Venki Ramakrishnan 30th Ulam Lecture Night 1 Ramakrishnan will provide a history of molecular visualization, as well as take us through his work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, where his team determined the atomic structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit and its complexes with ligands and antibiotics. Everyone is familiar with DNA, but by itself, DNA is just an inert blueprint for life. It is the ribosome — an enormous molecular machine made up of a million atoms — that makes DNA come to life, turning our genetic code into proteins and therefore into us. He will talk about the ribosome (the “Gene Machine”), and how his team learned about its structure. He will also share some recent developments, including the development of cryoEM — a powerful technique used to determine the structure of three-dimensional structure of biological molecules at near-atomic resolution.

Watch at: www.youtube.com

Computing is not just a branch of engineering. It touches on language and philosophy, the nature of life, and how we think. It is a liberal art. And as a result, we need a humanistic approach to computing. By understanding the history of technology more deeply, as well as how it connects to so many disciplines, we will be better positioned to make this approach the default in how we relate to computing.

Sam Arbesman’s new book “The Magic of Code” explores this. But, he is also interested in more broadly developing what he is calling the Humanistic Computation Project, which is aimed at creating a living syllabus, a community, and a framework for these ideas.

Watch”Humanistic Computation and The Magic of Code” Dr. Sam Arbesman at: www.youtube.com

We welcome Carlos Gershenson to The Complexity Lounge. Carlos will propose that one of the main goals of science—the search for regularities in nature—points toward the concept of balance. He will discuss how complexity, evolution, criticality, and antifragility can be seen as resulting from different types of balance. The session will review specific mechanisms that promote balance, such as adaptation and self-organization, and conclude by exploring the philosophical implications of a worldview grounded in its scientific study.

Watc at: www.youtube.com

In the mid-20th century, Alan Turing and John von Neumann developed the theoretical underpinnings of computer science, neuroscience, and AI. They also founded the field of theoretical biology, showing how living systems must necessarily be computational in order to grow, heal, and reproduce. Recent experiments by Blaise Agüera y Arcas’ team at Google have drawn new connections between theoretical biology and computer science, showing how “digital life” can evolve in a purely random universe. Such artificial life doesn’t evolve the way Darwinian evolutionary theory usually presumes, through random mutation and selection, but rather through symbiogenesis, wherein small replicating entities merge into progressively bigger ones. This may be the creative engine behind biological evolution too. In this lecture, Agüera y Arcas will describe how symbiosis explains both life’s origins and its increasing complexity. He’ll also draw connections to social intelligence theories, which suggest that similar symbioses have powered intelligence explosions in humanity’s lineage and those of other big-brained species. Finally, he’ll argue that both modern human intelligence and AI are best understood through this symbiotic lens.

Watch at: www.youtube.com

loadYouTubePlayer(‘yt_video_kWjO2R3iTx0_RcSXdZGZV6ZvxaXk’);

Hiroki discussed the relationship between idea generation and social norms, explaining that new ideas can push local social norms in new directions.

Watch at: www.youtube.com