November 6, 2013
News Digest: TEDx talk on brainy crows, Town Hall ‘rocks’ tonight
John MarzluffKeith Brust
Brainy crows subject of TEDx talk Saturday
Crows, common birds able to do uncommon things – often getting on the wrong side of people in the process – is the subject of a live-broadcast TEDx talk Saturday, Nov. 9, by University of Washington’s John Marzluff.
TEDxRainier is an offshoot of the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference, where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers speak for just 18 minutes each.
Seattle’s TEDxRainier event will showcase Marzluff and 23 other speakers 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Tickets are needed to attend in person.
Or you can watch live online. Marzluff, who is the third scheduled speaker and will take the stage at about 10:15, will review anecdotes and his current research on the mental world of crows to illustrate how their brains – which operate in many ways like human brains – give rise to fascinating behaviors .
Town Hall talk ‘Stories from My Pet Rocks’ tonight
Remember the Pet Rock of the 70s?
While the novelty “toy” is a pop cultural footnote, many people collect and treasure rocks, hence the Nov. 6 Town Hall session “Stories From My Pet Rocks” with David Montgomery, UW professor of Earth and space sciences.
Montgomery, a Town Hall scholar in residence, will share stories of a dozen or so of his favorite rocks, the fieldwork when they were collected and the geologic stories they tell.
Drop your name in a hat when you arrive for a a chance to come on stage and tell the story of your favorite rock.
The event 7:30 to 9 p.m. is free and open to the public, but registration is requested.
Tag(s): College of the Environment • Department of Earth and Space Sciences • School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
