Lotus Tickets:
Date:
5.5.25
Monday
Hour: 20:00

The Quantum Age | Yair Assulin & Prof. Roee Ozeri

Yair Assulin will be speaking about quantum computing with Prof. Roee Ozeri, a physicist in the Department of Physics of Complex Systems at the Weizmann Institute of Science who researches cold atoms used to develop a universal quantum computer and for precision measurements (among other things). He also serves as Vice President for Resource Development and Communications. We will explore what quantum computing truly means, how close we are to its realization, and the significance of a non-binary world that lets us solve previously inaccessible problems, as well as highlight the opportunities, challenges, and questions it creates and the broader implications of this technological revolution. 

 

The discussion will be held in Hebrew  

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s 1932 futuristic novel, presents a chilling satirical vision of a utopian future in which humans are reproduced artificially and their emotions are sterilized through drugs so they will passively serve the government. In this world, war and disease have been eradicated at the cost of individuality, art, family, and love. The novel is considered one of the most influential futuristic masterpieces of the 20th century, coining terms that have become integral to socio-political discourse.
Today, at the dawn of the third millennium, we are living in a “Brave New World” filled with unimaginable advancements but also fear and danger. A world where “space” and “time” are fundamentally different from what we once knew; a world of new human consciousness. The Weizmann Institute is one of the places where this great era is developing, both through research and action. In a series of conversations, Yair Assulin will ask pioneering researchers in some of today’s most revolutionary fields (quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and evolution) to explore the major questions emerging from the various fields of research, the enormously relevant connection between science and the humanities in this era, and the new humanity emerging before our eyes.

 



Sponsored by the Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and Humanities, with participation from the audience.
 

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Date:
25.5
Monday
Hour: 20:00

Illusions: To Know and Know Not, a meeting with Prof. Shauli Lev-Ran

The second meeting in a series – dialogues with researchers who have written essays on various aspects of illusion in their fields of research, as appeared in the 2026 edition of ‘Poetry of Science’, a periodical published once a year concurrently with the Weizmann Institute’s annual Ofer Lider prize for encouraging creative writing among scientists award ceremony. The editor of ‘Poetry of Science’ is Idan Barir, a translator of poetry and prose from Portuguese, Arabic, English, and Turkish.


Alongside science’s demand for precision, society’s need for resolutions, nationalist movements and identity politics, with media polarizing opinions, and language whittling away to exclamation points, a hushed renaissance of incertitude is emerging. Challenging certainty and blurring the boundaries between “fact” and “fiction”, this psychedelic renaissance reminds us of the value of wonder and astonishment, but especially the willingness to entertain the unknown.” (Prof. Shauli Lev-Ran)


The use of psychoactive substances - hallucinogens, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and additional ingredients - has, in recent years, returned to the world of science and medical treatment in what has been designated as the “Psychedelic Renaissance”. Science recognizes the medicinal properties of psychedelic materials, but it is not always prepared to accept the undefined and unquantifiable aspects of its treatments. Prof. Shauli Lev-Ran in a dialogue with Idan Barir on hallucinations and reality within the context of this psychedelic renaissance - both as an established and historically cogent cultural phenomenon and as a considerable (even though yet unsatisfied) reawakening in research and treatment.


Prof. Shauli Lev-Ran – Psychiatrist and addiction treatment specialist, Researcher of psychiatric effects of psychoactive substances, Associate Professor at the Psychiatric Department of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty for Medical & Health Science’s School for Medicine, Fellow at The Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada, Co-founder and Academic Director, Israel Center on Addiction.

 

sponsored by the Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and Humanities
Free admission (based on availability)


Schedule:
16/2 Travels to the Past as Deceptive Illusion, with Prof. Avner Wishnitzer
29/6 The Placebo Effect, with Prof. Asya Rolls


 

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