Please Irritate Me!
A public discussion series with Peter-André Alt and guests on new perspectives in science and research.
An insight starts with curiosity, but it often ends with irritation. Knowledge that suspends our perception and judgment routines can irritate us. At the same time, it motivates us to question the familiar. Along with the audience, we want to be irritated by unusual research questions, original approaches, and the latest findings that challenge existing theoretical frameworks. And we are interested in topics that have either been neglected or have never been researched, including outlying, unapparent, and surprising subjects.
In addition to delving into individual research topics, we are interested in the question of how “the new” finds its way into science and research. Gaining new scientific knowledge is not a straightforward process, and is not based on an accumulation of knowledge, but rather on anomalies or chance events, and is the result of a creative process – including trial and error.
Join us to meet scientists who are following unusual paths, challenging us with their research, and delivering new perspectives and ideas for scientific knowledge-building.
We look forward to welcoming you!
In collaboration with the Junge Akademie
Previous events
Please Irritate Me discussion series
Bricks Club Berlin, Mohrenstr. 30, 10117 Berlin
Viola Priesemann: Modeling our world
How can we use formulae to describe the human brain and human society? To what extent do the brain and society share similar structures? How do such complex systems interact and learn? Peter-André Alt in conversation with physicist Viola Priesemann, talking about parallels between neural and social networks, the informative value of models, and the philosophical and social implications of her research.
Viola Priesemann is Professor of Neural Systems Theory at the University of Göttingen and leads a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization.
Admission: free (registration necessary)
Please note: Your are advised to register in good time because of limited places.
Please irritate me! Discussion series
Bricks Club Berlin, Mohrenstr. 30, 10117 Berlin
Christopher Degelmann: Fake news and meat consumption in antiquity
Was fake news an issue in ancient Athens? Were the ancient Greeks better at dealing with unconfirmed information?
Covering the fresh perspective of a young ancient historian, new methods in ancient history, and the ability to be amazed. Peter-André Alt in conversation with Christopher Degelmann, who has been a visiting professor of ancient history at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin since 2023.
Admission: free (registration necessary)
Please note: You are advised to register in good time because of limited places.
Please Irritate Me discussion series
Berliner Sparkasse, Alexanderplatz 2, 10178 Berlin
Andrea Binder: Money from Nothing
Tax havens are not only used to hide financial assets, but also to increase them. This is the irritating conclusion offered up by political scientist Andrea Binder. In conversation with Peter-André Alt, Andrea Binder explains how tax havens evade democratic control, and why this state of play threatens to undermine the stability of our financial system.
Andrea Binder is research group leader at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin.
Admission: free (registration necessary)
Please note: Yor are advised to register in goot time becaus of limited places