L&S Curricular Connections

Amidst misinformation, critical thinking needs a 21st century upgrade

Amidst misinformation, critical thinking needs a 21st century upgrade

In 2013, the University of California, Berkeley, debuted a course to teach undergraduates the tricks used by scientists to make sense of the world, in the hope that these tricks would prove useful in assessing the claims and counterclaims that bombard us every day. It was launched by three UC Berkeley professors — a physicist, […]

‘Third Millennium Thinking’: How to use scientific tools to solve everyday problems

'Third Millennium Thinking': How to use scientific tools to solve everyday problems

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter, philosophy professor John Campbell, and social psychologist Robert MacCoun teach a course at the University of California Berkeley on using scientific tools to approach everyday problems. They’ve now turned that course into the book “Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense.” Perlmutter joins host Scott Tong to […]

He led Cal to Olympic gold in 1928. Now his rowing medal is back at UC Berkeley

By Jason Pohl | January 30, 2024 For decades, in a family’s home in West Marin, a set of rowing oars hung horizontally over the French doors leading to the patio. Below the oars was a finish line photo of the moment UC Berkeley’s undefeated 1928 men’s varsity eight won the world championship. And next […]

UC Berkeley’s Alison Gopnik wins Rumelhart Prize in Cognitive Science

UC Berkeley psychologist Alison Gopnik, holding her grandson Atticus

Alison Gopnik, a University of California, Berkeley, psychology professor whose research has transformed our understanding of how children learn and what they can teach us about ourselves, is this year’s winner of the prestigious David Rumelhart Prize in Cognitive Science. Read more >

New fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

New fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Eleven UC Berkeley faculty members have been elected lifetime fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, professor of psychology, “for outstanding contributions to the science on the causes and consequences of prejudice and the identification of factors […]

How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Health

How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Health

Awe can mean many things. It can be witnessing a total solar eclipse. Or seeing your child take her first steps. Or hearing Lizzo perform live. But, while many of us know it when we feel it, awe is not easy to define. “Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast […]

Alison Gopnik: Making AI more childlike

Alison Gopnik: Making AI more childlike

The renowned expert on how babies learn about the world through curiosity and exploration is now collaborating with artificial intelligence researchers to make AI systems smarter by being more like children.