Adventures in Science Writing
by Ms Dava Sobel

Ms Dava Sobel, a famous science writer, is best known for her book Longitude, an international bestseller that has been translated into 30 languages. The book is one of the assigned readings of the course "Mathematics in Civilization" at HKUST. Her next book, Galileo's Daughter, won The Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, a Christopher Award and was a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. Her most recent book, The Planets, earned her the only non-scientist slot on an advisory committee created by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the word "planet". Also in recognition of The Planets, asteroid "30935 davasobel" was named in her honor. During Winter 2006 Ms Sobel taught briefly at the University of Chicago as the Vare Writer-in-Residence.

Digital Censorship in the United States
by Prof Harry R Lewis

Bio of Speaker

Prof Harry Lewis is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science of Harvard University. In 2003 he was honored with the title of Harvard College Professor in honor of his teaching excellence. >From 1995-2003 Prof Lewis served as Dean of Harvard College, overseeing the undergraduate experience including residential life, career services, public service, academic and personal advising, athletic policy, and intercultural and race relations. He is a long time member of the College's Admissions Committee. Prof Lewis is the author of five books and articles on various aspects of computer science. His book about higher education, Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future? was a Boston Globe best-seller and has been translated into Chinese and Korean.

Abstract of Lecture

"The US First Amendment to the US Constitution provides very broad protections for freedom of speech. The protections are not absolute, however. In this talk we discuss two areas in which the US Congress has legislated censorship. First, obscenity laws regulating print publications have been extended to the Internet. Second, the US government has long exercised extensive censorship authority over broadcast radio and television. We discuss the ways in which modern digital communications are and are not like print and analog broadcasting, and how misunderstandings of the right metaphor have resulted in new censorship laws based on incorrect or anachronistic models of the technologies. Some of these laws have been overturned by US courts, and others probably should be.

This talk is based on the forthcoming book by Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and Harry Lewis, "Blown to Bits: Peril and Promise of the Digital Explosion".