Science is a product of and for society.

The natural sciences, the social sciences and more recently the computer sciences have altered our lives and shaped our future. During the past decades, the importance of exploring the relationships between various branches of natural science has been recognized, and an increasing number of interdisciplinary research projects studied - connecting physics with biology, medicine, chemistry and informatics. However, the connection between the social sciences and natural science is still little explored, despite the benefits a better understanding could bring. The change that advances in computing power and the new interconnectivity of the Web2.0 bring for these areas is also crucial to understand future prospects.

The Lightcone Institute aims to pursue research on those questions that are the most relevant to our society - fundamental questions of nature as well as the connections between politics, sociology, economics and the natural sciences, and the ongoing technological change in these research fields. In the 21st century, mankind is faced with increasingly complex problems on a global scale that have to be addressed in a timely manner. How negotiatons can be lead, decisions be reached and be incorporated into our institutions most efficiently is a central question that can be addressed scientifically.

The scientific community plays a pivotal role to the solution of these problems, on a local, national, as well as on an international level. For progress to continue, scientific research needs to work optimally: It needs to function on a global scale, not be affected by financial or political pressures, and the incorporation of scientific insights ought not to be stalled by outdated belief systems. The social dynamics of research itself, and its embedding into our society, is a new and important subject of scientific study. In a rapidly growing, global scientific community it is crucial to understand how science works, how progress can be optimized, and how resources can be used most efficiently.

Summary of our Key Points.