Thursday in Pictures

Here are some visual impressions from the first day of the World Science Festival:

Sam Shepard on horses, cacti and a film stunt gone awry at Toil and Trouble… Stories of Experiments Gone Wrong. (Image: Getty Images)

Illuminating Genius: Unlocking Creativity. From left to right: Moderator John Hockenberry, artist Matthew Ritchie, neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran, dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones, neuroscientist Nancy C. Andreasen, Saul Griffith, Michael York. (Photo: www.leslieimage.com)

Contrary to popular prejudice, these might well be the only people in white lab coats at the World Science Festival: Radio Lab co-host, Jad Abumrad, science writer, Jonah Lehrer, behavioral economist, Dan Ariely, and Radio Lab co-host, Robert Krulwich in You and Your Irrational Brain. (Image: Getty Images)

Cosmic perspectives at Echoes from the Beginning. From left to right, physicists Lawrence Krauss, Paul Steinhardt, historian of science Helge Kragh, physicist Lyman Page, and moderator Ira Flatow. (Image: Getty Images)