Welcome to country +

Barbara Holland & David Flannery

with auslan interpretation

6:20pm | 05/08 | Hobart

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Welcome to Country: Janice Ross with Nathan Pitchford

Talk One

You’re probably bad at thinking about probabilities

Prof Barbara Holland

Barbara Holland is a Professor in the discipline of Mathematics within the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia. She works within the Theoretical Phylogenetics research group and lectures in Statistics. Barbara completed a PhD in Mathematical Biology at Massey University in New Zealand followed by postdoctoral studies at the Ruhr Universität Bochum (Germany) and in the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution (New Zealand). Prior to joining the University of Tasmania she worked as a Mathematics lecturer and researcher at Massey University. Since beginning her PhD she has enjoyed the challenge of working with biologists in trying to translate the problems they face into the language of mathematics. Biology is awash with data since the advent of DNA sequencing technology and this has opened up a range of very interesting research questions that require a combination of skills from mathematics, biology and computer science.

From the famous Monty Hall problem to Kahneman and Tversky’s taxicab problem, people are notoriously bad at reasoning about uncertainty. This talk will give a primer on conditional probability. Intended benefits of talk attendance will include:

– The next time you read an article saying that more vaccinated people are dying of covid than unvaccinated people, you will sit back and relax unconcerned

– You will start signing petitions for the release of Australia’s convicted child killer Kathleen Folbigg

– You will stop signing petitions for more broad scale cancer testing

Talk Two

The Search for Life on Mars

Dr David Flannery

David Flannery is an astrobiologist studying the history of habitable environments of the inner solar system. Formerly a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he is now based at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, where he studies ancient life on Earth and spearheads NASA’s Perseverance Rover Mission – which is tasked with the search for life on Mars.

Humanity has long wondered about the possibility of life beyond Earth. Now we’re racing to plumb the depths of space and time to discover evidence of fossil organisms on Earth’s neighbour, Mars. Hear from leading astrobiologist David Flannery on NASA’s Perseverance Rover Mission and his search for life on Mars.

Doors open at 6pm for Welcome to Country, talks begin at 6:20pm.
This is a one-hour session, ending at 7:20pm.

COVID-19 Entry Conditions.

Please maintain social distancing where possible.
Wash or sanitise your hands often.
Masks are encouraged.
Please follow all COVID signage and the direction of Festival staff.
If you are unwell, please stay home (see refund policy if required).

For visitors to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG)
Due to capacity limits at our Festival Hub at TMAG, patrons may be required to wait for admission to the site. Ticket holders for pre- booked talks will be given priority entry to TMAG, but may be asked to move directly to the talk venue.

Cancellations and Late Arrivals for events at TMAG
If for any reason you cannot attend your event, refunds will be available up to 1 day before your event. The Festival cannot guarantee refunds beyond that window. Event organisers reserve the right to reallocate your seats if you or your party have not claimed your seats within 15 minutes of the advertised start time of the talks or events.

Accessibility
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is fully accessible. If you have any questions about specific requirements, ring TMAG on (03) 6165 7000.

A Seat at the Table

Beaker Street Festival’s pay-it-forward initiative, A Seat at the Table, helps make our science and art offerings accessible to those who can’t afford to purchase a ticket. Ticket buyers have the option to donate towards the cost of a stranger’s ticket. You won’t know who you’ve helped, but your donation will go directly to allowing someone else to access this great event.

Need a seat at the table? Email: [email protected] with your name, email address, post code, your age (if you don’t mind – it helps us gather data), which event you’re interested in, and whether you would like one or two tickets. Your information will never be shared or made public. If we can offer you a seat, we’ll notify you by email within a week of the event.