Cafe Conversations @ Aladdins

A series of informal debate and conversations are currently taking place in Aladdins Cafe at the town end of Magdalen Street. Throughout the coming months, join scientists and academics from University of East Anglia as they present ideas about contemporary social and scientific topics. All welcome. See below for more details.

Café Conversation Topics  updated 1 FEB

Topic		Facilitator	Date & Time
			FEBRUARY
What is Infinity? Why is the universe infinite?  If a tree grows for an infinitely long time, will it be infinitely tall? What does "infinity" mean, and why is it so controversial and misunderstood?   In this Cafe Conversation we will answer these questions and more with interesting examples and thought experiments.  No mathematical experience is required, only a willingness to try out new ideas!		Robert Henderson and Lydia Rickett School of Mathematics	Friday         4 Feb     8 pm Saturday     5 Feb     3 pm Wednesday  9 Feb  12.30 pm
Increasing Happiness, Decreasing Consumption What makes us happy?  In this workshop we will do some simple exercises, hear a brief introduction to research findings on what generates wellbeing, and talk about how these findings translate into activities that have little or no cost to our purses or the Earth.		Teresa Belton School of Education	Saturday     19 Feb     3 pm
			MARCH
Too busy to be bored? Is feeling bored a good thing or a bad thing?  This conversation explores what older people mean by “being bored”.  Your input will help define various kinds of boredom and what value older people place on not being bored and on maintaining activities and social relationships.		Kathleen Lane Centre for Applied Research in Education	Saturday 5 March at 3pm
International Women’s Centenary International Women's Day (8 March) celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women.  The first International Women's Day event was run in 1911; 2011 is the Global Centenary Year.  As part of a city-wide series, the following talks will be offered: 1. Is a feminist approach in medical education possible? 2. Women and the glass ceiling		Andrea Stockl Sara Connelly	Wednesday 9 March 12.30 Thurs 10 March 12.30
OUR HERITAGE IN A CHANGING CLIMATE  The historic buildings and monuments in our cities bring character and context and stimulate tourism. In the 20th century improvements in air quality  have lessened the threat from pollution but more recently a changing climate has started to alter the appearance and weathering of buildings. This café will explore these changes and what they might mean for heritage management and our appreciation of the built environment.		Peter Brimblecombe School of Environmental Sciences	Friday 18 March 8 pm
Greenspeak: How to talk people into compost and other inconveniences Sexing up recycling: Can it be done? The conversation revolves around the techniques we might use to generate and created messages that might encourage the reluctant to recycle and the grudging to act green.		Simon Hampton School of Social Work & Psychology	Saturday 26 March 3pm
			APRIL
Engineering Earth Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have so far provided little confidence that we will avoid dangerous climate change. But can technology succeed where we have so far failed? The new science of Earth Engineering offers an array of promising and innovative new technologies designed to capture emissions and cool the planet; but raises a number of novel social, ethical, legal and political questions. Come and share your views on this rapidly evolving and vibrant topic.		Rob Bellamy Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research	Friday  1 April  8 pm
Bioplastics: Waste product or gold mine? The food and drink industry generates 12.6 million tonnes of waste per year, more than 10% of UK’s total.  Can food waste be used to make ‘bioplastics’  for packaging and other sustainable materials?		Dominique Georget School of Chemistry	TBA