New Frontiers of Science, Art and Thought Meeting: Simulated Certainty :: September 30 – October 2, 2009 :: Barcelona, Spain.

The conference Simulated Certainty explores the threshold between reality and imagination. Where does the scientific hypothesis start? Where does the confirmation of the theory begin? How does the contemplation of an art piece become an intimate experience? What mechanisms enable us to generate this awareness of a hidden reality? The advent of new technologies and of the web has heightened more and more the tension between fiction and reality. Artistic creation and scientific research both impose an interdisciplinary point of view.

Computing the Natural. Science uses powerful computers to reproduce virtually the various phenomena of nature. Computer simulations therefore provide schematic descriptions of the world with the aim to detect its mechanical foundations. Computers and technology have also become a new center of attention for the development of artistic creativity. New technical possibilities open for the arts while also building a critical view on new technology.

Multiplied Reality. The digital revolution has generated new worlds. We see a growing concern for this technology that is increasingly integrated, light, docile and adaptable to our body and our peculiarities. The performing arts are looking to interact in real time with a digital world whose feedback simultaneously influences and responds to the movement of the dancer or performer. The artist proposes the proximity and participation of the viewer. Meanwhile, the scientist studies the virtual contours of our psyche.

The Limits of Fiction. Fantasizing is immanent to human nature. To let the mind fly, to dream or imagine are even customary practices and, cognitively speaking, necessities. Fiction can awaken consciousness, attracting the attention of the viewer with metaphors or simplified messages. An intense friction takes place between the imagined and reality. Something convincing does not need to be real while phenomena that are absolutely fundamental to understand the universe can be very far from our own daily experience.