DescriptionGet the big picture of over 3, 000 years of philosophical thought in this clear, down-to-earth, and often humorous talk. Professor Perry focuses his discussion on the intellectual "hero's journey" taken by Descartes in his Meditations, and explains Berkeley and Locke's opposition to Descartes's famous conclusions. While exploring such concepts as skepticism and idealism, Perry makes reference to the great thinkers of history, including Plato, Aristotle, and Galileo. He closes his discourse with a look at quantum physics, relativity, and other challenges facing today's philosophers.
DescriptionMichael Crichton's Jurassic Park may be good science fiction, but it's lousy science-in-fiction. Professor Carl Djerassi, who collaborated in producing the first oral contraceptive, talks about the "science-in-fiction" genre and how it differs from its implausible, inaccurate counterpart. Djerassi also discusses his new novel, Menachem's Seed, the third volume in his science-in-fiction tetralogy (which includes Cantor's Dilemma, 1989; The Bourbaki Gambit, 1994). In Menachem's Seed, the author explores the scientific and moral issues surrounding in-vitro fertilization.
DescriptionSpeed - we see its competitive value every day from the rapid product development of Silicon Valley's best, such as Intel, to the nimble responses of a large service firm such as Charles Schwab & Company. However, leaders have learned that speed isn't always the answer, nor is speed without its own set of problems. Based on 8 years of research, Dr. Christopher Meyer explains the difference between straight-ahead or "dragster" speed and the more agile "sportscar" approach. He emphasizes creating value through customer-driven resourcing, describes key actions to accelerate innovation and operations growth, and defines the stumbling blocks to increasing speed.
DescriptionWhat makes Taiwan so different from the People's Republic of China? Dr. Metzger describes 2 "great breakthroughs" in Taiwan's recent history, the first characterized by Taiwan's tremendous economic progress and the latter by a political evolution towards personal freedom, pluralism, and responsible government that has taken place since the mid-1980s. The seeds for these changes, Dr. Metzger argues, were powerful reformist impulses in the Confucian tradition - impulses which have found more creative and progressive outlet in Taiwan than in the state ruled by Beijing.
