Discovery & Discussion
Sundays 1:00 pm
(Except Potluck Sundays)
James Reeb Room
Coordinator: Dave Nelson
Moderator: Ann Urich
“The Industrial Revolution did not prepare us for a Post-Industrial Era.”    
 - Robert C. Robertson 
 "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso 
Join us as we explore the impact of technology on our world.

We start with a either a short video or a live speaker who is an expert in the field, followed by open discussion. 

Occasionally, we will address subjects that are not  directly related to technology, but are timely and relevant to our congregation. All are welcome.
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry Ford
Sunday March 31
The secret to scientific discoveries? Making mistakes!
Phil Plait was on a Hubble Space Telescope team of astronomers who thought they may have captured the first direct photo of an exoplanet ever taken. But did the evidence actually support that? In this just released feature TED Talk, follow along as Plait shows how science progresses -- through a robust amount of making and correcting errors. "The price of doing science is admitting when you're wrong, but the payoff is the best there is: knowledge and understanding," he says.

As part of the discussion that follows, we will consider the question: “If Alien Life exists, where are all the aliens?”

Exoplanets are planets beyond our own solar system. Thousands have been discovered in the past two decades, mostly with NASA's Kepler Space Telescope.These worlds come in a huge variety of sizes and orbits. Some are gigantic planets hugging close to their parent stars; others are icy, some rocky. NASA and other agencies are looking for a special kind of planet: one that's the same size as Earth, orbiting a sun-like star in the habitable zone.

The habitable zone is the range of distances from a star where a planet's temperature allows liquid water oceans, critical for life on Earth. The earliest definition of the zone was based on simple thermal equilibrium, but current calculations of the habitable zone include many other factors, including the greenhouse effect of a planet's atmosphere. This makes the boundaries of a habitable zone "fuzzy."  
Past Programs
Sunday March 24
The disarming case to act right now on climate change.
Meet Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old climate activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. In this featured TED Talk she gives a passionate call to action and explains why and how, in August 2018, she walked out of school and organized a strike to raise awareness of global warming by protesting outside the Swedish parliament and grabbing the world's attention. According to Thunberg, "The climate crisis has already been solved and we have all the facts and solutions; all we have to do is to wake up and change." Moderator: Linda Classon.
Sunday March 17
How to Have a Good Conversation. 
Reaching agreement begins with having a good conversation. Yet we live in a world where our politicians can’t speak with  one another. Why is it so difficult to talk with people that we disagree with? According to Celeste Headlee, a good conversation requires a balance between talking and listening, and most people don’t know how to really listen. In this featured TED Talk, she gives 10 ways to have a better conversation.  
Sunday March 3
How to transform apocalypse fatigue into action on global warming. 
The biggest obstacle to dealing with climate disruptions lies between your ears, says psychologist and economist Per Espen Stokes. He's spent years studying the defenses we use to avoid thinking about the demise of our planet -- and figuring out a new way of talking about global warming that keeps us from shutting down. Step away from the doomsday narratives and learn how to make caring for the earth feel personable, do-able and empowering with this uplifting and informative TED Talk.
Sunday February 24
Can we create new senses for humans?
As humans, we can perceive less than a ten-trillionth of all light waves. "Our experience of reality is constrained by our biology," says neuroscientist David Eagleman in this special TED Talk. He wants to change that. His research into our brain processes has led him to create new interfaces -- such as a sensory vest -- to take in previously unseen information about the world around us. Eagleman helps decode the mysteries of the tangled web of neurons and electricity that make our minds tick -- and also make us human.
Sunday February 17
What your breath could reveal about your health.
There's no better way to stop a disease than to catch and treat it early, before symptoms occur. That's the whole point of medical screening techniques like radiography, MRIs and blood tests. But there's one medium with overlooked potential for medical analysis: your breath.
In this fascinating TED talk from November 2018, Technologist, Dr. Julian Burschka shares the latest in the science of breath analysis -- the screening of the volatile organic compounds in your exhaled breath -- and how it could be used as a powerful tool to detect, predict and ultimately prevent disease. TED@Merck, Darmstadt, Germany.
Sunday February 3
The discoveries awaiting us in the ocean's twilight zone. 
What will we find in the twilight zone: the vast, mysterious, virtually unexplored realm hundreds of meters below the ocean's surface? Heidi M. Sosik of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution wants to find out. In this wonder-filled talk, she shares her plan to investigate these uncharted waters, which may hold a million new species and 90 percent of the world's fish biomass, using submersible technology. What we discover there won't just astound us, Sosik says -- it will help us be better stewards of the world's oceans.
Sunday January 20
Quantum Computing explained in 10 minutes.
A quantum computer isn't just a more powerful version of the computers we use today; it's something else entirely. Enter the quantum wonderland with TED Fellow Shohini Ghose and learn how this technology holds the potential to transform medicine, create unbreakable encryption and even teleport information. Filmed at TEDWomen, November 2018. Join us at 11:30. All are welcome.
Sunday January 6
The radical possibilities of man-made DNA.
Every cell that's ever lived has been the result of the four-letter genetic alphabet: A, T, C and G – the basic units of DNA. But now that's changed. In this visionary TED talk, synthetic biologist Floyd E. Romesberg introduces us to the first living organisms created with six-letter DNA – the four natural letters plus two new man-made ones, X and Y – and explores how this breakthrough could challenge our basic understanding of nature's design.
Sunday December 30
12 truths I learned from life and writing.
With disarming familiarity, Anne Lamott tackles what most don’t like to consider. Her honest writing helps us make sense of life’s chaos. In this compelling TED Talk, she dives into the nuances of being a human who lives in a confusing, beautiful, emotional world, offering her characteristic life-affirming wisdom and humor on family, writing, the meaning of God, death and more.
Sunday December 23
A Lesson on Looking.
Are you looking closely? Esse est percipi? Visual educator Amy Herman explains how to use art to enhance your powers of perception and find connections where they may not be apparent. Learn the techniques Herman uses to train Navy SEALs, doctors and crime scene investigators to convert observable details into actionable knowledge with this insightful talk.
Sunday December 16
3 myths about the future of work (and why they’re not true).
Will machines replace humans? Daniel Susskind confronts this question and three misconceptions we have about our automated future, suggesting we ask something else: How will we distribute wealth in a world when there will be less, or even no work? Join us for this inspiring TED Talk about one aspect of the impact of Artificial Intelligence— followed by group discussion.
Sunday December 2
How a long forgotten virus could help us solve the antibiotics crisis​.
Viruses have a bad reputation – but some of them could one day save your life, says biotech entrepreneur Alexander Belcredi. In this fascinating talk, he introduces us to phages, naturally-occurring viruses that hunt and kill harmful bacteria with deadly precision and shows how these once forgotten organisms could provide new hope against the growing threat of antibiotic resistant superbugs.