Condensed concepts

Pint of Science is an annual event in cities all around Australia. Local scientists give short talks about their research to general audiences. I am speaking tonight, along with my colleague Ben Powell.  I found the tips to speakers very helpful. This led me to try and make the talk more of a personal story, reduce the amount of text on slides, and aim for engagement rather than focusing on scientific details or on technical details of your own research. Here is the current version of my slides. The introduction is based on this video and poem about emergence in economics. This provides an example of how "free" economic markets can work well sometimes. But I will also point out that they can also fail spectacularly , another emergent phenomenon! 

This past Monday, May 8, was a public holiday in Queensland, marking Labor Day. I don't know why we don't celebrate it on May 1, but that does not matter. In honour of the event, I post two relevant resources. The first resource is a moving video by Sabine Hossenfelder , who has carved out a post-academic income as a populariser of physics. The video is funny and sad, describing her own experience in academia leading to "Death of a Dream". Sabine has many poignant observations about the dysfunctionalities of physics in academia, from the personal to the intellectual. I find it sad that people who leave academia because they could not find a permanent job see themselves as a "failure." First,  most of the select few who get permanent jobs do so because they are at the right place at the right time , not because they are so much more brilliant and productive than others. Second, there is so much more to life than professional success. Finally, Sabine has been