Simon Singh has been unearthing scientific and mathematical mysteries for more than 20 years. Here he will introduce his new book, The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets, which explores the vast amount of mathematics smuggled into the world’s most successful sitcom.

Author, journalist and TV producer Singh’s BAFTA-winning documentary Fermat’s Last Theorem was also the subject of his first book, with later acclaimed titles covering the Big Bang theory, alternative medicine and code-breaking.

After the show Singh will sign copies of his books, which will also be for sale.

Tickets £7, discounts £5

Egyptomania: The Allure of Ancient Egypt
With Henrietta McCall, Department of the Middle East, British Museum

2pm Saturday, 11 October 2014 at Ashmolean Museum | Venue Information

Henrietta McCall talks about the enduring appeal of ancient Egypt in western culture. She assesses how it began with Napoleon in the early 19th century; how symbols and imagery from antiquity inspired architecture, gardens, furniture and fashion; and how in the 1920s that appeal reached its climax with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

Join Professor Nick Bostrom for a talk on his new book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, and a journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the human condition and the future of intelligent life.

The book talk will be followed by a book signing and drinks reception.

This book talk will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jupxhH9mE-g

About the book:
The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. Other animals have stronger muscles or sharper claws, but we have cleverer brains.

If machine brains one day come to surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become very powerful. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on us humans than on the gorillas themselves, so the fate of our species then would come to depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.

But we have one advantage: we get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed AI or otherwise to engineer initial conditions so as to make an intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled detonation?

Imagine that Plato came to life in the twenty-first century and embarked on a multi-city speaking tour. How would he mediate a debate between a Freudian psychoanalyst and a ‘tiger mum’ on how to raise the perfect child? How would he handle the host of a right-wing news program who denies there can be morality without religion? What would Plato make of Google, and of the idea that knowledge can be crowdsourced rather than reasoned out by experts? Rebecca Newberger Goldstein attempts to answer these questions and more…

‘Tutankhamun and Co. Ltd’: Arthur Weigall and the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

With Julie Hankey, author of ‘A Passion for Egypt: Arthur Weigall, Tutankhamun and the Curse of the Pharaohs’

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 14 Oct, 2.30‒3.30pm

From 1905 to 1912, Arthur Weigall was Howard Carter’s successor as Chief Inspector of Antiquities for Upper Egypt. He used his position to conduct a campaign against government practice of allowing amateur collectors to excavate for private profit. With Tutankhamun’s discovery, Weigall came into open conflict with Carter’s patron, Lord Carnarvon, over his exclusive contract with The Times, and ‒ at a time of political unrest in Egypt ‒ over his assumption of rights to the contents of the tomb.

The Jerash and Decapolis Cities
With Linda Farrar, historian and archaeologist

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Thurs 16 Oct, 2–4pm (inc. tea & cake),

Today, the ancient Greco-Roman Decapolis region straddles the countries of Jordan, Israel and Syria. This lecture explores the distinct characteristics of the cities of Jerash, Gedara, Pella and Philidelphian (Aman) and tells the stories of each cities unique role in the development of this historic region.

We invite you to join us at 3pm each day from Monday 13th October to Friday 17th October when five leading academics will be lighting up Blackwell’s Bookshop and talking about their passion for their subject.

Marianne Talbot Director of Studies in Philosophy at the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education “What Does Studying Philosophy Teach Us?”

These talks are free to attend, places are limited so please arrive early to ensure a seat. For more information please visit our Customer Service Department at Blackwell’s Bookshop, Broad Street, Oxford. Alternatively, contact our Customer Service Desk Tel: 01865 333623 email: events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk

“Everywhere the Glint of Gold”: Colourising Tutankhamun’s Tomb
With Liam McNamara, Ashmolean Keeper for Ancient Egypt and Sudan and co-curator of ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’ exhibition

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sat 18 Oct, 2‒3pm

Howard Carter’s evocative description of the ‘wonderful things’ he saw upon entering Tutankhamun’s tomb continues to capture the public’s imagination. The excavation of the tomb and its contents were documented in black and white photographs taken by Harry Burton. This talk explores the various methods by which the excavators – and their successors – sought to ‘colourise’ the contents of the king’s tomb, from 20th-century gouache paintings on ivory, to the latest in 21st-century digital imaging techniques.

Tutankhaten ‒ Prince and King
With Dr Marianne Eaton-Krauss, independent scholar

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 21 Oct, 2.30‒ 3.30pm

The name of Tutankhamun is familiar throughout the world, yet academics continue to dispute not only the identity of the boy king’s parents, but also the meaning of the name he was given at birth, Tutankhaten. This lecture explores these questions and examines objects that document his life up until the moment the decision was taken to alterhis name to Tutankhamun, marking the conclusion of a campaign to restore the god Amun to his traditional place at the head of the pantheon from which he had been toppled by the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten.

cycle BOOM: Investigating how cities and bicycles shape older peoples’ experiences of cycling.

cycle BOOM is a 3-year study by Oxford Brookes to understand cycling among the older population and how this affects independence, health and wellbeing. The ultimate aim is to advise policy makers and practitioners how our environment and technologies can be designed to help people to continue to cycle in older age or to reconnect with cycling.
Ben Spencer will talk about the project and share some of the early findings from the first wave of research this summer.

Eating Restoration Glue to Stay Alive: A History of Hermitage
With Dr Rosalind P. Blakesley, University of Cambridge

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Wed 22 Oct, 11am–12pm

The Hermitage is an institute like no other,
 housing over 3 million objects in buildings as iconic as the Winter Palace, seat of the Romanov dynasty until its spectacular fall from grace in 1917. As the Hermitage celebrates its 250th anniversary, Dr Blakesley charts its history from the lavish patronage of Catherine the Great to the unparalleled acquisitions of Impressionist and Post- Impressionist works.

Tutankhamun and Revolution
With Dr Paul Collins, Jaleh Hearn Curator for Ancient Near East and co-curator of ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sat 25 Oct, 2‒3pm

This talk considers three historical periods when the image and idea of Tutankhamun became a focus for revolution both in Egypt and beyond. Starting in the ancient world, the revolutions of the Amarna age, into which Tutankhamun was born, witnessed a transformation in the concept of kingship. In the early 20th century, as Egypt claimed independence from British control, Tutankhamun became a symbol of opposition to imperial rule. Finally, in recent years, Egypt has faced political upheaval and revolutionaries
have again employed the image of Tutankhamun.

Despite our extensive knowledge of the major challenges the world faces during coming decades, impasse exists in global attempts to address economic, climate, trade, security, and other key issues. The Chancellor will examine the implications of this gridlock, drawing on the work of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations – of which he is a member – as well as experiences from his distinguished political and diplomatic career.

This lecture is also being live webcast on youtube, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3QmvwvHCk

About the Speaker

Lord Patten joined the Conservative Research Department in 1966. He was seconded to the Cabinet Office in 1970 and was personal assistant and political secretary to Lord Carrington and Lord Whitelaw when they were Chairmen of the Conservative Party from 1972-1974. In 1974 he was appointed the youngest ever Director of the Conservative Research Department, a post which he held until 1979.

Lord Patten was elected as Member of Parliament for Bath in May 1979, a seat he held until April 1992. In 1983 he wrote The Tory Case, a study of Conservatism. Following the General Election of June 1983, Lord Patten was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office and in September 1985 Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science. In September 1986 he became Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1989 and was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1998. In July 1989 he became Secretary of State for the Environment. In November 1990 he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Lord Patten was appointed Governor of Hong Kong in April 1992, a position he held until 1997, overseeing the return of Hong Kong to China. He was Chairman of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland set up under the Good Friday Peace Agreement, which reported in 1999. From 1999 to 2004 he was European Commissioner for External Relations, and in January 2005 he took his seat in the House of Lords. In 2006 he was appointed Co-Chair of the UK-India Round Table. He was Chairman of the BBC Trust from 2011-2014.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He served as Chancellor of Newcastle University from 1999 to 2009, and was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 2003. His publications include What Next? Surviving the 21st Century (2008); Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs (2005) and East and West (1998), about Asia and its relations with the rest of the world.

The Time of the Gods: Myths from Ancient Egypt (STUDY DAY)
With Dr Garry Shaw, Egyptologist and author

Tue 28 Oct, 10.30am‒4pm

An introduction to Egypt’s creation myths and a history of the reigns of these gods on earth. This study day will cover myths, both well-known and the more obscure, related to notable deities such as Re, Amun, Osiris, Horus and Isis.

Unwrapping Tutankhamun
With Dr Christina Riggs, Senior Lecturer, School of Art History and World Art Studies, University of East Anglia

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 28 Oct, 2.30‒3.30pm

After three years of work in the tomb, Howard Carter and his team were ready to reveal the body of Tutankhamun. Using photographs and diaries from the excavation, this illustrated lecture follows Carter’s work in stages as they worked through the layers of wrappings around Tutankhamun’s body, and considers what else we can learn from the unwrapping of other materials in the tomb.

Fit for a Pharaoh: The Authorised Facsimile of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
With Adam Lowe, Director and Founder of Factum Arte
Gallery 21, Ashmolean Museum
Wed 29 Oct, from 6.30pm

The ticket price includes: a talk by Adam Lowe of Factum Arte; a tour of the Discovering Tutankhamun exhibition; and a drink at a special wine reception in the Ashmolean’s vaulted café.

Before Egypt’s recent political revolution, the tomb of Tutankhamun was viewed by up to 1,000 visitors per day. This had a dramatic effect on the tomb, which resulted in a deterioration of the structure of the walls. Using digital technology to record the tomb’s interior in unparalleled detail, Factum Arte produced a full-scale facsimile that can be visited at Luxor, thus relieving pressure on the actual tomb. Adam Lowe explains the process behind the production of the facsimile and explores current debates about the creation of replicas to preserve the world’s cultural heritage for future generations.

Japonism and the Impressionists
With Julian Heslewood, art historian

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Thurs 30 Oct, 2–3pm

During the Renaissance, the new science of perspective allowed western artists to create art that depicted the world in a realistic way, showing perspective, depth and volume like never before.
In the 19th century western artists discovered that Japanese print makers had used other techniques to depict the real world. Monet, Van Gogh and many others adapted these discoveries in to their own methods creating an unconventional and exciting visual experience.

Most moral philosophers and psychologists focus on explicit moral beliefs that people give as answers to questions. However, much research in social psychology shows that implicit moral attitudes (unconscious beliefs or associations) also affect our thinking and behavior. This talk will report our new psychological and neuroscientific research on implicit moral attitudes (using a process dissociation procedure) and then explore potential implications for scientific moral psychology as well as for philosophical theories of moral epistemology, responsibility, and virtue. If there is time, I will discuss practical uses of these findings in criminal law, especially regarding the treatment of psychopaths and prediction of their recidivism.

Dress up to party like it’s 1922 and discover the decade’s fascination with Ancient Egypt at an evening of Jazz Age performances, workshops and talks.

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FREE ENTRY
7 – 10.30pm
Halloween night: Friday 31 October 2014

The Rooftop Bar and Vaulted Café will be serving drinks until 10.30pm.

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For programme news see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1445682889032169/
or
http://www.ashmolean.org/livefriday

This intensive Sunday course is for anyone interested in exploring the question of ‘What should I do?’ Every one of us will have experienced situations in our lives in which the right course of action did not seem clear to us. Throughout the day we will blend theory with discussion, considering the works of some of the greatest thinkers of all time, ranging from Aristotle to more contemporary, before applying this to controversial debates: euthanasia, abortion, and the death penalty. In the end, we will also consider the worrying question of whether we can ever be morally responsible for anything we do.

This course runs from 10am – 5pm on Sunday 2nd November.

For more details, and to sign up go to knowledgeproject.co.uk, or email alison@knowledgeproject.co.uk

About us:

The Knowledge Project offers affordable evening classes in exciting subjects. Our classes are taught by specialists in small, friendly groups (no more than ten) and are centred on lively discussion. We are a social enterprise and all our proceeds go to local children’s charity Jacari.

In the coming term we also have spaces available on:

– Shakespeare
– Environmental Science
– Novel Writing
– Anthropology
– Psychology
– Contemporary Art

Courses are held over 8 evening sessions (£80) or in a single intensive Sunday (£50).

Professor Marni Thomas Wood, of Berkley University and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, in association with DANSOX (Dance Scholarship Oxford) discuss Working with Martha Graham. Free, all welcome, no booking required.

Sherpa Adventure Gear presents the BMC Club Autumn Lecture series! The Oxford University Mountaineering Club will be hosting Neil Gresham and Kenton Cool to speak at the Oxford Maths Department (Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HD) on Wednesday the 5th of November at 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm, there will be a raffle in the interval, with the final lecture finishing at 9:30pm. Tickets for this exciting event will cost £8, and can be purchased here or on the door.

Neil is one of Britain’s most well known all-round climbers and is one of the few climbers in the world to have climbed E10. He is also the UK’s most experienced climbing coach, and is the training columnist for Climber magazine and Rock & Ice magazine.

Kenton is the holder of the British record for most Mount Everest summits, recently completing the ‘Triple Crown’ of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse in three days. He is also a Piolet d’Or nominee for a route on Annapurna III and was the first British person to complete a ski descent of an 8,000m peak.

Professor Sarah Whatmore, head of School of Geography and the Environment, will speak about ‘Living with flooding: the science and politics of flood risk management’.

Sarah Whatmore is Professor of Environment and Public Policy at the University of Oxford and one of the world’s leading scholars on the relationship between environmental science and the democratic governance of environmental risks and hazards. She has worked extensively on the conditions that give rise to the public contestation of environmental expertise; the dynamics and consequences of environmental knowledge controversies for public policy-making; and the design of methods for conducting environmental research that enable the knowledge of affected communities to inform the ways in which environmental problems are framed and addressed.

Professor Whatmore is currently Head of the School of Geography and the Environment and Associate Head (Research) of the Social Sciences Division at the University of Oxford. She is an elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences (AcSS) and the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (RGS) and has served on its Council. She is also a member of the Social Science Expert Panel advising the UK Government’s Departments of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
A free lunch is provided. To book a place please email ahdg@st-annes-mcr.org.uk

A public meeting with a short introductory talk followed by questions and discussion.

Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and ‘pleasure hardening into boredom’
Thursday 6 November, 7:30pm to 9:00pm
The Mitre, corner of High St and Turl St (upstairs function room)
All welcome

Organised by Oxford Communist Corresponding Society.

The 35th Annual Barlow Lecture
Yongle to Zhengtong: Fifty Years that Changed Chinese Art?
With Professor Craig Clunas, University of Oxford

Friday 7 November , 5-6 pm, Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sir Alan Barlow (1881-1968) was a leading 20th-century collector of Chinese and other eastern ceramics. Deeply committed to public education, he left the collection as a trust to be used in universities and museums by the widest possible audience and it is now on loan in the Ashmolean museum, where pieces can be seen throughout the Chinese displays and in the Islamic gallery. This year’s lecture focuses on the British Museum’s autumn blockbuster show Ming: 50 Years that changed China and is delivered by the exhibition’s co- curator Craig Clunas.

Free, booking required. Contact:

T 01865 288001
E eastern.art@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

Department of Eastern Art,
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford OX1 2PH

Childhood in a New Age:
Adults Look at Children, Children Look at Themselves in Russia, 1890‒1920

With Professor Catriona Kelly, University of Oxford

Saturday 8 November, 11am–12pm
At the Ashmolean Museum – Lecture Theatre

During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the Russian Empire underwent a period of hectic change at every level. This talk, based on the literature and visual arts of the period, as well as journalism, family history and the writings of children, explores how the massive changes of the era affected the Empire’s youngest citizens.

Tickets are £5/£4 concessions and booking is recommended as places are limited.
Visit http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

Globalisation has brought us vast benefits including growth in incomes, education, innovation and connectivity. Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School, argues that it also has the potential to destabilise our societies. In The Butterfly Defect: How globalisation creates systemic risks, and what to do about it, he and co-author Mike Mariathasan, Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Vienna, argue that the recent financial crisis is an example of the risks that the world will face in the coming decades.

The risks spread across supply chains, pandemics, infrastructure, ecology, climate change, economics and politics. Unless these risks are addressed, says Goldin, they could lead to greater protectionism, xenophobia, nationalism and to deglobalisation, rising conflict and slower growth.

The book talk will be followed by a book signing and drinks reception

This book talk will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuW2rgtZuIM

About the Book
Global hyperconnectivity and increased system integration have led to vast benefits, including worldwide growth in incomes, education, innovation, and technology. But rapid globalization has also created concerns because the repercussions of local events now cascade over national borders and the fallout of financial meltdowns and environmental disasters affects everyone. The Butterfly Defect addresses the widening gap between systemic risks and their effective management. It shows how the new dynamics of turbo-charged globalization has the potential and power to destabilize our societies. Drawing on the latest insights from a wide variety of disciplines, Ian Goldin and Mike Mariathasan provide practical guidance for how governments, businesses, and individuals can better manage risk in our contemporary world.

Goldin and Mariathasan assert that the current complexities of globalization will not be sustainable as surprises become more frequent and have widespread impacts. The recent financial crisis exemplifies the new form of systemic risk that will characterize the coming decades, and the authors provide the first framework for understanding how such risk will function in the twenty-first century. Goldin and Mariathasan demonstrate that systemic risk issues are now endemic everywhere in supply chains, pandemics, infrastructure, ecology and climate change, economics, and politics. Unless we are better able to address these concerns, they will lead to greater protectionism, xenophobia, nationalism, and, inevitably, deglobalization, rising conflict, and slower growth.

The Butterfly Defect shows that mitigating uncertainty and systemic risk in an interconnected world is an essential task for our future.

Why Film Matters
Part of the Why Philosophy Matters Series

With Professor Stephen Mulhall, New College, Oxford University

Wednesday 12 November, 6‒7.30pm, Ashmolean Education Centre

Join esteemed scholars to talk about the hot topics in contemporary culture and philosophical thought. In partnership with Oxford Brookes University and sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Free, no booking required, seats allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Entry via St Giles’ Street, drinks from 5.45pm.

Panel:

Professor Charles Godfray, Director, Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and author of the chapter How can 9-10 Billion People be Fed Sustainably and Equitably by 2050?
Professor Ian Goldin, Director, Oxford Martin School, Editor of Is the Planet Full? and author of the chapter Governance Matters Most
Professor Sarah Harper, Director, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, Oxford Martin School and author of the chapter Demographic and Environmental Transitions
Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Director, Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests, Oxford Martin School and author of the chapter The Metabolism of a Human-Dominated Planet
Dr Toby Ord, James Martin Fellow, Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology and author of the chapter Overpopulation or Underpopulation?
The panel will discuss whether our planet can continue to support a growing population estimated to reach 10 billion people by the middle of the century.

The panel discussion will be followed by a book signing and drinks reception.

This panel discussion will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIqDQP1Vjc

About the Book:
What are the impacts of population growth? Can our planet support the demands of the ten billion people anticipated to be the world’s population by the middle of this century?

While it is common to hear about the problems of overpopulation, might there be unexplored benefits of increasing numbers of people in the world? How can we both consider and harness the potential benefits brought by a healthier, wealthier and larger population? May more people mean more scientists to discover how our world works, more inventors and thinkers to help solve the world’s problems, more skilled people to put these ideas into practice?

In this book, leading academics with a wide range of expertise in demography, philosophy, biology, climate science, economics and environmental sustainability explore the contexts, costs and benefits of a burgeoning population on our economic, social and environmental systems.

Public Seminar: Thinking About the Brain

With speakers: Professor Chris Kennard; Professor Glyn Humphreys; Professor David Lomas; Dr Joshua Hordern; Dr Ayoush Lazikani; Dr Matthew Broome; Dr Chrystalina Antoniades

Thursday 20 November, 5.30-8.30pm
Ashmolean Education Centre

The evening will offer an opportunity to explore current research into the brain and the mind from a wide range of perspectives, from medieval literature to contemporary art and neuroscience.

Thinking About the Brain is a public seminar, forming part of the developing collaboration between the Ashmolean Museum’s University Engagement Programme and Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. It is being co-organised by Dr Jim Harris, Andrew W Mellon Foundation Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean, and Dr Chrystalina Antoniades, Lecturer in Medicine at Brasenose College and Senior Research Fellow in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

Open to all and free of charge. To ensure a place, please follow this link to e-mail Dr Jim Harris (at jim.harris @ ashmus.ox.ac.uk), or telephone 01865 288 287.