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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Science for the Public

Science for the Public is a grassroots nonprofit organization committed to the promotion of adult science literacy. The organization hosts public presentations by scientists at Boston Public Library, a community science TV series, and online science resources. Citizen participation is actively encouraged in the development of our programs and resources. Today, many of the most pressing issues of modern life require the expertise of scientists. Citizens must therefore have a reasonable understanding of science in order to function as responsible members of society. Further, as the pace of scientific discovery accelerates, modern citizens must be able to grasp new concepts and information that are reshaping our perspectives. Although the issue of science literacy is now being addressed at the K-12 level, there is no science curriculum for the adult population. And it is the adult population that votes, pays taxes and raises children.

http://www.scienceforthepublic.org/

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    Science Speculations: Time Travel

    Tue, May 15, 2018
    Professor Toomey explains why time travel is so alluring, not just for science fiction, and he’ll tell us about the major contributions to the development of the idea. He also discusses the significance of science fiction in the evolution of time travel.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    Nanotechnology Advances for Healthcare and Environment

    Tue, May 8, 2018
    This is the fifth and final presentation in our Science Literacy series at MIT. Dr. Sonkusale describes the advantages of nano-scale science and the remarkable nano-innovations in sensory devices for environment and medicine that his lab has produced. He also discusses how the Tufts Nano Lab creates devices that can be used around the world –a democratizing of nanotechnology.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    The Science – and Oft-Ignored Side Effects - of Geoengineering

    Tue, Apr 24, 2018
    This is the fourth presentation in our Science Literacy series at MIT. Prof. Cziczo provides an overview of the climate change issue and then a critique of geoengineering. He explains the options, and --more importantly—the misinformation that seems to accompany the solar radiation management option in particular. He lists the kinds of questions the public needs to ask in the effort to determine a policy for reducing the CO2 in the atmosphere that is rapidly warning the planet.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    Infinitely Small to Infinitely Great: The Search for Microbial Life on Other Worlds

    Tue, Apr 10, 2018
    Very little is known about most of the deep-sea organisms on this planet. Since these organisms represent “extreme life,” they provide potential insights about how life might emerge on other worlds. Dr. Girguis describes innovative studies of some deep-sea organisms, the technological advances that are making these investigations possible, and the exciting collaboration between marine biologists and astrophysicists.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    The Biological Mind

    Tue, Mar 27, 2018
    Dr. Alan P. Jasanoff, Ph.D., discusses his book, _The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are_. Dr. Jasanoff explains why the brain must be considered within its biological, natural and social environment. The tendency to see the mind as completely autonomous, a view he calls the “cerebral mystique,” doesn't hold up. Jasanoff’s discussion includes brain dysfunctions as well as recent trends such as brain hacking –and the transhumanist aspiration that our brains can someday be preserved and then revived much later.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    There Is More Than Enough Renewable Energy

    Tue, Mar 6, 2018
    This is the second presentation in the Citizens Literacy program, a joint project between Science for the Public, Belmont Library and Belmont Media Center. The Citizens Literacy program will present speakers on science, civic, and media issues in an effort to promote public awareness and response to important concerns of our time. Dr. Prentiss explains the vital need to switch to renewable energy and she describes here –and in her book Energy Revolution- just how that change can be implemented.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    Industrial Agriculture and the Humble Strawberry

    Tue, Feb 20, 2018
    Learn about the complex relationship between Big Agriculture in the U.S. and one of California's major crops: the strawberry. Industrialized agriculture produces massive crops, but this process requires plant breeding that may sacrifice flavor and nutritional quality. Industrialized agriculture also depends on extensive use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides that can destroy the soil and cause serious environmental pollution and health concerns. In her forthcoming, Dr. Julie Guthman examines how efforts to manage a single soil pathogen ( Verticillium dahliae) gave rise to the modern strawberry industry, and the impact it had on California. Dr. Guthman will also discuss her other studies of industrialized agriculture in America and its impact on the environment and human health.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public

  • Ecological and Psychological Perspectives on Climate Change

    Tue, Feb 13, 2018
    This is the second presentation in our 2018 Science Literacy series at MIT Dr. Helmuth and Dr. Coley combine their expertise to discuss how we respond to uncomfortable facts of climate change.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    Climate Change: Science, Policy, Action

    Mon, Feb 12, 2018
    This is the first presentation in the Citizens Literacy program, a joint project between Science for the Public, Belmont Library and Belmont Media Center. The Citizens Literacy program will present speakers on science issues, civic issues and media issues in an effort to promote public awareness and response to important concerns of our time. Dr. Cziczo explains climate change, plus how we can help shape policy.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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    What Should We Talk about When We Talk about Health?

    Tue, Jan 30, 2018
    Sandro Galea, M.D., DrPH is an international leader in the field of public health. Here he discusses the numerous socio-economic factors that impact health, and also provides some comparisons between the cost of health and the state of health between the U.S. and other wealthy nations. Photo: By Thatcher Cook for PopTech [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
    Forum Network
    Food and Wellness
    Partner:
    Science for the Public
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