Debate

A model as vast as the world. A popular science meeting

An event accompanying Julie Mehretu. Kairos / Hauntological variations exhibition

LOCATION

Auditorium

LANGUAGE

Polish

ADMISSION

Free thanks to the cooperation with Audi Polska

Large abstract artwork featuring chaotic black lines and smudges on a white canvas, with splashes of color. Two benches are in the foreground.

Is it possible to model the entire world? To see, in a single image, the whole of society and an economy driven by impulses that are not always rational? To understand where divisions and political polarization come from—and how to address them through wise interventions? Is it possible to predict the future in order to avoid its worst-case scenarios? We will discuss social and economic complexity, world modeling, and science as a predictive tool with physicist Katarzyna Weron and economist Karolina Safarzyńska. The discussion will be moderated by science journalist Karol Jałochowski.

As part of the program of events accompanying the exhibition Julie Mehretu. Kairos / Spiritual Variations MSN and pulsar, Polityka’s popular science portal, have jointly prepared a series of meetings with prominent figures in contemporary Polish science.

In her work, Julie Mehretu often refers to data visualization, knowledge categorization systems, and methods of visualizing reality. As stated in the curatorial text for her exhibition, her multilayered works capture the pace, ambiguity, and complexity of today’s world, and her entire body of work is aninvitation to move beyond the framework of simple solutions and universalizing narratives.

Following the spirit of Julie Mehretu’s work, we propose taking a step into the realm of science, which offers alternative and parallel ways—to art—of grappling with the complexity of the social, political, and economic world; the deep history of the species Homo sapiens and the surprising picture of our prehistory; and even—the ontological status of reality on both the micro and macro scales.