ARTS DIARY
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Event host Mark Langtry, Jim Al-Khalili, Dr Liz Conlon and Sarah Jones.
NI Science Festival Director Sara
h Jones with Jim Al-Khalili.
Neil Jaques and Jillian Thompson.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili on stage.
June and Geoff Pike.
The Joy of Science The new-look Mandela Hall, located in Queen’s University’s revamped Students’ Centre, was abuzz recently for an inperson event with Jim Al-Khalili. As part of the NI Science Festival, the New York Times best-selling author and one of the UK’s top physicists - took to the stage to discuss his latest book, The Joy of Science. The distinguished Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Surrey explained to the audience - including NI Science Festival Director Sarah Jones; Festival founder Dr Liz Conlon; and Ann McVeigh and Ken Bartley from ArtisAnn gallery - that the book was not only to celebrate science but to also celebrate how we do science and what the scientific method is.
Dr Reg Haslett and Gillian Graham.
As part of his talk, Jim Al-Khalili explained the last time he was in Belfast was as part of the NI Science Festival in 2020, just before the world shut down due to the pandemic. After such a strange period in our collective history, it seems that science is now more at the forefront than ever. And, over the hour-long running time of the event, the renowned physicist took the audience on a scientific journey and provided fascinating insights into how science can help make life easier to navigate - from how to handle uncertainty and doubt, to coping with the general complexities of modern living. After a scintillating conversation, event host Mark Langtry opened the floor to questions from the audience.
Ann McVeigh and Ken Bartley.
As well as questions about worm holes and the quantum mechanical effects of human consciousness, one of the younger members of the audience revealed that they had aspirations to be an astrophysicist whilst another said, “I thought the talk was really good because you got to know everything about the universe.” As Jim Al-Khalili concluded his talk, he said, “We don’t kill the magic of our world if we learn how it works.” In fact, as this thought-provoking event showed, in many ways understanding science is the thing that can add to the joy and mystery of the world we live in. Jim Al-Khalili - The Joy of Science took place on 21 February.
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