Setting up for a pre-conference "Closer to Truth" shoot in a spectacular (if windy) location

Trying to be profound amidst the wind with Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Anthony Aguirre on the dirty secrets of cosmology

Matt Leifer on the dirty secrets of quantum foundations

Paul Davies on the dirty secrets of life

Meia Chita-Tegmark and Max Tegmark

Rafting discussion group on whether the universe is a simulation: Vitaly Vanchurin, Giulio Tononi, Sumit Paul-Choudhury and Lee Billings

Vitaly and Giulio

Lee Billings and Howard Wiseman

Max and James Hartle at the mike

Panel on quantum experiments with Matthew Fisher, Keith Schwab, Seth Lloyd, Andrew Briggs, Raj Patel

Federico and Elvia Faggin (and a senator from Massachusetts in the background)

Long line at the mike: Page, Lloyd, Davies, Tegmark, et al

Charles Bennett and James Hartle

Seth Lloyd on free will

Speed dating with science at the Banff public library: Larissa Albantakis, Sean Carroll, Carlo Rovelli, Bill Unruh

Carlo, Bill and Susanne Still

Carlo, Charles, Sean Carroll, Sean Gryb and Susanne

Young scientists

Larissa on consciousness and integrated information

Explaining why you're living in a simulation

The kids tell me that if we had simulations with simulations the people would get smaller and smaller until they were eventually too small to exist.

I attempt to respond to the kids' challenge.

With fellow speed daters Carlo, Charles, Sean, Sean, and Susanne

I changed my topic.

Panel on observers with Adrian Kent, Susanne Still, David Wallace, Alan Guth, Adam Brown and David Wolpert

Susanne offers a motto for the conference.

Observing some more: Susanne, David, Max, XX

David Wolpert, David Wallace, Alan Guth, Adam Brown on observers

Banff from above

The consciousness discussion group worked hard: Claudia, Henry Lin, Donald Hoffman, Elvia and Federico

Finally an answer to those difficult indexical explanatory questions

Facebook on the mountaintop with Michele Arc and Raj Patel

Adrian Kent

Gregor Weihs

Raj Patel

Emily Adlam and XX

Gregor, Raj, Emily and Michele

XX

Mountaintop discussion group on how observers constrain physics (in one of its more disciplined moments) with Michele, Adrian, Gregor, Raj, and Emily

Greg Kestin and Emily Adlam

Claudia and Federico

Panel on how science can make an awesome future, with Melanie Swan, Michael Arc, Bart Selman, Max Tegmark

Another long line. Jenann Ismael, Max Tegmark, Melanie Swan, Don Page, Elise Crull and James Hartle.

Jenann Ismael

Panel decides what exists: Jenann Ismael, Raphael Bousso, Carlo Rovelli, Andreas Albrecht, Laura Mersini-Houghton and Don Page

Stephon Alexander's eulogy

Lunchtime discussion of phi collapsing the wavefunction with Bernard Carr, Giulio Tononi, Paul Davies

Giulio on IIT

Max on language data

Consciousness panel with Giulio, Masafumi, Max, Larissa, Federico and George Musser

View from the consciousness panel: Giulio, Masafumi Oizumi, Larissa and Federico

Jeff and Jayne Tollaksen

Alan Guth and Bill Unruh debate the reality of the wave function (with obligatory bear hats).

Raphael Bousso and Vitaly Vanchurindebate.

Emily Adlam and Bianca Dittrich debate the priority of events and processes.

Debate on observers and the wave function with XX and David

Sean Carroll and Alan Guth debate the stable quantum state.

Another consciousness survey (B and C tied for first; I voted for C)

George's wrap-up with final thoughts

Joscha Bach's consciousness survey results

Debate on consciousness with Carlo Rovelli(I'm against it)