A Symbolic Systems Distinguished Speaker Event - Ted Chiang on Magic vs. Imaginary Science
What is the difference between magic and imaginary science in fiction? How can they shed light on the way we understand the real world?
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What is the difference between magic and imaginary science in fiction? How can they shed light on the way we understand the real world?
This session is specifically designed for full-time graduate students within one year of obtaining their PhD, as well as current postdoctoral scholars, fellows, and researchers.

This session is specifically designed for full-time graduate students within one year of obtaining their PhD, as well as current postdoctoral scholars, fellows, and researchers.
Save the Date. Artificial intelligence is transforming how researchers collect, analyze, and learn from data. As AI systems become increasingly integrated into scientific discovery, business decision-making, and policy analysis, they are reshaping both the questions researchers can ask and the methods they use to answer them.

Save the Date. Artificial intelligence is transforming how researchers collect, analyze, and learn from data. As AI systems become increasingly integrated into scientific discovery, business decision-making, and policy analysis, they are reshaping both the questions researchers can ask and the methods they use to answer them.
The rapid acceleration of AI comes with a profound wave of anxiety. Across every sector of society, people are facing unsettling questions about their worth and their place in a shifting world.

The rapid acceleration of AI comes with a profound wave of anxiety. Across every sector of society, people are facing unsettling questions about their worth and their place in a shifting world.
Join us as we hear from Ted Chiang, American speculative fiction writer and author of Exhalation and “Story of Your Life,” the short story that was the basis of the 2016 film Arrival. Chiang's work has received four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and four Locus awards.
Presented by the Symbolic Systems Program. Co-sponsored by the English Department, Symbolic Systems Society, and Creative Writing Program.