The St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) is holding a one-day conference on the topic:
“The Role of Error in Physics” on:
Saturday 6th June from 10.30 am until 5 pm in the Mathematical Institute with livestreaming.
Error is often framed as a limitation in physics, yet it plays a central role in how physical knowledge is produced, validated and refined. This conference will explore the dual nature of error: as both a practical challenge in measurement and experimentation, and as a productive force in the development of theory. It will discuss the establishment of the theory of error and consider examples of famous errors in physics across the centuries. The conference will conclude with a philosophical perspective on the role of error.
Confirmed speakers are:
Dr Barbara Zipser (Royal Holloway, University of London) – Error of Judgement in Ancient Theories of the Cosmos and Atmosphere
Louise Wright (National Physical Laboratory) – Errors in Measurement: From Rubens to Mars
Professor Thomas Körner (University of Cambridge) – New Ways of Looking at Error: Gauss, Least Squares and the Error Function
Professor Stephen Blundell (University of Oxford) – Instructive Mistakes: How Errors have Shaped and Mis-shaped Modern Physics
Professor Jason McKenzie Alexander (LSE) – Better Wrong than Vague: The Role of Error in Science
SUMMARY OF THE DAY’S PROCEEDINGS – Professor Myungshik Kim (Imperial College London)
Conference Dinner talk – Nick Hutchison (director at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre) on how Shakespeare drives the plot through errors in The Comedy of Errors.
The full programme and registration are available at:
https://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/event/happ-one-day-conference-the-role-of-error-in-physics