Society General Meeting

6 April 2019

14:30 / 17:00

Talk: “The role of Evolution and Technology in Information Loss” by Prof. Peter Townsend

Knowledge, information and data are key elements of life, and therefore the ways in which they are recorded and stored are critical. Surprisingly, technological progress not only speeds up the writing and storage capacity but also drives ever more rapid loss. Technology, as well as the evolution of language and culture play similar roles that are evident from literature, music and art. Peter’s talk will consider some of the key factors and underline why we have reached a critical phase where there could be almost total collapse of electronic data storage and communication. 

Peter is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Sussex.