideas engaged with others. Or just come to hear what others are thinking. In the tradition of great intellectual programming at The Graduate Center, CUNY, we invite you to join faculty and students in our Idea Café. Each week will have a theme. You will have a chance to sign up for your short presentation and then be joined by all others in dialogue. Beverages and light food will be available for purchase from the Café.

-- We welcome people from outside CUNY, but we will give first priority to CUNY-associated speakers.

-- We welcome any kind of presentation on that evening’s topic, limited to 5 minutes.

Do you wish to speak? Please download the form here. Fill out the form and return it to continuinged@gc.cuny.edu

6576 - Monday, November 7, 2005    7pm Free

A talk by Simon Singh

Singh, the Cambridge-educated physicist and author of the international best-seller Fermat's Enigma, has an uncommon talent for explaining difficult science to the layman. In his new book Big Bang he leads readers on a journey back into history and out into the cosmos as he explains how scientists arrived at the remarkable theory of the universe and why it is almost certainly correct.

6583 - Wednesday, Nov. 9 7pm free

A performance featuring award-winning science writer Dava Sobel and the early music ensemble, Galileo's Daughters (Sarah Pillow, soprano; Mary Anne Ballard, viola da gamba). With Ronn McFarlane, lute (as Vincenzo Galilei). Dava Sobel will weave stories of science history with the music of the period.

Dava Sobel, author, Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, and The Planets.

6373 - Monday, November 28, 2005    6pm Free

Listen to the podcast!
Revolutions in 17th-Century Science and Music
Dava Sobel & Galileo's Daughters