Madness, aliens debated at Brisbane fair

Geeks, deep-thinkers and curious minds will gather in Brisbane over the coming days for the World Science Festival.

The five-day event, which kicks off on Wednesday, aims to bring science out of the laboratory and inspire Queenslanders through discussions and performances tackling some of the big issues facing humanity.

Topics will range from the stars to the depths of the ocean, the search for alien life, madness, creativity, robots and dinosaurs.

Nobel Laureate physicist Brian Schmidt, astronaut Andy Thomas as well as physicist, author and festival co-founder Brian Greene are among those speaking at the festival which originated in New York and is being held in Brisbane for the first time.