Solidly real yet elusively out of reach, borders and boundaries are the most interesting places in the universe: the horizon of space and time, the beginning and endings of relationships and epochs, the lines between life and nonlife, the permeable walls between art, science and culture. Looking through the lenses of physics, medicine, photography and anthropology, this public event will explore these active interfaces. Biologist Sean B. Carroll will speak on The Serengeti Rules, explaining what the plight of lions and sharks have to do with human cancers—and what we can learn from medicine to heal an ailing planet. Photographer Felice Frankel will look at various interfaces in science and architecture in her talk, Between This and That, Is Where It’s At. Mathematical physicist and IAS Director Robbert Dijkgraaf will speak on From Limits to Frontiers, reflecting on the multiple meanings of boundary in the context of knowledge––from what we do not know to how far our knowledge can extend. And biological anthropologist Helen Fisher will talk about sex, romance and attachment in our modern age, where long-held boundaries have disappeared.
Institute for Advanced Study
Nautilus Magazine is collaborating with us to create an entire issue on the subject of “Borders.” Find them at http://nautil.us/
This event was supported by, and held at, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where I was honored to be Director’s Visitor in the Spring of 2016
Sean B. Carroll
Felice Frankel
Robbert Dijkgraaf
| Borders & Boundaries |