FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Nichole Johnson
Assistant director of media relations
Capital University
(614) 236-6945
Internationally Renown Physicist and Best-Selling Author Lawrence Krauss
to Speak at Capital University March 31
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008 – Lawrence Krauss, a Case Western Reserve University physicist known for his best-selling books using laymen’s terms to explore the universe’s deepest scientific complexities, and for his defense of science in taking on intelligent design, will give a public lecture at Capital University on March 31.
Krauss will present “Nonsense, Non-Science, and Science: From Aliens to Creationism” at 7 p.m. Monday, March 31, in the Bridge of Learning, located in room 260 of Ruff Memorial Learning Center.
The event, sponsored by Capital’s Honors Program, Behavioral Sciences Department and Provost’s Office, is free and open to the public. Krauss provided the following abstract of his talk.
Nonsense, Non-Science, and Science: From Aliens to Creationism
In March 1996, U.S. presidential candidate Pat Buchanan said on national television that he wasn't descended from apes, and he didn't think children should be taught that they are. Not a single U.S. journalist questioned him on this position. In 2007, three Republican candidates indicated that they did not believe in evolution, and at least one of them indicated he was not willing to come down on the side of an earth that was older than 6,000 years. Most recently, the popular debate about the teaching of intelligent design in public schools presents a perplexing quandary for scientists and policy makers. How do scientists take part in a national debate that has been essentially manufactured by a marketing campaign to appear to be a scientific controversy, but which bears little or no contact with the scientific enterprise? At the same time, these developments are taking place in the context of a larger distrust of science and efforts by various groups to restrict the flow of information, control government access of scientists, etc. Lawrence Krauss will explore examples from the news, advertisements, TV shows and movies, as well as from his books, to discuss the difference between science and fiction and to explore how the distinction between sense and nonsense is becoming blurred in popular discourse. He also will address the important issue of what science is, and what it is not. The lecture will be part “tour” through the fascinating world of modern physics, part fun-filled examination of video clips, and part sober discussion of the various dangers facing modern society if we fail to learn the lessons science has taught us about the world. We must not be timid about offending sensibilities when those sensibilities are based on nonsense.
Located in Columbus, Ohio, Capital University combines personal attention with a balanced liberal arts and professional studies education to prepare students for lifelong learning, leadership and service through five colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, Conservatory of Music, Law School, School of Management and School of Nursing. Capital also offers degree-completion opportunities for adult learners through the Center for Lifelong Learning in Columbus. Founded in 1830, Capital is the oldest and one of the largest universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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