Archivio Corsi e Conferenze
Conferenze e corsi passati
05/12/2022
THYROID DISORDERS AND GENDER INEQUALITY – Monday, 5th December 2022 – Seminar by Stella Bernardi
Thyroid is an endocrine gland that works based on adequate quantities of exogenous iodine. Its hormones are necessary for growth, development and normal body metabolism. Primary hypothyroidism is one of the commonest endocrine disorders, which occurs about seven or eight times more often in females than in males. Here, I will present how thyroid works, what are its main disorders (and their clinical implications), and why there is a clear gender inequality in thyroid pathology.
24/11/2022
SMART AND STUPID ANIMALS Overcoming prejudices on animals’ intelligence – Thursday, 24th November 2022 – Seminar by Cinzia Chiandetti
We often doubt the intelligence of animals. But each species has evolved a peculiar form of intelligence to thrive in its evolutionary niche. There are common mental abilities that depend on common pressures, and unique abilities where each species can outperform another. This is independent from the us/them dichotomy. If we understand our cognitive biases in representing animals, we can reason and act knowledgeably in daily life with all species, a change in the paradigm that has several implications for our civic sense.
17/11/2022
THE MATHEMATICS BEHIND WEALTH DISTRIBUTIONS AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY – Thursday, 17th November 2022 – Seminar by Lorenzo Pareschi
A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global wealth, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world's adult population owned 1% of global wealth. Other studies have confirmed this analysis by reporting a further increase in inequality as a result of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. But what are the origins of such inequalities? Can mathematics help us better understand the nature of such phenomena? In this lecture we will briefly attempt to venture into the mathematical modeling of wealth distribution, starting with Vilfredo Pareto's early ideas from the beginning of the last century to more recent developments based on methodologies originally introduced in statistical physics.
