Name: Scientific Controversies No. 5: Is Reality Beautiful?
Start: 2015-07-22
Location: Pioneer Works

Let Pioneer Works come to you. Subscribe to our newsletter.

PW Closure 10/25-10/26

Pioneer Works's galleries and garden are closed to the public on Friday, October 25th and Saturday, October 26th for the United Sounds NYC Festival 2024. 

Bottom [Test]

Own the Archive Sale

This week only, we’re heavily discounting our #PWPress publications to make way for new projects. Find artist-created books for $5, $10, & $15—sales raised from the PW Store are reinvested into funding new, ambitious projects by emerging and underrepresented artists and writers.

Gift Guide

From November 28 through December 14, take 20% off products in the Gift Guide with code: ULTRAFESTIVE. 

Ragas 

Pioneer Works will be closed for normal gallery hours this October 14 & 15 for Ragas Live Festival 2023, learn more 

June closing

Please note, Pioneer Works will be closed for daily admissions until July 7th. We 

open for ticketed programs, view our calendar 

Newsletter Signup

Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Test Test 

Bottom

Celebrate 10 years of Pioneer Works by shopping the PW Press Archive Sale! Through October 31, take 10% off Pioneer Works Press items with code 

Flash Flood Closures

Building Closures Due to Flash Floods

Due to weather conditions, Pioneer Works is suspending open gallery hours for Friday, September 29. MHYSA's performance has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 1, with all tickets being transferred to the new date.

April PW Store Banner

Shop the PW Store Spring Sale!

 for the entire month of April and receive an automatic 20% off books, records, apparel, and more. Members save 35%—learn more about membership 

Aura Closure 5/27

Please note:

 will close early at 5pm on Saturday, May 27. Learn more and plan your visit 

CEO Announcement

Just Announced: Pioneer Works Names Mara Manus Chief Executive Officer

The Board of Directors of Pioneer Works is pleased to announce that Mara Manus, former Executive Director for New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), has been appointed as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. 

We are grateful for your engagement and support of Pioneer Works over the last year. Now through December 31st, we’re fundraising to meet our end of year goal and close out 2024.

85% of our programming is free or accessibly-priced and we rely on our community of supporters to make that possible. Give now to ensure that we can continue nurturing artists and audiences through 2025.


Support our Annual Appeal

Annual Appeal [Action]

PW Closed 11/11

We're closed all day Friday, November 11 for our annual Village Fête Benefit. To learn more about the After Party and get tickets, visit 

Donate [Test]

[TEST] Segmented Signup Form 

Let Pioneer Works come to you                                    

Our galleries and garden are closed to the public today for a United Sounds NYC Festival 2024. Learn more about the festival 

Closure Announcement [TOP]

We’re making Pioneer Works accessible to all! While our building is temporarily closed until this September, we are continuing to host offsite programming. See upcoming programs 

PW Newsletter

[Test] [Dev] Modal Detailed Form

[TEST] Top Preview 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Top Banner [Broadcast]

 takes place at PW to celebrate this digital experiment and the artists, scientists, musicians, writers, and readers who’ve made it possible. RSVP 

Aura Closure 6/3

 will close early at 5pm on Saturday, June 3. Learn more and plan your visit 

[Test] [Dev] Top Text

Test Header

We're pleased to announce the first major renovation of Pioneer Works! To accommodate the first phase of our construction, we're temporarily relocating to 133 Imlay Street opening in Spring 2022.

Early Closure 5/10/23

Due to programming, Pioneer Works will be closed to the public on Wednesday, May 10. We will be open from Thursday through Sunday for the remainder of the week. Learn more and plan your visit 

Winter Break Closure

Pioneer Works will be closed between December 16, 2024–January 24, 2025 for a winter break.

In contemporary art, Beauty has faded, a prosaic artifice, a distraction from deeper raw truths, maybe even ugly truths. As the exceptional physicist Frank Wilczek (Nobel Prize, Physics) describes in his new book A Beautiful Question, Beauty has proven a luminous ally, a faithful advisor in his discoveries of remarkable truths about the world. But actual experiments are messy and noisy, the elegance of the theory implied but never directly observed. We invite Frank Wilczek and Glennys Farrar (Professor of Physics, NYU) to discuss the subtle question: Is Reality Beautiful?

Scientific Controversies<br />
No. 5: Is Reality Beautiful?

<p>In contemporary art, Beauty has faded, a prosaic artifice, a distraction from deeper raw truths, maybe even ugly truths. As the exceptional physicist Frank Wilczek (Nobel Prize, Physics) describes in his new book A Beautiful Question, Beauty has proven a luminous ally, a faithful advisor in his discoveries of remarkable truths about the world. But actual experiments are messy and noisy, the elegance of the theory implied but never directly observed. We invite Frank Wilczek and Glennys Farrar (Professor of Physics, NYU) to discuss the subtle question: Is Reality Beautiful?</p>


No. 5<br />
Is Reality Beautiful?

<div>Are there Many Worlds? Does Time Exist? Are We Alone?  Hosted by Director of Sciences <a href="http://jannalevin.com/">Janna Levin</a>, the Scientific Controversies series  brings creative minds together to celebrate the passionate spirit of scientific curiosity.  Previous guests include Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek, geneticist George Church, and neuroscientist Christof Koch with subjects ranging from artificial intelligence and string theory, to dark matter, consciousness, and other unsolved scientific quandaries.</div>