Pushing the Limits program for adults
Tully Free Library presents PUSHING THE LIMITS, a reading, viewing, and discussion program for adults in communities served by rural libraries, made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Unleash your mind...explore and get involved in ideas about knowledge, connections, nature and survival in a new 4-part series for adults at Tully Free Library, thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation.
A local science expert will join us to view two short videos and discuss the topics and recommended books below. We will have free copies of the books available at the library a month before each program, but you do not need to read the book to attend the program. Each program promises to be engaging and thought-provoking, and we hope you will join us!
Refreshments will be served, and participants receive a free copy of the book!
TO REGISTER, sign up on our online calendar, or stop into the library. For more info call the library 315-696-8606 or email director@tullyfreelibrary.org
Saturday, January 28 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM
We will explore how humans push the limits of knowledge with Jean Auel's book "Land of Painted Caves” and Suzanne De Tore-Wilsey, Professor of Biology at LeMoyne College. How have humans continuously sought to expand their own knowledge and to pass it on to others? Whether through oral traditions and primitive technologies, or through new high-tech advances, we constantly push our limits for gathering, archiving, and transmitting knowledge.
Want to learn more about how humans push the limits of knowledge? Here are some additional resources:
"A Man of Taste" by D.T. Max. The New Yorker Magazine, May 12, 2008.
A chef with cancer fights to save his tongue.
"Incredible Edibles" by John Lanchester. The New Yorker Magazine, March 21, 2011.
The mad genius of "Modernist Cuisine."
"Is Google Making Us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr. The Atlantic Magazine, July/August 2008,
What the Internet is doing to our brains.
"True Grits" by Burkhard Bilger. The New Yorker Magazine, October 31, 2011.
In Charleston, a quest to revive authentic Southern cooking.
"Watson Dominates 'Jeopardy' but Stumbles Over Geography" by Anahad O'Connor.
The New York Times, February 15, 2011
Saturday, February 25 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM
We will explore how humans push the limits of connection with Erik Larson's book "Thunderstruck" and Kari Zhe-Heimerman, Librarian for the Sciences at LeMoyne College. What are the ways that we connect across time and across space? Humans have an inherent need to reach out to others, to feel that we’ve been heard and seen, and to feel a connection with people and the larger world around us. Whether through art, technology or the restoration of land for future generations, we each find ways to push the limits of connection.
Saturday, March 25 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM
We will explore how humans push the limits of nature with TC Boyle's book "When the Killing's Done" and Stefanie Kroll, CNY native and Project Science Director at Drexel University's Academy of Natural Sciences. How do humans constantly push the limits of nature? That might mean the world around us or it may mean our own human nature. You’ll consider together “what is natural?” and “is there such a thing as pushing nature too far?”
Saturday, May 6 from 10:30 - 11:30 AM
We will explore how humans push the limits of nature with Clive Cussler's book "Arctic Drift" and Sherilyn Smith, Professor of Biology at LeMoyne College. How do we survive? As humans, we’re driven to find a way to survive, whether trapped in a life threatening situation or competing in a sport. Our instincts urge us to push our limits to make it through, one way or another.