Stars of science draw capacity crowd to COSMOS event

Left to right: Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss and Wilson da Silva on stage on 12 April 2012. Credit: Corey Butler/COSMOS

The view toward the stage from the back of Sydney Grammar School’s stylish new meeting centre. Credit: Corey Butler/COSMOS

SYDNEY: A capacity crowd of almost 1,500 people in Sydney on April 12 came to hear two of the world’s best-known names in science – Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss – talk about … well, nothing.

Dawkins is a British evolutionary biologist and author of best-sellers like The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion. He shared the stage with Krauss, an American physicist known for his wit as much as his writing, and whose most recent book is A Universe From Nothng.

They discussed the origin of life and the universe, and how both could be explained without the need for the concept of a creator.

The event, “Something from Nothing: An evening with Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss”, was introduced by COSMOS editor-in-chief Wilson da Silva, and staged as part of the magazine’s push to develop a constellation of activities around its quality reputation and its growing recognition as a global brand.

“COSMOS is highly regarded by its thinking readership, who are frustrated at the lack of good literary writing that can satisfy their intellectual appetite to understand the world,” said da Silva. “The market for this is global.”

The lecture, which went on sale in February and sold out in three weeks, was held at Sydney Grammar School’s stylish new meeting centre, and video recorded for webcast by COSMOS and its media partners.

“Most of the audience were under 30, and we had hundreds line up afterwards for autographs,” said Cosmos Media’s CEO Kylie Ahern. “Science is hot, and great science talent attracts big crowds.”