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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Sounds Of Spanglish, Ilan Stavans Mar 2012

The Sounds Of Spanglish, Ilan Stavans

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

With the dramatic demographic growth of Latinos in the United States, a new form of communication has come to the fore: Spanglish, a hybrid tongue using elements from English and Spanish, yet having its own identity. Millions of people use it every day to speak as well as to read and write. Outside the country, in Latin America and the Caribbean, Spanglish is also a presence. But it is in this country where its effects are more palpable. Politicians, business big and small, religious organizations, and particularly the media employ it on a regular basis. What does the emergence of …


Chemistry's Essential Tensions: Three Views Of A Science, Roald Hoffmann Dec 2008

Chemistry's Essential Tensions: Three Views Of A Science, Roald Hoffmann

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

In this generously illustrated lecture several views of chemistry will be presented, stressing its psychological dimension and its tie to the arts: First of all, chemistry is, as it has always been, the art, craft, business of substances and their transformations. It is now also the science of microscopic molecules, both simple and complex. And then there are people’s perceptions of chemistry - alternating between seeing the healing and the hurting aspects of this truly anthropic science. The underlying psychological tensions of this truly anthropic science will be explored.


Why Is It That Computers Still Can't Do What Our Brains Can?, Marvin Minsky Oct 2001

Why Is It That Computers Still Can't Do What Our Brains Can?, Marvin Minsky

IMSA Great Minds Program ®

Why is it that computers still cannot do what our brains can? Marvin Minsky has been studying this problem for over 20 years, and he believes it is because computers are shackled by constraints we place on them. He believes, by changing the instructions we give them, computers will be able to have motivations and feelings ... and consciousness! What are these constraints, and how will removing them release the power of computers?