I’d like to tell you about the “Categorically Not!” project that the excellent science writer KC Cole started in Los Angeles in January. Every month there’s a loose theme chosen (examples so far being “holes”, “strings”, “fluid dynamics”, “uncertainty”) and people present little talks or discussions on the theme. KC draws from scientists, artists, musicians, writers, actors, poets, dancers, playwrights, etc. The variety of people you can get in LA is of course huge, and so there’s plenty of local talent, but sometimes speakers from further afield too. (Note some of the resonance with Cafe Scientifique, mentioned by Mark in another post.)
Who are the people who show up to take part? Quite a cross-section from the community of the general public from Santa Monica, Venice, and West LA, but also elsewhere around the city and beyond. (There are also academics in the audience from USC, UCLA, Caltech and other educational institutions too). It takes place once a month on a Sunday evening in a space in the Santa Monica Art Studios which is a great space – a converted aircraft hangar down at Santa Monica Airport.
It’s a great opportunity to do a little to bring together people from many different disciplines and walks of life to have a fun discussion lubricated by coffee, juice, or wine, and which usually carries over to several groups going out to dinner. Sometimes the food gets ordered in and we just eat in the studios and look at the art.
From my perspective, (I played a part in the “Strings” one, as you might have guessed) it was a great chance to explain some key aspects of what science is about to people who want to listen, and to learn about how others think about about the world; for example how ideas/issues can be framed if one does not have a science-first perspective. It’s a tremendous amount of fun, and if you’re in the area, please drop in and sit with us.
There’s a website here with information on past programs, and it will announce future ones too, along with meet times and directions for getting there.
-cvj
August 9th, 2005 at 11:03 am
Great website for CategoricallyNot! I especially appreciate the events link so that I can be sure to mark my calendar. It’s worth visiting the hangar just to peruse the artwork. But by far the best part of CategoricallyNot! is how it excites the audience about science and thinking in new ways. Thanks for the info. -JMC
August 9th, 2005 at 1:23 pm
Thanks! I hope that it will be a useful portal for all. We’ll try to have the descriptive material for the upcoming events ready in advance within a reasonable time of the event.
I’m also glad to learn that there are Cosmicvariance readers who also come to Categorically Not!
-cvj
August 10th, 2005 at 8:07 am
The detail of the September event – Point of View – has now been added to the site. Contributions will be from an Anthropologist, a Journalist, and a Film-maker
-cvj
September 4th, 2005 at 5:53 pm
[...] This is a reminder, for those of you busy people in the Southland who need plenty of warning, to mark your calendars for September 18th. Recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. Well, the first one of the new season is approaching. Here is K.C. Cole’s teaser: Point of View [...]
October 25th, 2005 at 7:43 pm
[...] This is a reminder to mark your calendars for October 30th. Recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. The first one of the new season was a tremendous success, and I described it here. Well, the next one of the new season is on Sunday. Here is K.C. Cole’s teaser: Normally we think of space as an empty canvas—bland, passive and static. But Einstein taught us that space is elastic; it can wiggle and warp; bend light; cause objects to fall to the ground. Modern day physicists envision universes with up to 10 dimensions of space folded into complex shapes like so much Origami. Actors, athletes and dancers also explore space, using their bodies to make space palpable, filling it with structure, tension and emotion. Most basically, spaces are the places we inhabit; they can bring us together or keep us apart. The space we’re in determines, to a large extent, both our perspectives and our possibilities. [...]
October 27th, 2005 at 11:45 pm
[...] Here’s some news I’ve been bursting to tell you for a while, but had to wait until it was official. By reading it here you have the inside track on pretty much everybody. You may recall the science writer KC Cole, who I’ve mentioned before in connection with the programme Categorically Not! about which I’ve posted here, here and here, and whose comments also featured in a recent post by Sean. Well, she’s left the LA Times, and has move to… USC! [...]
November 3rd, 2005 at 8:50 pm
[...] A collaboration between LAS (Physics and Astronomy) and the Annenberg School of Communication (to extend and bring Categorically Not! which I’ve told you about here, here and here, to USC and also move it around the city.) [...]
November 18th, 2005 at 7:33 pm
[...] This is a reminder to mark your calendars for November 20th. Recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. The first one of the new season was a tremendous success, and I described it here, and there was another one since then, part of which I described here. [...]
November 29th, 2005 at 11:42 pm
[...] The other thing that’s nice about the Categorically Not! gatherings is the fact that you can wander in the other parts of the space (a giant aircraft hangar) and find interesting displays of art, and run into interesting people. One time, I ran into Julie Weiss! You’ve no idea who that is, right? Thought not. Well, you probbaly know her work. She is a designer in the film industry, and she’s helped set the overall look of several films, including American Beauty, Frida, The Ring (oh yes!), Twelve Monkeys, etc. Wonderful work that is understated and unsung….the overall look of a film is so important to how you see it, but we forget this and just credit everything to the director…… She’s just busily designing in the room next door while we’re doing our Categorically Not! stuff. Who knows what film I’ll be looking at sometime soon and seeing work that I could hear being done in the studio next door….we shall see! [...]
January 7th, 2006 at 10:14 am
[...] The next Categorically Not! is tomorrow! Recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. [...]
February 14th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
[...] The next Categorically Not! is Sunday. You may recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. They’re fantastic, and I strongly encourage you to come to them. [...]
March 13th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
[...] The next Categorically Not! is next Sunday (26th Feb.). You may recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. They’re fantastic, and I strongly encourage you to come to them. [...]
April 13th, 2006 at 11:26 am
[...] The next Categorically Not! is Sunday 23rd April. You may recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. They’re fantastic, and I strongly encourage you to come to them. [...]
May 25th, 2006 at 9:31 am
[...] The next Categorically Not! is Sunday 4th June. You may recall my post on the Categorically Not! series of events held at the Santa Monica Art Studios. They’re fantastic, and I strongly encourage you to come to them. Have a look at the last two descriptions here and here. [...]