PI Public Lecture Series:
Title: Brilliant Blunders
Abstract: Even the greatest scientists have made some serious blunders.
"Brilliant Blunders" concerns the evolution of life on Earth, of the Earth
itself, of stars, and of the universe as a whole.
In this talk, astrophysicist Dr. Mario Livio will explore and analyze major errors committed by such luminaries as Charles Darwin, Linus Pauling, and Albert Einstein. During this free talk, Dr. Livio will scrutinize the various types of blunders and attempt to explain how they happen. Blunders are not only inevitable, argues Dr. Livio, but also an integral component of the process of science.
Biography: Dr. Mario Livio is an internationally renowned astrophysicist, a bestselling author, and a popular speaker. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has published more than 400 scientific papers on topics ranging from dark energy and cosmology to black holes and extrasolar planets. Dr. Livio is also the author of five popular science books, including The Golden Ratio (a national bestseller for which he received the Peano Prize and the International Pythagoras Prize) and Is God a Mathematician?
His most recent book, Brilliant Blunders, was on the New York Times Best Sellers List, and was selected by The Washington Post as one of the 2013 Best Books of the Year.