Certainty, Isn't

Image: Some rights reserved by epSos.de

As investigative techniques, science and the humanities obviously differ. But how? On LinkedIn, Kristina Šekrst, who happens to teach cosmology and ancient Egyptian at the University of Zagreb, touches on how we know. As for her specialties, one, she says, describes "uncertainties, speculation, philosophy and a bit of unsolved mysteries with crazy theories, and [the other deals] with the exact structure of the Ancient Egyptian language."

Šekrst:

The criterion of what is exactly science is a long debate in history and philosophy of science. Sometimes they ask for the criterion of observation, and yet, how can we do that exactly with, say, most of mathematics (and that fails on the logical consistency as well!)? Sometimes they ask for explanation, but religion also explains, and we don't consider it to be science. Sometimes we say that science consists of doing experiments, but that is often impossible in various fields of astrophysics or particle physics, such as string theory. Sometimes we say that science predicts, but astrology predicts as well, and that's certainly not a science (I'm a Cancer with Libra rising, I ought to know).

One of the most important criteria is the criterion of falsifiability: scientific theories can be proven wrong.

From there it only gets better, and she seems to suggest if I'm reading her correctly that any perfectly true science would also be complete. It's an impossibly high standard - thank goodness.

Newton's laws are a reliable guide to our solar system - as the exquisitely timed journeys of Cassini and New Horizons can attest - but the dominate and still-correct physical description of the cosmos was not complete without quantum theory. The problem of course is that we don't yet know what a complete theory might entail since relativity and quantum physics cannot as of yet be merged. Theorists like Leonard Mlodinow, who, incidentally, has spoken at the IdeaFestival, are working on a theory of quantum gravity now.

Perhaps, she says, the best we can do is to say that our useful theories are true as of now. Utility is a pretty good measure of success.

If you're interested in philosophy of science, check out Šekrst's piece. Useful information and certainty are certainly two different things.

Stay curious.™

Just a reminder - the price for an all-access pass will increase on Sept. 1, so get your pass today!

Wayne

When Upside Down is Right Side Up

“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” Albert Einstein

Posted on the web log of the Kentucky Innovation Network, this brief entry on the importance of thinking what "no one" in your industry "currently wants to believe" is perfect. I hope you'll enjoy it. The Kentucky Innovation Network is presenting IdeaFestival 2015.

This image of Diavolo from IdeaFestival 2010 is by the incredibly talented Geoff Oliver Bugbee.

Stay curious™.

Wayne

Many of you will be familiar with the business model canvass, a systematic way to think about the viability of a product or service. The teams that competed at the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs, for example, used it to great effect. But a new approach to the business model promises to “turn your beliefs upside down.”

Of the characteristics of the new model, this one stood out:

3. Turn an underlying belief on its head. Formulate a radical new hypothesis, one that no one wants to believe—at least no one currently in your industry. Ask yourself outside-the-box ‘What-if’ questions.

In case you’re not aware, the Kentucky Innovation Network in 2015 is presenting the IdeaFestival, which similarly wants to turn your thinking upside down. Its mantra, “stay curious,” is the kind of advice that any entrepreneur can use.

The answers are everywhere.

We hope to see you in Louisville!

"Art is a System of Research"

The Vesper project

Art is a system of research. - Paul Rucker, IF13

Art is not about communication. It's about communion. - Raphael Lozano-Hemmer, IF13

Described as having a "deep engagement with American history and culture [and] the intersection of the personal and political and exploration of race-related issues," the brilliant painter, filmmaker and sculptor Titus Kaphar has been confirmed for IdeaFestival 2015. You don't want to miss this session!

In fact, the entire IdeaFestival 2015 agenda is now available - so have a look.

A video from "The Vesper Project" has been posted above. Learn more this project of remembrance and identity, and Kaphar's other work, from his web site.

I hope to see you at IdeaFestival 2015!

Stay curious.™

Wayne

Who Builds Lunar Spacecraft? Kentucky Builds Lunar Spacecraft

Kentucky is building a lunar spacecraft. "Lunar IceCube" has won a coveted spot as a payload on the first launch of NASA's new 38-story deep space rocket, Space Launch System, or SLS, in 2018.

Often referred to as "cubesats" and flown in low Earth orbit, the use of tiny spacecraft like Lunar IceCube in deep space is a brand new development. Missions to destinations elsewhere in the solar system are now on being planned to take advantage of their small size and rapidly growing technical and scientific sophistication.

Lunar IceCube Wins Coveted Slot on Exploration-1:

Lunar IceCube has won a coveted slot as one of 12 diminutive secondary payloads to deploy during the first planned flight in 2018 of NASA’s  next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) and the second for its Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle — an event that scientists say will signal a paradigm shift in interplanetary science.

Morehead State University in Kentucky is leading the six-unit (6-U) CubeSat mission....

The craft will prospect for lunar volatiles and water during its six months in lunar orbit. Morehead State University will track the craft using its 21 meter steerable radio dish (pictured above) located on campus, just outside the university's new Space Science Center. 

Morehead will work with partners at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the Massachusetts-based Busek Company.

Thanks to organizations like Kentucky Space, its commercial spinoff, Space Tango, and the Exomedicine Institute, Kentucky has attracted attention for its fast developing expertise in cubesats. Morehead State University has been crucial to those efforts.

Stay curious™

Wayne

The IdeaFestival's One and Only Rule

Photo: Geoff Oliver Bugbee

This post is an edited version of a blog entry inspired by meeting a new fan of the IdeaFestival two years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

Wayne

I love meeting people who discover the festival and decide then and there that they just HAVE to be a part of it.

I was once that guy.

Yesterday, I took part in a couple of IdeaFestival meetings with various organizers and interested people. Following the second get together late in the afternoon, I was approached by someone who was new to the whole idea and wanted to know more. Over the years, I've learned that the most common question we get when meeting with people about the festival is this one.

What is it?

Here's my answer to that question. Paraphrasing Daniel Pink, the IdeaFestival celebrates the fact that it's become a whole-brain world. Reason and logic will take you a long way, but whether you're an artist, businesswoman or scientist, it's the ability to see an alternate path, to imagine, to connect the factual dots as it were, that will get you where you want to be.

Why? As Pink has argued, your success is not about information, but what you do with the information. Given the wide accessibility of information today, the meaning makers win.

Every IdeaFestival fan or organization that makes its way to Louisville for one week in the fall is making a statement of faith. As Kris Kimel explained to the afternoon audience yesterday, "we don't do tracks." There is no business track. There is no arts track. There is no day set aside just for physicians, accountants or marketing professionals. One presentation on mindfulness will follow another on what nature can teach us about complex systems will follow another on what magic says about belief and everyday life.

No person who goes to the festival knows what she will find. That's good. Because with some patience and an openness, something astonishing will happen. Three hours and fifteen minutes - let's say - into day two you will suddenly realize that what speaker A and speaker B were saying has a lot to do with your situation C.

You'll sit a little straighter in your seat back. A smile will cross your face.

To have that moment, you must do one thing and one thing only. Follow this rule:

Stay curious™.

I hope to see you at the IdeaFestival in Louisville.

Wayne