Categorically Not!

The artist Bob Miller liked to say that the worst disease afflicting humankind is ``hardening of the categories'' - the tendency to cram subjects into boxes labeled ``science,'' ``art,'' ``politics,'' ``economics,'' ``play'' -- labels that are as outdated and meaningless as divisions between the colors on a continuous spectrum. Over the past 10 years, KC Cole has been organizing free form events that tear down these artificial barriers, and with intriguing results: actors gain insights into character from a topologist; a choreographer solves engineering problems through her knowledge of motion; neuroscientists learn about intuition from filmmakers and string theorists. Categorically Not! - as the series is called - is not (merely) an attempt to ``popularize'' science by looking at it through unlikely lenses, but a real exploration into the deep connections that both illuminate and energize all fields of study. It is a ``people's'' salon, free and open to the general public. Cole will talk about how she overcomes ``hardening of the categories'' not just through events, but also in her popular magazine and newspaper articles, books, radio commentaries, and teaching at USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.