Annual Lecture Series (in-person)
Lunchtime Talks (in-person)
Conferences (in-person)
Online-Only Events
- This event has passed.
FFF: Slobodan Perovic
January 19 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
Title: Grasping Observational Facts in Modern Cosmology
Abstract: The understanding of the concept of ‘fact’ in modern (post-WWII) cosmology has been fluid. Cosmologists and philosophers’ perspectives have ranged, with some asserting the virtual indisputability of certain general cosmological facts, and others contending that the very use of the word ‘fact’ is an impediment to cosmological research. The ‘great cosmological controversy’ prompted a general reassessment of the theory/fact distinction, and even a socio-epistemic scrutiny of the reliability of observational processes. Getting facts right in cosmology is not as straightforward as in many experiment-centered fields because of unique observational limitations of the field. These limitations came to the fore in both a multi-decade debate over the observed properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the current controversy over the James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of very early galaxies. These episodes show that competing groups can plausibly regard the same stable observational result as: 1) a coveted “arch(e)-fact”, 2) a generic structural fact, or 3) an unfortunate “natural artefact”. As cosmology advances through a succession of such prolonged underdetermination (uncertainty) episodes, the ensuing facts of winning interpretations should be cautiously qualified, since they are bound to be temporary dips in a wide pool of alternative explanations.
Link to Join Webinar: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/95274742428
This talk will also be available live streamed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.
Where are you now?
University of Belgrade, Serbia
What are you working on?
I am currently finishing a co-authored book on history and philosophy of explanations of cosmic microwave background radiation in the decades following its discovery that emerged outside the Hot Big Bang model of the universe; trying to understand the impact of thermodynamic conditions on the emergence of life; thinking whether and why exactly experiments with natural phenomena are truly superior to observations.
Favorite memory of The Center?
Chats about philosophy over coffee.
Greatest non-professional achievement since leaving the Center (can be anything from running a
marathon to organizing your sock drawer!)?
Avoiding disasters.
Best book/movie/tv you’ve seen lately?
Otherlands, a book by Thomas Halliday.
Details
- Date:
- January 19
- Time:
-
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST
- Event Categories:
- Featured Former Fellow LTT, Online Events
Venue
- Online Lecture