You have a choice for this assignment. Either

• Give a 10-minute TED-style talk. You can have backing slides if you like (but not too many) or visual aids (which can be awesome if you know how to use them well). Make the talk fun, compelling, and informative.
• Produce, and screen in class, a 10-minute video. The video should be of decent quality, and must be informative.

Suggested Topics. You will have to clear the topic for your talk or video with me well before you present your work. As a general rule, your topic must be related to the course learning objectives. A sample topic list follows, but don't feel constrained to pick a topic only from this list.

• The big bang, cosmic inflation, and the early universe
• The fate of the universe
• Spacetime and relativity
• Particle physics, quantum theory, and the uncertainty principle
• Debunking the paranormal
• The continuum of intermediates
• The decline of violence
• The rise of science
• Religion and science
• Morality and empathy: are there biological bases?
• Scientific, cultural, and moral relativism
• Reality
• Nothingness
• A universe from nothing?
• Emergence
• Emergence vs. Reductionism
• The origin of life
• DNA, RNA, and how this stuff all works
• Fractals and fractal geometry
• Nonlinear mathematics and chaos
• Systems of logic
• Paraconsistent logics
• Godel's incompleteness proofs
• An introduction to neuroscience
• An introduction to evolutionary psychology
• Mind as a society
• Computer simulations of the mind
• Can sentience be programmed?
• Language, thought and understanding
• Surprising results in artificial intelligence?
• How does Google Translate work?
• Can the hard problem of consciousness be solved?
• Kurzweil and The Singularity
• Free will (argue for it being real or an illusion)
• Purpose
• Wonder and awe

Logistics. Videos should be put on the web; sites like youtube or vimeo are fine. If you use copyrighted material (such as music or images), you must follow all applicable usage requirements. Sometimes this is a simple as showing a credit; sometimes more effort may be required. If you will be doing a talk, I will bring a USB remote presentation clicker, so you can walk freely while talking.

Grading. You will be graded according to the usual standards: a D or C for talks or videos that convey only minimal or basic understanding, respectively, of your topic; a B ("Good") for showing a good understanding of your topic and expressing it well; and an A ("Superior") for injecting some "wow" factor into your presentation (humor, references to related material, technical justifications or explanations, or giving the audience an "I didn't know that" moment.)