Mini-symposium: Numbers

One of the big achievements of the Scientific Revolution was the recognition that mathematics, and numbers in particular, can help us understand and control the world. Numbers give rise to measuring the world, a theme that Daniel Kehlmann took up in his novel with this name. Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt stood for two dominant and different ways of taking this measure, while in the end it was uncertain whose measure was more accurate: the one’s who traveled or the one’s who stayed at home. In our days the magic of numbers has risen manifold. We have apparently transitioned from the +2 to the +4 C climate change society, but we are less able to understand what is behind the numbers which change our lives. Perhaps the numbers in our sciences can misguide us as well as explain the world.

Professor Ragnar Fjelland at SVT has for many years contributed to greater reflexivity in the sciences, in particular here at UiB. Now he shall retire from his position. SVT takes this opportunity to celebrate his achievements through this mini-symposium.

We have invited the following speakers to this event:

Hanne Andersen, Aarhus University

Dale Jamieson, NY University School of Law

Roger Strand, SVT, University of Bergen

Dan Sarewitz, Arizona State University

Bruna De Marchi, SVT, University of Bergen

Rani Anjum, Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Program

Wednesday June 11th

13:15- 13:45
Welcome and introduction by Matthias Kaiser, Director at SVT

13:50- 14:40
Numbering Ourselves: On the Development of Bibliometrics
Hanne Andersen, Aarhus University

14: 40- 15:30
Models and Mystification: Lessons from Climate Economics
Dale Jamieson, NY University School of Law

15:30- 16:00
Coffee and fruit

16:00-16:50
Restoring the Lifeworld
Roger Strand, SVT, University of Bergen

16:50- 17:30
Summing up

Thursday June 12th:

09:15- 09:45
Introduction
Ladislav Kocbach, University of Bergen

09:45- 10:30

Responsible scientific advice is more than providing accurate numbers
Bruna De Marchi, SVT, University of Bergen

10:30- 11:15
Imaginary numbers in the real world
Daniel Sarewitz, Arizona State University

11:15- 11: 30
Coffee and fruit

11:30- 12:20
Overnumerousness: The Causal Value of Big Data
Rani Anjum, Norwegian University of Life Sciences

12:20- 13:00
Concluding remarks
Ragnar Fjelland, SVT, University of Bergen