The Atlanta Science Tavern

Here are some topics that participants have expressed interest in finding someone to lead a discussion about. If you are a local or visiting professional with an expertise in one of these subjects, please get int touch with us to get yourself on the Calendar!

• The Philosophy of Science
  • What does the public say science is?
  • What does the dictionary / Wikipedia say science is?
  • What do working scientists say science is?
  • What is Peer-Review?
    • Why is it important?
    • What is an analogy within industries that don't have peer-review per say?
  • How does scientific progress get made?
  • Introduce Khun's model
    • Try to get Emory professor Frank Pajares to discuss his excellent outline of Khun's book from [http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhn.html]
• Why care about science?
  • Discuss implications for technology, standard of living, health, defense, etc, etc, etc
  • Introduce James Burke's Connections, Connections 2, Connections 3, and The Day the Universe Changed Series to audience: [http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=JamesBurkeFan]
  • Other timeless treasures include:
    • Carl Sagan's Cosmos
    • Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man
• Exercise Science / Exercise and the Brain
  • Discuss the need for increased exercise to combat obesity and increase neuron growth / synapse connections in brain's learning centers.
• Neuroscience / Neuroplasticity / Mirror Neuron research (Empathy, Compassion, Learning)
• Cognitive Science and Neuroscience
  • Find someone to speak on topics similar to Dr. Ramachandran's research.
• Education Approach for ADHD Diagnosis / Criticism of ADHD (e.g. The Edison Gene, novelty-seeking, etc)
• The Science of Human Relationships
  • Discuss topics like Daniel Goleman's Social Intelligence, and another Atlanta author's Scream-Free Parenting book, etc
• Evolution / ID Controversy
  • Find someone to discuss compelling evidence for evolution rarely seen by the public, such as Retroviral DNA
  • Compare with ideas presented by ID / Creationism
• Future of Energy / Alternative Energy
• Future of Computing / eCommerce
  • Present info about immersive 3D computing environments being pioneered by GA Tech and other places, Second Life style technology
• Scientific Study of Economics
  • Discuss personal finance, commercial finance, microfinance of emerging economies, etc
• Astronomy
  • Try to get Dr. Sarrazine from Fernbank Observatory to present for this subject
  • Perhaps also have something about the difference between Astronomy and "Astrology"
  • Discuss "likelihood" of eventual collision with large object, and research being done on defenses to deflect these objects of course, as opposed to the "Armageddon" movie style depictions of how to deal with such a situation.
• Epidemiology / CDC
  • What is Epidemiology?
  • Why is the world getting "smaller" and why should we care about what happens in Africa and Asia because of disease vectors.
• Mathematics
  • What is Calculus?
    • Why is it important and where is it actually used?
  • The Golden Ratio, Phi, the beauty of proportionality in the natural world, logarithmic growth patterns, proportions of beautiful faces, artwork, etc: [http://joshuagough.blogspot.com/2007/06/da-vinci-code-reloaded-fibonacci.html]