Note: This is the second of a pair of programs that will focus on Uncertainty, and the first of four that will take place at USC rather than Santa Monica Art Studios. The USC programs take place on Thursday evenings, rather than Sunday evenings.
It’s a natural human tendency to want to know for sure. Is it Yes or No? Are you with us or against us? He loves me, he loves me not. Alas, uncertainty is woven into the very fabric of our universe. Every bit of certain knowledge comes at the price of ignorance. The answers we get depend on the questions we ask. At the fundamental scale of subatomic particles, it becomes all too clear that the building blocks of the cosmos are unfocused, elusive, slippery. Truth (and yes, there is such a thing) can only be glimpsed as a kaleidoscope, presenting many faces.
For the second special program on uncertainty, we will inject a new set of actors into the mix. Returning to journalism but in a very different context, the Annenberg School’ s Larry Pryor will join Stanford climatologist Stephen Schneider to investigate how and why journalists failed in their efforts to understand and convey the true nature of uncertainty surrounding the global warming issue. Showing how uncertainty is a central tool in art, USC's Thornton School of Music's composer Veronika Krausas, accompanied by performers, will discuss and illustrate how uncertainty plays an essential role in music, from both the composer's and listeners' perspectives. And finally, uncertainty in engineering? You bet. Uncertainty is perhaps the one thing that IS certain, whether one is building a concert hall or a desk. USC alumnus Farzad Naeim, who played a leading role in the structural engineering of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, will tell us how it works.
The program will take place at the Annenberg School at the USC at 7PM, and is free, as always.
