My Worldcon 2012 schedule:
Thursday, August 30, 4:30–6:00pm
Hive Minds, Real and Fictional
Hive minds are a commonly used trope to make aliens more foreign. What do hive minds look like in reality and how do they compare to the depictions in fiction?
Carl Fink (moderator), Leo Korogodski, Ramez Naam, Tanglwyst de Holloway
Friday, August 31, 10:30am–12:00pm
Transhumanism and Space Exploration
Discussion about how humanity can evolve in order to explore space.
Geoffrey A. Landis, Karen Burnham (moderator), Leo Korogodski, Nancy Fulda, W A (Bill) Thomasson
Friday, August 31, 1:30–2:00pm
Reading: Leo Korogodski
Sunday, September 2, 3:00–4:30pm
The Future of Wetware
Are our brains really inferior to digital computers? Will the “wetware” become obsolete after the technological Singularity? Or are analog components, in one form or another, actually necessary for the ‘higher mind’ to develop?
Dale Cozort, Jonathan Stars, Katy Stauber, Kendall F.Morris, Leo Korogodski (moderator)
Sunday, September 2, 6:00–7:30pm
Galaxies in Plasma Lab
It was by looking at the spiral shape of galaxies and the rotation speeds of stars in them that astrophysicists suggested the existence of the so-called “dark matter,” which has so far eluded detection. Yet the evolution of galaxies has been successfully reproduced in plasma lab and subsequent computer simulations. Come hear about a controversial way to experimentally test astrophysical hypotheses.
Leo Korogodski