Sydney Ideas

In 2010 environmentalist David de Rothschild sailed from San Francisco to Sydney in 'The Plastiki' , a unique 18.3-metre catamaran made from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic soft drink bottles, sails of recycled PET, and masts made from aluminium irrigation piping and consist of 98 per cent post-consumer billet. In his talk for Sydney Ideas, with inventor, educator and adjudicator Sally Dominguez, David de Rothschild explained the technology used on board and revealed what he and crew learnt on their four-month journey about plastic in our oceans. A Sydney Ideas event on 29 July, 2010 For more information http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/david_de_rothschild.shtml

With the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, it now seems climate change denial has reached into the most powerful political office in the world. In this special Sydney Ideas public lecture, world-renowned climate scientist Professor Michael Mann provides a somewhat light-hearted take on a very serious issue - the threat of human-caused climate change and what to do about it. Based on his recent collaboration with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles, Professor Mann reviews the scientific evidence of climate change, the reasons we should care, and the often absurd efforts by special interests and partisan political figures to confuse the public and attack the science. Despite the monumental nature of the challenge this poses to human civilization, and the seeming inability of political leadership to respond to the climate crisis, Professor Mann highlights ways forward in mitigating future harm and reasons for cautious optimism. SPEAKER: Professor Michael E Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University Presented by Sydney Ideas and the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney on 8 February 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/michael_mann.shtml

Since the smashing of labour’s collective bargaining power under neoliberalism, how is the transition to a postcapitalist society to be enacted? Are we currently witnessing the zombie state of neoliberalism in its death throes? What is the role of technology and automation, as well as human agency, in shaping the future? These issues and more animate Paul Mason’s talk. SPEAKER: Paul Mason, journalist and broadcaster A Sydney Ideas talk presented by the Department of Political Economy in the School of Social and Political Sciences (SSPS), and the Greens Political Education Trust Presented by Sydney Ideas on 6 Feb 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/paul_mason.shtml

Cancer and neurologial diseases are among the top 5 causes of death in Australia. However, there is some good news in this battle against these as new big data technologies now allow scientists to measure nearly every aspect of a cancerous tumor and take real-time scans of the active human brain. This big data may hold the key to understanding causes and possible cures for cancer as well as understanding the complexities of the human brain. Genevera Allen highlights how exactly is data science transforming medical research. Specifically, she demonstrates how networks can be used to visualize and mine big biomedical data, from genetic networks that have led to the discovery of new drug targets for cancer to brain networks that show how the brain communicates and how these communications are disrupted in neurological diseases. SPEAKER: Assistant Professor Genevera Allen, Statistics and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, USA For the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) Summer School. Presented by Sydney Ideas on 31 Jan 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/assistant_professor_genevera_allen.shtml

False memories, like true ones, have consequences for people, affecting later thoughts, intentions, and behaviours. Once planted, the false memories look very much like true memories – in terms of behavioural characteristics, emotionality and neural signatures. If false memories can be so readily planted in the mind, do we need to think about ‘regulating’ this mind technology? And what do these pseudomemories say about the nature of memory itself? SPEAKER: Professor Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, Professor of Law, School of Law, University of California Presented by Sydney Ideas on 3 Jan 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_elizabeth_loftus.shtml

The recent review of the national Australian Curriculum has recommended reducing arts learning in our schools. Many in the sector see the recommendations as a direct challenge to decades of research and teaching that demonstrates that students who engage in an active, demanding, high-quality arts education are more likely to excel in their academic and non-academic lives. Sydney Ideas presents a robust forum that discusses the place of arts in our schools in response to this review. It draws on recent University of Sydney research and international research that demands that all young people everywhere must have access to a strong and sustained arts education. PANEL Michael Anderson (panel chair), Faculty of Education and Social Work Tom Alegounarias, President of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (BOSTES) Rob Carlton, a Silver Logie winning actor Andrea Connell, the Principal of Sydney Girls High School Robyn Ewing, Professor of Teacher Education Faculty of Education and Social Work Professor Julianne Schultz, founding editor of Griffith REVIEW Tamara Winikoff, Executive Director, at the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) A Sydney Ideas event on 11 November 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/arts_as_learning_forum.shtml

How might philosophical research into apparently non-practical matters be of general relevance to the community? What benefits might tax-payers expect to flow from public support of philosophical research? In the light of comments made in last year’s federal election campaign about research funding for philosophy projects, a panel of philosophers address different aspects of these pressing questions. Panel Professor Richard Eldrige, Swarthmore College USA Professor Paul Redding, University of Sydney Dr Dalia Nassar, University of Sydney A Sydney Ideas event on 25 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/philosophy_in_the_age_of_democracy.shtml

Sugar Sweetened Schools: a supply chain to childhood obesity? With rates of childhood and adult obesity at all time highs, it’s time to reconsider the delivery of nutrition to children, but where should we start? Establishing a healthy lifestyle from a young age is essential for our children’s optimal physical and mental development. A school environment can provide a platform for learning the skills for healthy living, yet our schools are possibly doing more harm than good when it comes to combating childhood obesity. During this talk Dr Kieron Rooney explored the current guidelines for the delivery of healthy foods in NSW schools and identified weaknesses in the implementation of those guidelines, and finally proposed some potential steps forward. Kieron was joined on the night by Ms Jo Gardner, CEO of the Healthy Kids Association. A Sydney Ideas event on 26 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/dr_kieron_rooney.shtml

What lessons should we draw from the First World War? Professor Glenda Sluga discusses the war's legacies from the perspective of its end, and the twinned principles on which a new postwar international order was to be established – namely nationality and the League of Nations. Her aim is to understand the relative significance of nationalism and of what contemporaries articulated as a 'new era of internationalism' in the last years of the war and in its wake. A Sydney Ideas event on 28 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_glenda_sluga.shtml

UNESCO’s 1972 Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage is the only international instrument for safeguarding the world’s heritage. Professor Lynn Meskell, Director of the Stanford Archaeology Center, examines how emergent rights to the past are now being presented, promoted and prevented by select groups. A Sydney Ideas event on 7 May 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_lynn_meskell.shtml