Is the future pre-determined? Are there other parallel universes, just like ours? What does the unobserved world look like? There are all questions that have pondered physicists and philosophers, and have gained fascinating new insights from the world of Quantum Mechanics. In this presentation, we will lay out what is known as "the measurement problem" in Quantum Mechanics. We will carefully cover the basic principles of Quantum Mechanics that set up the problem, and we will then discuss various ways of solving the problem, and what these solutions say about our universe!

Why do things like ghosts seem so unscientific? What is the difference between religion and science; what sorts of "things" should they talk about? Why do some philosophers seem so crazy when they talk about the universe? In this lecture, we will be looking at some of the more bizarre philosophical descriptions of the universe throughout history. By simplifying Aristotle's description of "causality," we will discuss the reasons that these descriptions are so bizarre and how they compare to more scientific views of reality. Overall, this will give us an account of the academic relationship between religion, metaphysics, and science.

Have you ever wondered if science fiction stories like those you see in movies, books, and comic books are actually possible? What sort of lessons can we learn about the real world from fantastic and magical tales like Star Wars and The Matrix? In this course, we will break down what’s going on behind the scenes in science fiction and view how philosophers use science fiction in what they call ‘thought experiments.’ This will show us how to enhance our science fiction using philosophy and how to enhance our philosophy using science fiction.