The Ministry for the Future—A Climate Change Adventure

Stem 1015

Thursday

Dates: 10/19 to 11/9 (4 weeks)

Time: 9:30–11:30 AM

Facilitator: Phil Nelson, Master Facilitator

Location: Online

Class Limit: 25 Participants

Sponsoring Site: West

What does the future hold for our warming planet? Kim Stanley Robinson tackles this question in a work of fiction, The Ministry for the Future, that takes us from India to Zurich to Antarctica to California. Participants are encouraged to read the book beforehand to learn about the work over three decades of a small, fictitious organization, the Ministry, to deal with the causes and consequences of heat waves, torrential rain, and melting ice while struggling against societal inertia and overt opposition. The facilitator will provide real-world case histories corresponding to the author’s scenarios of a planet in distress. Class participation is expected through readings and class members are asked to keep their video on. Welcome to the present and future world of climate change. [a quote from A.D. Hudson, writer: “Climate fiction can be one tool for making sense and meaning out of the enormity of the climate crisis; for creating narratives that drive positive collective action; and for exploring the possibility spaces of diverse climate futures.”]

Required book: The Ministry for the Future

Modern Cosmology

STEM 1014

Thursday

Dates: 10/5 to 11/9 (6 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Ed Friedman

Location: 1st Universalist

Class Limit: 20 Participants

Sponsoring Site: Central

This is a survey course of six, 2-hour classes related to the recent revolution in cosmology and astrophysics covering:

• The structure of the entire cosmos based on observations of galaxies and clusters of galaxies.

• The early universe and its production of light elements

• The cosmic microwave background and the information it has generated on dark energy, dark matter, and the geometry of the cosmos.

• New observational methods including gravitational wave sensors

• Updates on the latest discoveries

• Unanswered questions in cosmology and how they are being attacked

• A reading list and recommended YouTube videos (including all the lectures)

• Lectures notes and videos are made available to students

This is not a typical astronomy class; we won’t have much to say about our solar system. We’re thinking about the big picture using material culled from recent professional journals.

Online and Mobile Cyber Security Self-Protection Strategies for Seniors STEM 1009

Thursday

Dates: 9/21 to 10/12 (4 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Christopher Garcia

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: Regis

Instances of cyber hacking and cyber-attacks are increasing every year. Online and mobile cybercrime has no physical boundaries and there are bad people and organizations who are targeting the age-based vulnerability of seniors. Governments, organizations of all sizes, and most employers now hire expensive companies to protect them against the infiltration of cyber criminals and the exfiltration of their private data. This cyber defense is expensive and laborintensive. Who will protect our seniors from these attacks? We are our own first level of protection and our own first responders. This four-week course will help members identify the most frequent online and mobile technology cybercrime in use today and take action to combat this scourge on our most valuable of resources in our society today.

Rethinking the Big Bang: Impact of Recent Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope

OOTM 1008

Wednesday

Dates: 10/18 to 11/8 (4 weeks)

Time: 9:30–11:30 AM

Facilitator: Wilson Wiedenheft

Location: Frasier Meadows in Boulder

Class Limit: 45 Participants

Sponsoring Site: OLLI on the Move

With powerful new telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists are making observations that challenge some of our theories of the cosmos. We will explore recent discoveries, discussing how they support or disrupt our view of the universe. Prior knowledge of cosmology is not required, as we will review the underlying cosmological principles at an introductory level. Two areas of special focus include the early universe and exoplanets. Specific topics will be selected from recent publications. Examples include: A new map that could change the way we look at the night sky forever; What happens when a black hole destroys a star? What are we seeing in JWST’s first deep field image; JWST’s first glimpse of early galaxies could break cosmology.

Your Brain is You STEM 1005

Wednesday

Dates: 9/20 to 10/11 (4 weeks)

Time: 1–3 PM

Facilitator: Barbara Adams, Master Facilitator

Location: Online

Class Limit: Unlimited

Sponsoring Site: West

Has your brain been hijacked? Are you out of your mind?

There are two types of people in this world: those who view the glass as half-full, and those who see the glass as half-empty. This phenomenon is called perception, and our perceptions profoundly impact how we experience life.

In other words, we believe what we perceive to be accurate, and we create our own realities based on those perceptions. And although our perceptions feel very real, that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily factual. Does this mean our memories are true? Human memory involves the ability to both preserve and recover information. However, this is not a flawless process. Sometimes people forget or misremember things. Other times, information is not properly encoded in memory in the first place.

How often do your forget things? Do you remember everything perfectly? Do you have Alzheimer’s disease?

What are some new discoveries in Neuroscience? Where are we going with brain research?