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Leonard Mlodinow          

Theoretical Physicist, Best-Selling Author, Caltech Faculty

Leonard Mlodinow is a theoretical physicist and author, recognized for groundbreaking discoveries in physics, and as the author of several best-selling books. His collaborations and independent works have made significant impacts both in scientific communities and the general public. "The Grand Design", co-authored with Stephen Hawking, reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list. His book "Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior", which explores the influence of the unconscious mind on perception and behavior, won the 2013 PEN/E.O. Wilson award for literary science writing. Another notable work, "The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives", was chosen as a New York Times notable book and short-listed for the Royal Society book award, illustrating the role of randomness in daily life and decision-making.

In 2005, he rejoined the Caltech faculty to teach, while continuing his writing career, and by 2013, he had transitioned to writing full-time. His works include "Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change", which discusses the importance of adaptable thinking in modern society, and "War of The Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality", where he delves into the public debate between science and spirituality. He has also authored "Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking" and "Stephen Hawking: A Memoir of Friendship and Physics", showing his versatility in writing both scientific and personal biographies. Additionally, Mlodinow has written children’s books such as "The Last Dinosaur" and "Titanic Cat".

Mlodinow's ability to demystify complex scientific ideas and make them accessible and engaging has made him a popular speaker. He has delivered lectures at prestigious institutions like Caltech and Harvard and for major corporations including Google and Microsoft. His speaking topics often cover cognitive illusions, mental barriers, optimal decision-making, and the role of unconscious biases in professional settings, catering to a broad range of audiences from corporate executives to major league baseball general managers. Furthermore, Mlodinow has contributed to television, having written for series including "MacGyver", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", and "Night Court", and he has been featured in media outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Scientific American.

Speech Topics


The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

This irreverent and illuminating presentation explores how random events shape the world and how human intuition fights that fact. Although our brains naturally want to see patterns and order, life doesn't necessarily work like that. As an example, Mlodinow questions why a wine was given five out of five stars, the highest rating, in one journal and in another it was called the worst wine of the decade?

As he discusses the basics of probability and statistics, Mlodinow provides wonderful illustrations from fields as wide-ranging as sports, medicine, psychology, and the stock market. Clear, accessible, very friendly, engaging, and often very witty, this speech can be enjoyed by absolutely everyone (including the math-phobic).

The Grand Design

Leonard Mlodinow, the physicist/author behind The Drunkard's Walk, explores his collaborative work with Stephen Hawking in their #1 bestseller, The Grand Design. Created for any lay audience, this speech is presented in a very interesting, detailed, thought provoking, and often humorous way.

Mlodinow discusses why some of life's biggest questions can be answered by science and scientific theory, including: Why is there something? Why do we exist? Why this set of natural laws? The theories he expounds upon are sometimes old and sometimes groundbreakingly new, but all will either surprise you, educate you, or both. You will ponder reality and your own existence – as well as the reality of your existence!

Mlodinow offers Stephen Hawking's theories of a multiverse in which there are an almost infinite number of universes that can arise spontaneously from the "big bang." He includes a well-rounded historical summary of scientific discoveries, right up to and including the most recent ideas in string theory and particle physics. This is a presentation that is not to be missed.

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