Look what you missed
in 2006!
(2007 programme coming soon)
THE BIG ISSUES:
City College, Pelham St. BN1 4FA
The science that we can't agree about.
BACK TO EVENTS LIST
Bird Flu
6.00pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
What it is, what it will do, what to do about it
Pandemics of Flu happen regularly. One devastated the World in 1889, another in 1918, (when more people died from the disease than in both World Wars). Another, more mild version struck in 1963. Now scientist know more about the disease they can see the next pandemic coming. And come it will, within the next 12 months. What does flu do, and what can we do about it? In this session experts will provide the answers.
THIS REPLACES THE PREVIOUS TALK; "HOW TO WIN AN ARGUMENT", WHICH HAS MOVED TO 8.30 WITH SPEED DEBATING
SEE STOP PRESS
Creationsim and Evolution
6.00pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
James Williams asks: How intelligent is Intelligent Design Theory?
Is evolution a matter of belief or of acceptance? Does an acceptance of the evidence for evolution negate a belief in God? This session will explore some of the issues in creationism and evolution.
Is creationism scientific?
Is evolution a 'dangerous idea'?
Is evolution 'just a theory'?
How intelligent is 'intelligent design theory'?
When the Rivers Run Dry
6.00pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
Fred Pearce on an ecological disaster that might be happening in Sussex right now.
Some of the World's largest rivers - the Nile, the Yellow River and the Indus - no longer reach the sea. Exhausted by the demands of humans to irrigate their crops, fill taps and generate hydro-electricity, they trickle into the sand. Even England faces crisis. The South-east has less water per capita than Ethiopia, but our demands keep rising and the rainfall keeps dropping. Veteran science correspondent Fred Pearce travelled to more than thirty countries while researching When the Rivers Run Dry; it is our most complete portrait yet of the growing world water crisis.
Rough Science
7.15pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
Behind the scenes of Rough Science. With clips and demonstrations.
Based on the six popular BBC TV series we will go a little deeper into some of the science of Rough Science. The talk will be complemented by film clips and demonstrations including the generation of electricity, a light beam communicator, Brighton seawater batteries, the washing machine mechanism and much, much more.
The Whole Story - Alternative Medicine on Trial
7.15pm
£4.50 / £2
Dr. Toby Murcott weighs up the evidence.
Alternative medicine is a 50 billion dollar per year industry. But is it all nonsense? Dr. Murcott, a leading science writer, journalist and broadcaster, rounds up the latest evidence on the placebo effect, acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy and more. Could alternative therapies' whole-body approach be just what medicine really needs right now?
Intelligent Design
7.15pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
Open forum on Intelligent Design vs Evolution
Where do you stand on Intelligent Design? Most scientists trust the theory of Evolution to explain us and other living things. But many people - including many scientists - can't help feeling there's something else out there. The theory of Intelligent Design claims to provide an intellectual framework for this. Is there anything in it? Hear both sides of the argument and join in with your own comments and feelings on the matter.
Climate Change and Human Evolution
8.30pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
After 150,000 years of climate change, are things any different today?
Since evolving in Africa some 150,000 years ago humankind has faced a wide range of climatic challenges. In particular, the far more variable climate of the last ice age has left an indelible imprint on our physiology and intellectual development. This talk explores how climate change in prehistory made us what we are today.
Speed debating
8.30pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
Fast moving debate game.
Well, you've learnt the techniques, you've seen the arguments, now try your hand at a bit of light jousting. Speed debating is like speed-dating; you get three minutes to impress your partner, not with your charm but with your intellectual prowess. As you move around you pick up techniques from others, apply them to your own act and so improve your style... or at the very least you learn to recognize when the tricks are being used on you.
The Chemistry of Smell, Taste and Sex
8.30pm
tickets £4.50 / £2
Professor Malcolm Heggie on the Cinderella senses of smell and taste.
Why do we have the senses of smell and taste, how do they operate and are there smells which play a role in human relationships? Looking from a chemists point of view, one asks what is detected when we smell a molecule . the peculiarities of its shape or its vibrations? And what is the mechanism by which this is done? Some of these questions are still unanswered, but ideas championed by Luca Turin of University of London offer some insights, drawing from the mysterious world of quantum mechanics.
