Developing Questions

 

OUR PROCESS

We began with over 100 interesting, provocative questions. A team of nearly a dozen people found nearly a thousand articles, videos, podcasts, photographs, and books that provided a wide range of answers to each question (some on more solid ground than others). In time, we identified 50 questions that we liked best. That was still too much for this stage of the project, so we chose 16 of the best questions and outlined them. We chose 4 questions for scripting, and read-thoughts with actors. Some examples of questions not yet outlined or scripted...

 

Should you bet your bottom dollar that the sun will come out tomorrow?

Category: Philosophy of science, probability, determinism

From “The Outer Limits of Reason:” The popular response is to agree that induction does not always give absolute proofs, but it does give probabilistic truths…As for the sun risking tomorrow, there are no logical proofs to prove it. However, because the sun has risen every morning until now, the probability that it will also rise tomorrow is very good. (Not yet addressing cloudy days, reference to Annie lyrics, but these are opportunities for us, too.)

 

Another that seems somewhat gimmicky, but we could train the audience to expect more from us when we present a seemingly silly or simple question. This one goes to logical proofs and probability... a potentially wide landscape that we can explore time and again.

 

Is it possible to precisely measure the coast of Norway?

Category: Relativity Theory

From “The Outer Limits of Reason:” The problem is the coast is not a straight line. There are many curves that make it hard to get an exact number...One could take this question very seriously and actually walk along the coast of Norway and measure it while walking around all the magnificent fjords…The answer is that the length depends upon how it is measured….One might believe that there really is an exact length...that using better instruments we will get better approximations of the exact length. This is false. (We are going to find similar phenomena with relativity theory.

 

This is called the Coastline Paradox. We like this because it is a direct, adult-class math question. Intuition suggests that this is an easy question to answer, but the paradox makes it interesting. Is this the best of this type of paradox question?

 

Why is earth close enough to the sun to enjoy a temperate climate, not so close that we boil, not so far that we freeze?

Category: Planetary science

Scientists call this "The Goldilocks Dilemma" (which introduces a wonderful creative starting place.) Similar strain: "Why did this life-sustaining structure generate a creature with enough intelligence to understand the structure?" Maybe something involving extremes? Extreme opinions, extreme beliefs, extreme behaviors, running down the middle of the road feeling safe but maybe even more vulnerable?

 

How long is a piece of string?

Category: Quantum Theory

"An encounter with leading mathematician Marcus duSautoy reveals that Alan's short length of string may in fact be infinitely long. When Alan attempts to measure his string at the atomic scale, events take an even stranger turn. Not only do objects appear in many places at once, but reality itself seems to be an illusion. Ultimately, Alan finds that measuring his piece of string could - in theory at least - create a black hole, bringing about the end of the world.” - See video

 

Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?

Category: Determinism, cause-and-effect

Butterfly Effect, as described in a paper by Edward Lorenz in 1972 (his published ideas go back to the 1960s): The system shows "sensitive dependence on initials conditions" --small changes in the initial setup of the system that can cause major changes in the outcome.

 

Is Schrödinger's Cat alive, dead, or both?

Category: Quantum Mechanics, Multiple Realities

From “The Outer Limits of Reason”: Imagine a sealed box with a piece of radioactive material in it. This material is subject to the laws of quantum mechanics and in a superposition of "ready to decay" and "not ready to decay." Place a Geiger counter that can detect any decay in the box with the radioactive material. Connect the Geiger counter to a hammer that will break a vial of poisonous gas when the Geiger counter beeps. Now, place a living cat inside the box…If the radioactive material decays, the Geiger counter will beep, the poison will be released and the cat will die. On the other hand, if the radioactive material does not decay, then the cat will be alive. Since there is a 50-50 chance for the decay to occur in the time given, there is a 50-50 chance that the cat is dead. That is, before we open the box, the cat will be in the superposition of being alive and dead.”

 

Stand up straight. Remember your position. Return to it tomorrow. Are you in the same place, or a different place?

Category: Relativity Theory

From “The Outer Limits of Reason:” Realize that the the two places you [stood] are hundreds, if not thousands of miles apart. A stationary observer on earth is far from stationary…There are no absolute observers, no absolute measurements, and no absolute space and time. All is relative."

 

Many related ideas that can shape the question and offer wonderful evidence suggesting all sorts of interesting ideas. Is this the best relativity question in our range? There may be other better ones, but this is certainly fun.

 

Should students attend school all year long?

Category: Education

An opportunity to demonstrate characters, puppets, their interaction, their super-strong beliefs based upon little or no information, the flimsy nature of what seem to be solid statistics, etc. 

 

Should the U.S. elect a President born outside the country?

Category: Government, public policy

Hamilton in Federalist 68: Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils.” Have times changed?

 

The Constitution does not define the phrase natural-born citizen, and various opinions have been offered over time regarding its precise meaning. From 2011 Congressional Research Service report: ”natural born" citizen: person who is entitled to U.S. citizenship "by birth" or "at birth", either by being born "in" the U.S. and under its jurisdiction, even if born to foreign parents, born abroad to U.S. citizen-parents; or in other situations meeting legal requirements for U.S. citizenship "at birth". Such term, however, would not include a person who was not a U.S. citizen by birth or at birth, and who was thus born an "alien" required to go through the legal process of "naturalization" to become a U.S. citizen.[1]

 

Eight presidents were born in what is now, but at the time was not, the United States. They are Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Quincy Adams, Jackson and Harrison. Obama was born two years after Hawaii became a state ( territories). 

 

Should Internet connectivity be free-- a public good, not a business?

Category: Public vs. private goods, managing technology growth

Some cities have been successful in providing free wifi, but this direction runs contrary to the current and future business of Comcast, etc. As more and more people rely upon the internet, a discussion about its future as a private enterprise should be on the agenda. Then again: if the alternative is Federal or State or regional government, a new set of concerns takes center stage.

 

Can the world feed nine (or ten) billion people without genetically modified food?

Category: Food supply, population growth

And: is this the right question? Historically, population increases have tested the limits of food supply, but technology or other improvements save the day. As we move toward 2050 (the expected peak), is genetic modification the appropriate technology to solve the problem? Do we believe the population estimates? Might they be overstating the problem?

 

Will lack of water cause the next world war?

Category: Geopolitics, water, resources

The risk of oversimplification is high: we must understand the need for water, the geography and economics of that need, the places where water could (reasonably) run dry, the ways that nonviolent means might solve the problem (or, at least, mitigate), and the potential for regional violence that might escalate. Lots of good material for controversy and conflict.

 

Should every American be fluent in English and Spanish?

Category: American citizenship, changes in demographics, education

More complicated than it may seem. Fluency requires routine use of language, which means many people who do not currently speak English (or Spanish) at home would be required (legally required?) to change their daily habits. How about less-than-fluent? How much are we willing to invest in less-than-fluency? Why would we want to make a significant investment in dual-language fluency and literacy? How do other countries manage this problem? What are the demographic changes that are driving this conversation?

 

In 2015, what is a reasonable age for a person to be considered an adult?

Category: American citizenship, global citizenship, changes in demographics, education

Is it 15 or 16 (driver’s license), 18 (vote), 21 (drink), or some other age? Has the argument changed over time? Should this be managed by state or by family? How is it handled in other countries?

 

Can we, or will we, effectively communicate with animals?

Category: Nature, animals

Not a new idea, but outlier scientists have made great strides in the 21st century, and it’s worth our time to ponder how far they might go. Also: how does our progress in human cognitive science map on to the pursuit of understanding, and communicating with, other species?