Is Geo-Engineering a Viable Alternative to Our Current Climate Change Initiatives?

Geo-engineering -- the idea that mankind can intentionally alter the earth's atmosphere to undo some of the effects of manmade climate change -- recently emerged from the worlds of academic papers and science fiction stories into public discourse, thanks to the broaching of the subject in the recent book SuperFreakonomics.

The Commonwealth Club's Climate One program investigated this topic in a recent program, which included Ken Caldeira, the atmospheric scientist at the heart of the SuperFreakonomics climate controversy.

"Mythbusters" Hosts Return to The Club

The men behind Discovery Channel’s “MythBusters,” Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, will be joining us for a Club talk in Palo Alto on March 13. The famous duo will share the stories behind their daring, often rudimentary and typically inadvisable tests of myths, rumors and complete hogwash with Kevin Kelly, Wired magazine’s founding executive editor.

The “MythBusters” story is near and dear to many hearts in the greater Bay Area, given that the show is produced locally, as well as many of the stunts (we’ve been warned). Since commencing their mildly quixotic and always entertaining mission to confirm or bust our favorite myths back in 2003, the team has reviewed a long list of seemingly plausible questions: Can a human pluck an arrow from midair? Does a tongue stud increase your chances of being struck by lighting? Are two, interlaced phone books impossible to pull apart? Does drafting behind tractor trailers actually save gas? The list, we’re glad to say, goes on.

According to Hyneman from the duo’s last visit to The Club, “We got some kind of education out of the process….  [but] I’m not sure what it is.”

Savage contributed, “The narrative of each show is about us trying to figure out what we want to learn about what we’re doing, and overlapping our various ignorances, and trying to come to some agreement through a process we call ‘arguing.’”

Levity aside, the reaction to “MythBusters” has been strong, positive and widespread, with the co-hosts appearing everywhere from universities to David Letterman's "The Late Show" to "CSI." We can’t wait to hear what the masterminds behind Blendo the Terrible have to say.

More info on this event and tickets online.

--By Andrew Harrison

Jonah Lehrer Video: Financial Decision-Making in the Brain

Science blogger Jonah Lehrer returned to The Commonwealth Club in January. In this excerpt, he discusses the psychology of financial decision making. Did you buy or sell a good stock? Lehrer might know more about why you did it than you do.

Some Truths behind the “MythBusters”

(Left to right: Moira Gunn, Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage. Photo by Beth Byrne.)

Stars of the hit TV show “MythBusters,” Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage addressed a packed house at The Commonwealth Club last Thursday night. On the show the daring special effects masters employ basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of the gamut of common rumors, myths, movie scenes, internet videos and news stories in popular culture. Dispelling everything from the notion that elephants are afraid of mice, to the theory that running in the rain helps one stay dry, to instructing viewers on how they might survive an airplane crash or escape from a sinking car, “MythBusters” has become one of the most widely viewed programs on the Discovery network, garnering a tremendous cult following.

NPR’s “Tech Nation” host Moira Gunn moderated the talk and began by asking the two men if they viewed themselves as scientists. Hyneman and Savage, who both live and work primarily in the Bay Area, agreed that rather than scientists, they see themselves as “curious, like dogs after a scent. We definitely don’t know more than you do,” replied Savage, who pointed out that he only has a high school diploma.

The conversation then turned to Hyneman and Savage’s pre-“MythBuster’s” career, which includes a stint as contestants on “Robot Wars.” Their robot, “Blendo,” became notorious among fans for being one of the fiercest competitors in the show’s history. “The first time we turned it on, it sliced through the wall of sandbags that was protecting us,” Savage explained. Because of the robot, they “acquired an aura of badness,” he continued. And, more important, they caught the eye of the future producer of “MythBusters.”

After producing a successful demo, Hyneman and Savage began taping the TV show at Hyneman’s shop, located at the base of Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Though fans have shown concern that the hosts will run out of myths, the men assured the audience that there are enough to produce entertaining episodes for years to come. When asked what they have learned about blowing things up, as they so often do, Savage lightheartedly replied, “Any day you don’t die is a good day.”

As Gunn began fielding questions from the audience, the conversation turned to what the men enjoy most about the show. “The most thrilling thing about doing what we’re doing is what goes on in our heads,” Hyneman said. And as the years wear on, Savage says, they are getting better at spotting risk and avoiding it. “If you see us on the street and we’re running, do your best to keep up,” Savage joked.

The discussion concluded with the men describing the impact the show has had on their lives, as well as the lives of their fans. Though they didn’t set out to make an educational show, they take pride in the response they have received from children and adults alike. Inspiring children is “the most humbling aspect of what we do,” Savage stated.
--Commonwealth Club Media and Public Relations Department

Michael Crichton, 1942-2008

Author Michael Crichton passed away on Tuesday, dying of cancer at the age of 66.

Best known for his science fiction novels such as Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, and Congo, Crichton was also a film and television creator/writer/director, having given the world the blockbuster medical drama "ER" and having written and directed 1973's Westworld. And if his writing wasn't necessarily great art, Crichton's writing in the worlds of science fact and science fiction were immensely popular, with his books selling a mind-boggling 150 million copies around the world.

Crichton's biggest professional success might have been that he was not categorized as a science fiction writer, despite the fact that he wrote about robotic societies, dinosaurs brought back to life, and communication with intelligent gorillas. A traditional definition of science fiction is a story extrapolating the effects of some scientific advance. (There's a never-ending dispute, of course, between purists who stick to that definition and others who want to include under the science fiction banner everything from a space fantasy such as Star Wars to magical fantasies such as Harry Potter. We'll spare you that discussion.)

Crichton, despite escaping the definition of a science fiction writer, stuck pretty close to the traditional definition of SF, producing stories exploring how people reacted individually and en masse to scientific developments. He certainly wasn't correct all the time in his predictions, but his career suggested a serious attempt to meet head-on the challenges that come about from our scientific progress (and occasional scientific transgressions).

In a famous speech delivered to The Commonwealth Club on September 15, 2003, Crichton attacked climate-change theorists as adherents of a new religion. (Read the entire speech.) Delivered as a defense of sound science and a critique of emotion-fueled pseudo-science, his speech has long been a milestone in the debate between people worried about the effects of man-made climate change and people who questioned the assumptions behind the other group's claims.

Crichton is survived by his wife and other family members.

Dr. Leonard Susskind on The Black Hole War