Schedule
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Conference Schedule
Day 1 = Thursday, July 21
6:00p – 7:00p Welcome Reception, Sunnasalun, Saga Hotel
7:00p – until Opening Banquet, Sunnasalun, Saga Hotel
7:00p – 7:15p Welcome Remarks, Max Tegmark & Anthony Agiurre, FQXi
8:00p – 9:00p Kick-Off Talk, Wade Davis, Anthropologist & Ethnobotanist, National Geographic Society Explorer-In-Residence, with introduction by Stephon Alexander, Pennsylvania State University, National Geographic Emerging Explorer
Day 2 = Sunday, July 22
9:00a – 5:00p Overview Talks & Discussions, Harvard Conference Room & Adjacent, Saga Hotel
9.00a – 9.15a Opening Remarks: Max Tegmark & Anthony Aguirre, FQXi
9.15a – 9.45a Quantum Mechanics: Wojciech Zurek, Los Alamos National Laboratory
10.00a – 10.30a Particle Physics: Frank Wilczek, MIT
11.15a – 11.45a String Theory: Toby Wiseman, Imperial College
12.00p – 12.30p Non-String Quantum Gravity: Fotini Markopoulou, Perimeter Institute
2.00p – 2.30p Early Universe: Alan Guth, MIT
2.45p – 3.15p Late Universe: Abraham Loeb, Harvard University
4.00p – 4.30p Astrobiology & Complexity: Paul Davies, Arizona State University
4.45p – 5.00p Closing Remarks: Max Tegmark & Anthony Aguirre, FQXi
7:00p – until Icelandic Banquet, Restaurant Idno
Day 3 = Monday, July 23
9:00a – 7:00p Talks & Discussions, Blue Lagoon Thermal Spa & Environs
10.00a Arrival at Blue Lagoon & Divide into Pre-Assigned Groups: Conference Room, Blue Lagoon
10.00a – 10.30a Instructions on Group Work, Spa Amenities & Today’s Schedule: Conference Room, Blue Lagoon
10.30a – 1.00p Group Work: Conference Room, Blue Lagoon
1.00p – 4.00p Personal Time: Restaurant & Spa, Blue Lagoon
4.00p – 7.00p Group Work: Conference Room, Blue Lagoon
7:00p – 10.00p Spa Dinner, Blue Lagoon
Day 4 = Tuesday, July 24
9:00a – 5:00p Talks & Discussions, Harvard Conference Room, Saga Hotel
9.00a – 12.00p Group Presentations: 20 minutes each (8 groups)
12.00p – 12.30p Ranking of Ideas
1.30p – 5.00p Individual Presentations: 10 minutes each
5.00p – 5.30p Assign New Groups
7:00p – until Dinner “On Your Own”
Day 5 = Wednesday, July 25
9:00a – 6:00p Talks & Discussions, Golden Circle Tour, Langjökull Glacier & Stokkseyri
7:00p – until Lobster Banquet, Fjöruborðið Restaurant
Day 6 = Thursday, July 26
9:00a – 12:00p Talks & Discussions, Harvard Conference Room, Saga Hotel
12.30p – 12.45p Closing Remarks: Max Tegmark & Anthony Aguirre, FQXi
QSpace Latest
PressRelease: Shining a light on the roots of plant “intelligence”
All living organisms emit a low level of light radiation, but the origin and function of these ‘biophotons’ are not yet fully understood. An international team of physicists, funded by the Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, has proposed a new approach for investigating this phenomenon based on statistical analyses of this emission. Their aim is to test whether biophotons can play a role in the transport of information within and between living organisms, and whether monitoring biophotons could contribute to the development of medical techniques for the early diagnosis of various diseases. Their analyses of the measurements of the faint glow emitted by lentil seeds support models for the emergence of a kind of plant ‘intelligence,’ in which the biophotonic emission carries information and may thus be used by plants as a means to communicate. The team reported this and reviewed the history of biophotons in an article in the journal Applied Sciences in June 2024.