Harvard University Convenes Experts to Debate and Prioritize World's 'Hardest Problems' in the Social Sciences

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --In 1900, the renowned mathematician David Hilbert laid down a challenge to future generations: 23 mathematical problems, all difficult, all important, and all unsolved.

Since then, mathematicians have struggled to solve the 23 'Hilbert Problems'.  Ten have been fully solved; 11 are partly solved or simply cannot be solved; and two remain at large.  The pursuit of the solutions had a profound and fundamental influence on the roadmap for 20th century mathematics, testament to Hilbert's foresight.

Starting on April 10, 2010, Harvard University will take Professor Hilbert's vision one step further, shifting his lens to a new field: the social sciences.  After 18 months of joint planning with the non-profit Indira Foundation, which initiated the effort and also provided financial support, the Division of Social Science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will convene a symposium of multidisciplinary experts to propose and prioritize an analogous set of the world's hardest unsolved problems in the social sciences.

"Hilbert's approach is as applicable to the social sciences today as it was to mathematics in 1900," said Stephen Kosslyn, Dean of Social Science.

During the daylong symposium, which will be open to the public and broadcast live on the Internet starting at 10:00am EDT (2:00pm GMT), a panel of experts from multiple universities will present and debate what they believe are the hardest unsolved problems in the social sciences (including economics, psychology, political science, gender studies, ethnic studies, history, sociology, and anthropology), emphasizing why the problems are both hard and important.  

For 45 days following the event, anyone from around the world can view symposium videos, vote on the proposals, and, most important, submit additional problems for consideration and voting at http://socialscience.fas.harvard.edu/hardproblems.

The final votes will be used, in combination with the symposium proceedings, to develop a prioritized list that will hopefully serve to focus and inform research and policy directions in the future.

Speakers include:

• Peter Bearman, Columbia University
• Nick Bostrom, Oxford University
• Susan Carey, Harvard
• Nicholas Christakis, Harvard
• James Fowler, University of California, San Diego
• Roland Fryer, Harvard
• Claudia Goldin, Harvard
• Gary King, Harvard
• Emily Oster, University of Chicago
• Ann Swidler, University of California, Berkeley
• Nassim Taleb, Polytechnic Institute of New York University
• Richard Zeckhauser, Harvard

"We applaud the efforts of Dean Kosslyn and his team in bringing this idea to realization over the past year and a half," said Nicholas Nash, a member of the Indira Foundation.  "Particularly exciting is the collaborative nature of the effort, already involving an impressive list of thought leaders."

About the Indira Foundation

The Indira Foundation is a Connecticut-based charitable organization dedicated to supporting programs that can make a difference in the fields of education, health care, and social welfare.

SOURCE Harvard University