David K. Gibson is here to guide readers through the experience of attending the 2017 Aspen Ideas Festival and Spotlight Health.
Sessions at AIF are divided into program tracks; these provide structure to the festival, and allow both broad overviews and deep dives into defined subject areas. But ideas don’t exist in a vacuum, so you can slice and dice them into your own tracks.
Kum Ba Yah, the No-Conflict Track
This is the program track for people who have had quite enough of conflict lately, thank you. Instead of focusing on the world’s problems, you can focus on living your best life. (Note: Most AIF participants can follow this program for about half a day before they start arguing about GMOs.)
Yoga in the Park
7:00 am – 7:45 am every day
Anderson Park
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
6:45 am – 9:00 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Maroon Bells Amphitheatre (Bus Loads at the Limelight Hotel at 6:45 AM)
Explore the primal links between the human brain and the natural world, while actually in the natural world.
Afternoon Jam Session
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
All kinds of art.
Building Smells: The Art of Perfumery and the Science of Biotechnology
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Buckminster Fuller Dome
In this hands-on (and nose-on) workshop.
Jeff Koons: American Imagination
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
Jeff Koons and Michael Eisner talk about creating wonder.
Despicable Me 3 (Aspen Premiere)
7:30 pm – 12:00 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
It’s a movie involving small, yellow things wearing overalls.
iPhone Photography Field Workshop: How to Capture the Perfect Photo
6:45 am – 9:00 am MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Maroon Bells Amphitheatre (Bus Loads at the Limelight Hotel at 6:45 AM)
Go to the Maroon Bells again. This time, take some good photos.
The Movement in Movement (Performance and Discussion)
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
A dance concert featuring “multidisciplinary work addressing equality, racial justice, and the prison system in America.” Seriously, you can’t avoid the big issues here.
Kum Ba Whaaaaa?!, the All-Conflict Track
This track is for people who want to understand why there’s conflict in the first place, and maybe figure out how we can get over it.
Can Faith Help Unite Us in Divided Times?
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
Christianity and Islam are in conflict. But maybe they don’t have to be.
To Persuade Others, Pay Attention to Their Values
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
If you don’t understand why people reject your point of view — even though you are clearly right — this may be the session for you.
How Do We Build Bridges Across the Most Controversial Issues?
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Marble Garden Tent Lunch Roundtable
Well, talking about it over lunch is a good start.
#Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Aspen Meadows Restaurant
Get out of your bubble, on the double.
Tear Down this Wall
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Paepcke Library
We (metaphorically) built it, and now we’re going to have to tear it down.
Whom Can We Trust
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
Perhaps distrust of institutions is one of the bricks in this wall, and rebuilding trust is a hammer … well, break down the metaphor, but you know where I’m going here.
How to Be Effective Politically in a Polarized World
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Buckminster Fuller Dome
And if you can’t tear down the wall, at least learn how to talk to the people on the other side of it.
I was a teenage Philosophy major
I was, and maybe you were too. This is the stuff I stayed up late thinking about, instead of actually reading Descartes.
Is the Internet a ‘Gift from God’?
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Koch Tent
It’s omnipresent, and soon to be omniscient. The theodicy question is certainly up in the air.
The Nature of Evil
12:00 pm – 12:55 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
St. Regis Hotel Ballroom
We’re begging the question here, perhaps, but you’ve got to start somewhere.
Deep Dive: Lying, Bullshitting, and the Meaning of Truth
1:15 pm – 2:45 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
A deeply relevant deep dive.
Genomes, Brains, and Microbiomes: Who Are You, Anyway?
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm MDT on Monday, June 26, 2017
Hotel Jerome Ballroom
Also: What if we are merely vehicles that Starbucks cups use to replicate themselves?
The Descent of Man: Will Altering the Course of Evolution Save or Destroy Us?
10:20 am – 11:20 am MDT on Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Paepcke Auditorium
Nature meets nihilism, which can’t help but be interesting.
If you can’t make up your mind, check out even more custom tracks.
