The Helix Center

In this roundtable, we will explore the notion of life in the universe and what it might look like elsewhere.

This roundtable explores whether mathematics has a unifying essence analogous to “life” in biology, and what that might mean for the discipline as a whole. It considers the role of mathematical language, analogies, and connections in shaping the coherence and perceived beauty of mathematical ideas.

This roundtable explores the continuity between human and animal minds, examining emotions, consciousness, and behavior across species through perspectives from neuroscience, philosophy, and history. It considers the ethical implications of how we understand and relate to animals, and how these insights inform both science and our treatment of other living beings.

This roundtable explores the nature of mathematical proof and the growing role of computers and AI in verifying and potentially generating proofs. It considers whether mathematics is a human-centered practice or a process that can ultimately be automated, and what this implies for the future of the field.

This roundtable explores the evolving landscape of mental health care, from psychoanalysis to psychopharmacology and emerging brain-based approaches. It considers how advances in neuroscience and technology may transform the diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of psychiatric conditions.

This roundtable brings together artists and scientists to explore turbulence as both a scientific challenge and a source of artistic inspiration, examining its visualizations, underlying physics, and broader theoretical and philosophical implications. It focuses on the intersection of art and science in understanding complex, self-organizing systems.

This roundtable examines whether science’s empirical success implies a universal account of reality, or whether reality is better understood as consisting of multiple ontological levels and a plurality of scientific frameworks. It considers tensions between reductionist and pluralist views, and reflects on the implications of these positions for the status of the humanities, the possibility of a u...

This roundtable brings together scholars from literature, psychiatry, neurology, cultural history, and law to examine boredom as an aversive yet compelling psychological and cultural state. It explores how boredom is defined, experienced, and understood across disciplines, and invites participants to deepen and expand their perspectives on its meaning and significance.

This roundtable brings together perspectives from multiple disciplines to examine transhumanism—the prospect of using technologies such as genomics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics, and prosthetics to enhance and transform human bodies and minds. It explores visions of radical life extension, digital forms of consciousness, and the idea of a technological “Singularity,” while als...

This roundtable traces the evolving understanding of mind from ancient philosophical and theological conceptions to contemporary accounts grounded in neuroscience, cognitive science, and computational models. It considers how advances across multiple scientific disciplines have reshaped ideas of mental phenomena, while also reflecting on the continuing roles of metaphysics and theology in interpre...

Building on the first session, this discussion continues to examine the relationship between scientific and artistic practices within society. It considers ethical, cultural, and philosophical dimensions, including how these fields shape human experience, inform public policy, and contribute to evolving understandings of knowledge, creativity, and meaning.

A continuation and expansion of the first STEAM-focused discussion, this roundtable revisits key questions with additional perspectives. It further explores implementation strategies for STEAM education, including curriculum innovation, institutional change, teacher training, and scalability. The session emphasizes long-term visions for education systems that support transdisciplinary learning and...

This discussion explores the broader societal role of science and art, emphasizing how both shape and reflect cultural values, public understanding, and communication of knowledge. Topics include the relationship between scientific innovation and societal impact, the role of artists and scientists in public discourse, and how cross-disciplinary collaboration can influence policy, education, and cu...

This roundtable centers on practical and conceptual aspects of collaboration between artists and scientists. It highlights methodologies, tools, and case studies of joint projects, examining how different modes of thinking—analytical, creative, experimental—intersect. The conversation also addresses challenges in collaboration, such as aligning goals, translating across disciplines, and sustaining...

This roundtable focuses on the foundations and direction of STEAM education, examining how integrating art with STEM disciplines can reshape learning. Participants discuss pedagogical strategies, curriculum design, and how interdisciplinary approaches can cultivate creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability in students. It also considers institutional barriers and opportunities for implementi...

This roundtable explores the nature and practice of collaboration between artists, scientists, and technologists, examining how interdisciplinary partnerships are formed, sustained, and challenged. It addresses questions of authorship, funding, and institutional support, while considering the tangible outcomes of collaborative work across art, science, and technology. The discussion also reflects...

This roundtable brings together contemporary poets to discuss the evolving nature, role, and significance of poetry today, considering its relationship to other forms of communication and expression such as fiction, journalism, and film. Framed by reflections from figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, the discussion explores how modern poetry engages with diverse aesthetic, socio...

This roundtable examines the nature of knowledge as a distributed and socially mediated phenomenon, from historical practices of shared memory to the contemporary influence of digital information systems. It explores how access to vast, externalized sources of knowledge—such as the internet—affects individual cognition, our sense of self, and our ability to distinguish between fact, speculation, a...

This roundtable explores the emergence of complexity and order across scales—from fundamental physical particles to biological systems and human civilization—examining whether recurring principles of combination and integration give rise to distinct levels of organization. It considers how complexity evolves over time, how novel structures and behaviors emerge at different stages of the universe,...

This roundtable examines the concept of “design” in nature, considering whether the apparent order, efficiency, and aesthetic coherence of natural forms can be understood without invoking external teleology. It explores how ideas of immanent purpose, as discussed in classical philosophy (e.g., Aristotelian thought), relate to modern perspectives grounded in Darwinian evolution and physical first p...

This roundtable explores the therapeutic and cognitive effects of music on the brain, examining how melody, rhythm, and musical engagement can support individuals with conditions such as aphasia, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. It also considers empirical findings on music’s role in enhancing memory, supporting cognitive development, and potentially slowing age-related declin...

This roundtable examines the human experience of migration and displacement, both historically and in the present day, in the context of large-scale global crises affecting refugees and displaced populations. It considers the social, ethical, and psychological dimensions of how individuals and societies respond to forced movement, exploring questions of compassion, responsibility, identity, and th...

This roundtable explores the nature of pain as both a biological signal and a subjective experience, examining how it arises, how it is processed in the nervous system, and how it relates to affect, behavior, and homeostasis. It also considers current scientific approaches to pain management, including the use and risks of analgesics such as opioids, and reflects on the ethical challenges involved...

This roundtable explores the significance of libraries across their many forms—physical, digital, and cognitive—as systems for organizing, preserving, and transmitting knowledge. It considers their epistemic and mnemonic roles in shaping how information is stored, accessed, and interpreted, as well as their broader cultural and philosophical importance in structuring individual and collective unde...

This roundtable examines autism as a neurodevelopmental condition, tracing the evolution of its diagnosis and treatment from early misconceptions to current understandings grounded in brain development and circuitry.