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Discussion series "Please Irritate Me!"

An insight starts with curiosity, but it often ends with irritation. Knowledge that suspends our perception and judgment routines can irritate us. At the same time, it motivates us to question the familiar. Along with the audience, we want to be irritated by unusual research questions, original approaches, and the latest findings that challenge existing theoretical frameworks. And the project partners Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft and Die Junge Akademie are interested in topics that have either been neglected or have never been researched, including outlying, unapparent, and surprising subjects.

a woman with short hair wearing a black turtleneck — Photo: Jenna Dallwitz

Please Irritate Me #3 - Modeling our world (with Viola Priesemann)
In German

Tuesday, 05.11.2024, 18:30–20:00 Uhr

BRICKS Club Berlin, Mohrenstr. 30, 10117 Berlin

Talking about parallels between neural and social networks, the informative value of models, and the philosophical and social implications of her research: Peter-André Alt in conversation with physicist Viola Priesemann.

How can we use formulae to describe the human brain and human society? To what extent do the brain and society share similar structures? How do such complex systems interact and learn? Viola Priesemann studies how the human brain processes information. She is particularly interested in how the brain recognizes mistakes and learns from the slightest discrepancies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Priesemann’s reputation as an expert on modeling complex systems spread far beyond her own discipline. Why? Because she and her team discovered that propagation processes can be modeled in very similar ways, regardless of whether we are dealing with the activity of 80 billion neurons or a virus spreading among 8 billion people.

Priesemann uses mathematical methods to decode the underlying physical principles of neural or social networks and to develop a general theory of living, learning networks. Her models reduce complex reality to the essentials. “Models force us to achieve clarity,” she says in an interview. Models also promote clarity when evaluating possible consequences for society, whether in the context of fighting pandemics, fake news, or the development of artificial intelligence. These are topics that we don’t necessarily associate with the work of a physicist, and which are all the more surprising as a result. Besides her research, Viola Priesemann and Peter-André Alt will also talk about how public discourse on scientific topics should be conducted.

Please register on the website of the Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft.

The event will be held in German.

lächelnder Mann mit Brille, dunklen Haaren und Sakko — Foto: Christopher Degelmann

Please Irritate Me #2 - Fake News and meat consumption in antiquity (with Christopher Degelmann)
In German

Tuesday, 01.10.2024, 19:00–20:30 Uhr

BRICKS Club Berlin, Mohrenstr. 30, 10117 Berlin

Covering the fresh perspective of a young ancient historian, new methods in ancient history, and the ability to be amazed. Peter-André Alt in conversation with Christopher Degelmann.

Was fake news an issue in ancient Athens? Were the ancient Greeks better at dealing with unconfirmed information? Despite being at home in a rather traditional discipline, Christopher Degelmann’s research in ancient history leans towards the unconventional, integrating contemporary debates and drawing on methodological approaches from other disciplines.

For a long time, knowledge about antiquity has been a mark of distinction worn by the educated bourgeoisie. Today, however, interest in the era is fading. With his research, Degelmann is dusting off the cabinets of Greco-Roman history, enabling a fresh look at our antique heritage. His most recent project takes contemporary debates on flight shaming, car bans, and meat consumption as a starting point to explore the notion of austerity in antiquity.

To him, irritation is one of his most important sources of inspiration, which he defines as the ability to be amazed. This ability does not necessarily raise new questions for research. Rather, it inspires Christopher Degelmann to question irreconcilable structures in academia, which will be one of the topics in his conversation with Peter-André Alt.

The event will be held in German.

Please Irritate Me #1 - Money from nothing (with Andrea Binder, 24.04.2024)

participating Members

- Andrea Binder
  
  person_research_subject
  
  International Political Economy
  
  institution
  
  Freie Universität Berlin
  
  E-mail
  
  andrea.binder@fu-berlin.de
- Christopher Degelmann
  
  person_research_subject
  
  Ancient History
  
  institution
  
  Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  
  Phone
  
  +49 30 2093-70511
  
  E-mail
  
  christopher.degelmann@hu-berlin.de

Activities

- Please Irritate Me: Modeling our world
  
  Peter-André Alt in conversation with physicist Viola Priesemann, talking about parallels between neural and social networks, the informative value of models, and the philosophical and social implications of her research.
  
  Topics:
  - Event
  - science communication
  Starts on
  
  05.11.24
  
  Ends on
  
  05.11.24
  
  Event access: Public
  
  BRICKS Club Berlin
  Mohrenstr. 30
  10117 Berlin
  Link
  
  18:30 — 20:00
- Please Irritate Me: Fake news and meat consumption in antiquity
  
  Covering the fresh perspective of a young ancient historian, new methods in ancient history, and the ability to be amazed. Peter-André Alt in conversation with Christopher Degelmann.
  
  Topics:
  - Event
  - society
  - Europe
  Starts on
  
  01.10.24
  
  Event access: Public
  
  BRICKS Club Berlin
  Mohrenstr. 30
  10117 Berlin
  Link
  
  19:00 — 21:00
- Please Irritate Me: Money from nothing
  
  Public discussion series by Die Junge Akademie and the Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft: Peter-André Alt talks with guests about new perspectives in science and research. Series of events kicks off with Andrea Binder.
  
  Tax havens are not only used to hide financial assets, but also to increase them. Political scientist Andrea Binder investigates how this works and why this practice is so precarious. Global banks headquartered in Germany and elsewhere use offshore financial centers such as the Cayman Islands to hand out cheap loans in US dollars to other banks, corporations, and companies around the world. With every loan that is disbursed in US dollars, the offshore banks increase US dollar supply, they ‘create foreign currency’. This process is subject neither to financial supervision nor to political control, undermines rules that would apply to banks in their home markets, and contributes to increasing inequality.
  
  Topics:
  - Event
  - society
  - Europe
  Starts on
  
  24.04.24
  
  Event access: Public
  
  Berliner Sparkasse
  Alexanderplatz 2
  10178 Berlin
  Link
  
  19:00

Please Irritate Me #3 - Modeling our world (with Viola Priesemann) In German

Tuesday, 05.11.2024, 18:30–20:00 Uhr

BRICKS Club Berlin, Mohrenstr. 30, 10117 Berlin

Please Irritate Me #2 - Fake News and meat consumption in antiquity (with Christopher Degelmann) In German

Tuesday, 01.10.2024, 19:00–20:30 Uhr

BRICKS Club Berlin, Mohrenstr. 30, 10117 Berlin

Please Irritate Me #1 - Money from nothing (with Andrea Binder, 24.04.2024)

participating Members

Andrea Binder

Christopher Degelmann

Activities

Please Irritate Me: Modeling our world

Please Irritate Me: Fake news and meat consumption in antiquity

Covering the fresh perspective of a young ancient historian, new methods in ancient history, and the ability to be amazed. Peter-André Alt in conversation with Christopher Degelmann.

Please Irritate Me: Money from nothing

Public discussion series by Die Junge Akademie and the Wübben Stiftung Wissenschaft: Peter-André Alt talks with guests about new perspectives in science and research. Series of events kicks off with Andrea Binder.

Please Irritate Me #3 - Modeling our world (with Viola Priesemann)
In German

Please Irritate Me #2 - Fake News and meat consumption in antiquity (with Christopher Degelmann)
In German