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CATEGORIES:Zangwill Club
SUMMARY:Weaponized Lies: An American neuroscientist speaks
  on the post-truth era (and what we can do about i
 t) -  Daniel J\, Levitin PhD\, Minerva Schools at 
 Keck Graduate Institute and University of Californ
 ia at Berkeley
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20170127T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20170127T180000
UID:TALK69968AThttp://talks.cam.ac.uk
URL:http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/69968
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\nThe language we use has begun to obscure
  the relationship between facts and fantasy. “Fake
  news” is too gentle a euphemism for what it is: l
 ies. \nThis is a dangerous byproduct of a lack of 
 education in the U.S. (and\, I’m sad to say\, many
  other countries) that has now affected an entire 
 generation of citizens.  Lies now proliferate in o
 ur culture to an unprecedented degree.  It has mad
 e possible the weaponizing of lies so that they ca
 n all the more perniciously undermine our ability 
 to make good decisions for ourselves and for our f
 ellow citizens. A U.S. government survey found tha
 t more than one in five Americans could not locate
  information in text\, or make low-level inference
 s from printed materials. In this talk\, I will pr
 ovide a brief overview of the problem\, and share 
 examples of distortions\, misleading charts and fa
 lse claims. By way of these examples\, I outline a
 n educational defense against information illitera
 cy and the absurd notion that we live in a “post-t
 ruth” era.\n\nBio\nDaniel J. Levitin is a cognitiv
 e neuroscientist and best-selling author. He recei
 ved his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon under 
 Michael Posner\, and completed post-doctoral train
 ing in neuroimaging at Stanford University Medical
  School with Allan Reiss\, and in visual perceptio
 n at UC Berkeley with Stephen Palmer. He is James 
 McGill Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuros
 cience at McGill University\, where he holds affil
 iate appointments in Computer Science\, Education\
 , and Music. He is the Founding Dean of Arts & Hum
 anities at the Minerva Schools at KGI (Keck Gradua
 te Institute) in San Francisco\, a new\, accredite
 d undergraduate program that emphasizes critical t
 hinking and communication skills for the next gene
 ration of leaders and innovators. He is also Disti
 nguished Faculty Fellow at the Haas School of Busi
 ness\, UC Berkeley. He is the author of four conse
 cutive #1 bestselling books\, including This Is Yo
 ur Brain on Music and The Organized Mind. Prior to
  entering academia\, he worked as a record produce
 r in California\, earning 14 gold and platinum rec
 ords for sales in excess of 30 million records.\n\
 n
LOCATION:Anatomy Lecture Theatre\, Anatomy Building\, Depar
 tment of Physiology\, Development and Neuroscience
CONTACT:Louise White
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