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Cady Coleman on Living in Space

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Want to get a feel for what it’s like to live in space for months at a time? Ted.com just posted a talk Dent board member Cady Coleman gave on their main stage recently.

The best part? You guessed it, the flying:

My favorite part about living up there was the flying. I loved it. It was like being Peter Pan. It’s not about floating. Just the touch of a finger can actually push you across the entire space station, and then you sort of tuck in with your toes. One of my favorite things was drifting silently through the space station, which was humming along at night. I wondered sometimes if it knew I was there, just silent. But sharing the wonder of that with the crew was also part of what was important to me.

Cady and several Dent Passport members just returned from another near-weightless environment — undersea. We recently visited our friends in Florida who manage the astronaut training facility Aquarius Reef Base. Cady spent 11 days living underwater there prior to her trip to the ISS. While in Florida, we all went on a coral planting expedition hosted by the Coral Restoration Foundation.

Exploring like Aquanauts with Dent Aquarius

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Less than a month after Dent descended into Sun Valley, the Dent community is already diving into a number of events and explorations across the U.S.

In less than two weeks, Dent Aquarius brings us to Key Largo, Florida, to learn more about the Aquarius Reef Base—the world’s only underwater laboratory dedicated to science and education. 

As an active research facility, the US NAVY, NASA, and academic researchers use the Aquarius Reef Base to study sensitive coral reefs as well as train astronauts for life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Known as “aquanauts,” scientists and other researchers who use the Aquarius Reef Base live in this underwater lab at depth pressure for at least 24 continuous hours without returning to the surface. 

Guiding our Dent Aquarius experience is retired NASA astronaut and Dent board member Cady Coleman. Cady flew twice on the space shuttle Columbia and spent almost 6 months on the ISS making for a total of 180 days in space. Her first journey to space came as a mission specialist in 1995, when space shuttle Columbia carried the US Microgravity Laboratory into space for its second mission on STS-73, a precursor mission to the space station. She returned for STS-93 in 1999, also on Columbia, as the lead mission specialist for the deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In December 2010, Coleman launched into space for a third time onboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, for a six-month stay onboard the space station, serving as the lead science officer, lead robotics officer and flight engineer for Expedition 26/27. 

Dent community member Zachary Cohn captured Dent Aquarius on video during its first year. Watch below to learn more, and join the Dent community to be considered for invite-only opportunities like Dent Aquarius.

Learn MORE ABOUT DENT PASSPORT

Teller Makes Us Uncomfortable — and We Love It

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Dent Passport holders had the remarkable opportunity recently to socialize a bit backstage in Las Vegas with Teller, the silent half of the Emmy award-winning Penn & Teller duo.

Teller is friends with Dent board member Matt McKenna, and via Matt, we were invited to spend some time with Teller just before he went onstage. During that time, we learned more about how he and Penn develop their act and what drives them to innovate.

If you are not familiar with the relatively low-key Teller, I encourage you to read “Teaching: Just Like Performing Magic” a fascinating article written by Jessica Lahey in the Atlantic.

In this piece, Lahey reveals that Teller (a former Latin teacher) feels education, at its most engaging, is performance art — and that “learning, like magic, should make people uncomfortable, because neither are passive acts. Magic doesn’t wash over you like a gentle, reassuring lullaby. In magic, what you see comes into conflict with what you know, and that discomfort creates a kind of energy and a spark that is extremely exciting. That level of participation that magic brings from you by making you uncomfortable is a very good thing.”

Jason and I frequently discuss why so many Denters are avid magic enthusiasts (and in several cases amateur performers as well.) The late great master magician Eugene Berger spoke at our first conference to wide acclaim, and as a group we’ve made multiple well-attended treks to the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Last July board member Cady Coleman introduced us to the legendary magician Jamy Ian Swiss during San Diego Comic-Con, and a few months ago we organized an event in Boston featuring Dan Novy of the MIT Media Lab who teaches a course called “Indistinguishable From… Magic as Interface, Technology, and Tradition.”

I’d be remiss to not mention our Miami dinner several months ago where renowned artist Peter Tunney was our featured speaker. While Peter was there to talk about his creative works using photography and painting as media, he also regaled us with an unexpected magic routine!

Why magic? When Denter Everett Harper made the statement that our community members are “generous with their curiosity,” something clicked. Magic — like puzzles in general — disproportionally appeal to the intellectually curious.

We’ve now expanded on that thinking. A recent survey of Dent community members revealed that a significant percentage of them enjoy getting together at our annual conference, (and our other gatherings) because many wrote our events help them “break out of my comfort zone.” Given that, along with Teller’s insights, we plan to offer more magic-themed gatherings soon. There will be some performances at our upcoming conference, and Passport holders will be joining us for a special dinner and tour at the Magic Castle in April. You can request an invitation to the conference here and the Passport community here.

Dent:Explore Maui 2018 Schedule

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Friday, Sep 7th
1:00 PM

Mindsets and Decisions


Sheraton - Kihei Room
Guide: Ellen Leanse

The way we think the world works determines how we experience life and make every decision. Ellen will walk us through two important frameworks: the role of unseen brain functions in shaping perception and interpersonal dynamics, and how a mindset toward growth and learning changes the way we navigate the world.
2:15 PM

Break
2:45 PM

Lessons From Design Thinking


Sheraton - Kihei Room
Guide: Elisa Jagerson

Great design comes from deep and thorough thinking — from the basic function of something on a mechanical level, to how it makes people feel about themselves. In this interactive session, Elisa will share with us different aspects of design thinking, her own approach to "experience engineering" — and how we might apply those methods of thought to other decisions we face in life and work.
3:45 PM

Break
4:15 PM

A Physicist Who Thinks Like an Engineer

Sheraton - Kihei Room
Guide: Laura Ulibarri

Laura Ulibarri is often described as a “physicist who thinks like a engineer.” In this talk, she will describe how the two fields align, how they diverge and how both approaches can be used to problem-solve in both work and personal realms.
5:15 PM

Break to prepare for Dinner


Sheraton
6:30 PM

Welcome Dinner (hosted by Dent)

Various Restaurants
Dinners will be at various restaurants around town.
8:30 PM

Hot Seat Exercise

Sheraton Maui
Getting to know our companions.

Saturday, Sep 8th
8:00 AM

Coffee Meetup

Black Rock Kitchen - Sheraton
A-la-carte breakfast is available on the Hula Girl cruise, or eat beforehand if preferred.
9:30 AM

Catamaran Cruise Departs

Ka'anapali Beach - Leilani’s
Join Denters for a full-day snorkel and/or SCUBA cruise on the “Hula Girl” Catamaran. Cruise along Maui's scenic coastline to premier snorkeling destinations such as Honolua Bay Marine Sanctuary. Knowledgeable captains and crew are marine naturalists who are happy to share information on an informal basis throughout your sailing excursion. Purchase your tickets well in advance, as the cruise does sell out.

You can purchase tickets to the cruise here.

Alternative: for those who get seasick, wait too long to purchase their seats, or simply prefer a different activity -- some Denters will head to the Maui Aquarium for the day.
12:30 PM

Lunch on Hula Girl Cruise

No-host lunch available for purchase on the catamaran.
2:30 PM

Arrival from cruise / Personal Time

Ka'anapali Beach - Leilani’s
6:30 PM

Dinner

Various Restaurants
No-host dinner. Hawaiian eatery on the Plantation Golf Course offers views from the 19th hole & elegant island fare.

Sunday, September 9th
10:00 AM

Morning Beach Time/Activit(ies)

Ka'anapali
Snorkel tour of Black Rock option
Golf option
Walking tour Ka'anapali option
11:00 AM

Book Club
Poolside at Sheraton Maui

We’ll grab a couple cabanas poolside at Sheraton Maui to discuss the books people have brought with them to Hawaii. The group will split into two or three conversations depending on size; please plan to share a five minute summary of a book you’ve brought with your or have read recently, and any one key lesson or takeaway from the read.
12:30 PM

Lunch

Off-Agenda
Denters find lunch; there are wonderful options for dining up and down Ka’anapali beach south of Black Rock.
3:00pm - 4:00pm

Workshop/Presentation

Sheraton - Kihei Room
Guide: Danny Hernandez.

Danny will teach us how to use systematic prediction to make better decisions.

Danny Hernandez found his calling while working as an early data scientist at Twitch (acquired by Amazon in 2014). At Twitch Danny trained hundreds of staff to systematically and reliably think through their most important bets. It's hard to make a dent in the universe without making some big bets. Danny founded Evident to teach people and organizations to deliberately practice that skill. He currently consults for OpenAI, GiveWell, and Open Philanthropy and his work has been published in HBR and the Associated Press.
4:00pm - 5:30pm

Round Tables Conversations (2)

Sheraton - Kihei Room

We’ll split into two smaller groups and host round table discussions that dig into topics raised earlier in the conference, lead by two conversational guides.
6:00 PM

Drive to Dinner

Find your way to dinner in Lahaina.
6:30 PM

Sunset Dinner

Various Restaurants
Dinner at various restaurants. Guests are responsible for their own meals.
9:30 PM

Lahaina Pub Crawl

The group will tour some of Lahaina’s hot spots.
Lahaina

Monday, September 10th
8:00 AM

Breakfast

The Sheraton
9:00 AM

Drive to Maui Makers
9:45 AM

Tour Maui Makers

Maui Makers
Guide: Laura Ulibarri

Maui Makers is a non-profit community workspace that provides access to all kinds of equipment and training to locals working on innovative ideas. Maui Makers President Laura Ulibarri will take us on a tour of the makerspace and the cool stuff being built there.
11:00 PM

Drive to Makawao

On the trail / adventure
11:30 AM

Lunch in Makawao

Makawao
12:30 PM

Tour Pacific Science Institute

PSI
Guide: Garrett Lisi

We’ll join surfer-physicist and TED Speaker Garrett Lisi for a tour of the Pacific Science Institute on Maui. Garrett will show us the grounds and host a small Q&A with Denters about 8 dimensional models of the universe -- or whatever else we want to talk about.
2:00 PM

Drive back to Ka’anapali

Head back to home base and prepare for the evening or get to Lahaina.
5:00 PM

Dinner

Various Restaurants
No-host dinners near the venue for the evening comedy magic show.
7:30 PM

Warren & Annabelle’s Comedy Magic Show

900 Front Street A202, Lahaina, Maui
In one of Maui’s most elegant and intimate settings, Warren Gibson, highly acclaimed showman and one of the country’s premier sleight-of-hand magicians, treats you to the best “close-up” magic, hilarious comedy and southern hospitality in this beautiful, million-dollar Hawaii venue!

Please note: Attendees wanting to enjoy the show must purchase tickets through the show's website here. - more info can be found below this schedule.
9:00 PM

Return to Ka’anapali

Back in Ka'anapali for the evening.

Tuesday, September 11th
9:00 AM

Breakfast

The Sheraton
10:00 AM

Mental Models for Truth


Sheraton - Kihei Room
Guide: Mark Duncan

In his Dent 2015 talk “lessons of a Consulting Detective,” real-life Sherlock Holmes Mark Duncan gave us a taste of the techniques and secrets he uses to unlock cold cases. On Maui, Mark will delve more deeply into the mental models he uses to get to the truth. One of his central models (which was embraced by Steve Jobs) is the concept of “Shoshin” the Japanese Zen term meaning "beginner's mind.”
12:30 PM

Closing Lunch

Dent Reception: San Diego Comic-Con 2018

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We’re excited to announce that, thanks to the support of our friends at Lockheed Martin Space, we are headed back at Stone Brewing Tap Room in San Diego to host a post-session reception and technology demo on Thursday 7/19 starting at 5:00pm PT.

At the reception, registered guests will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with both our Moonbase and MIT Media Lab session panelists and witness some tech demos, all while enjoying some of the best beer that California has to offer. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to rub elbows with an astronaut, current and former NASA researchers, and some of the brightest minds the MIT Media Lab has to offer.

Meet Astronaut Cady Coleman
Our special reception guest is astronaut Cady Coleman. Cady is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, and she also logged 159 days in space aboard the International Space Station. She is also an accomplished chemist with a doctorate in polymer science and engineering from University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a BS in Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Get your reception tickets here. We can’t wait to see you!

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Please Note: All attendees must register separately. We cannot accept more than 2 registrations under the same name and/or email. Thank you!