Humanism in Kenya will be hosting an international event called the „Humanist Symposium“ on November 4th, 2023, focusing on balancing secular values and cultural diversity while respecting religious freedoms.
It’s FREE to attend, but RSVP is required.
Don’t be left out!
Program
Chair: Claire Klingenberg
Chair: Sergio Della Sala
Chair: Holm Hümmler
Introduction by Claudia Preis
Introduction by Claudia Preis
Chair: Pontus Böckman
Chair: Catherine de Jong
Chair: András Gábor Pintér
Chair: Amardeo Sarma
links:
ZOOM meeting
YouTube channel – join the conversation
All times Pacific – Speaking times are flexible – bear with us (Česká republika je o 9 hodin napřed!)
9:46am – Welcome from Susan Gerbic, founder of Monterey County Skeptics and Guerrilla Skeptics on Wikipedia (GSoW).
10:30am – Facepalm – the absurdities of the Truth Movement – Claus Larsen & Steen Svanholm
About: As editors of 911facts.dk, an independent medium which aims to investigate the core claims of the Truth Movement, Steen Svanholm and Claus Larsen have investigated conspiracy theories for more than a decade.
Summary: Conspiracy theorists present their alternative explanations as far better supported than “the official accounts”. In reality, the theories are not only lacking in evidence, they are also absurd and often contradict each other. The lecture will also explain the thinking behind these problems and how the Truth Movement handles the absurdities in an Orwellian manner.
11:00am – Linda Rosa – Attachment Therapy: the most cruel quackery
11:45am – Rob Palmer Critical Thinking 101: Inoculating Yourself Against False Beliefs
Summary: Our brains evolved on the African savannah well enough to allow survival in that unforgiving environment. But our thinking is far from perfect. We are primed to trust the opinions and anecdotes of people we know. We conclude that something is true based on inadequate personal experience, less-than-perfect memory, faulty logic, and a host of cognitive biases. All of this can lead us to believe in things which do not comport with reality, and often results in bad decisions and even harm. In this talk, Rob Palmer will discuss these topics from a skeptical perspective, because understanding our innate cognitive shortcomings can help us think more rationally, better avoid errors, and live better lives.
Rob Palmer is affectionally called The Well-Known Skeptic – find his column for Skeptical Inquirer here.
12:15pm – Kyle Polich – Cryopreservation: a skeptical survey
Summary: Cryogenics are a speculative technology aimed at preserving a dying human body in a way that enables thawing and revival once medical science has discovered a cure. To date, no such revivals have been achieved in human beings. Should we be calling cryogenics “woo”? If I can afford it, what are my odds? Where is Walt Disney’s head? These questions and more will be explored.
Bio: Kyle is the host of the popular podcast Data Skeptic – find more here.
12:45pm – Adrienne Hill – Tic Tok Tics with Teens and the Pandemic
Summary: Since the second wave of the pandemic, a surge of patients with “acute onset tic-like behaviors” have been seen in Calgary and around the world. The headlines in the news have blamed Tik Tok, social media and even the teens themselves for being attention-seeking. Adrienne will discuss what is currently known about these unusual cases.
Bio: Galactic overlord of both time and space within the boundaries of Calgary, Alberta – she is the giver of talks on moose and the superiority of Canadian maple syrup vs Australian maple syrup.
1:30pm – Lunch – hang around and socialize with attendees and speakers
2:00pm – Richard Saunders – International Skepticism in Action – The Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project
Summary: Richard Saunders gives us an overview of the largest survey every undertaken into the question of whether it is possible to see into the future using paranormal powers.
2:30pm– Mano Singham – Why the age of the Earth has oscillated wildly over time
Summary: The age of the Earth seems to be a settled question in the scientific community, But estimates of its age have oscillated wildly in the past, starting with it being considered really old (even infinitely old) to becoming very young (of the order of thousands of years) to becoming sort of old (hundreds of millions of years) to younger again (tens of millions of years) to the current view of it being really old (of the order of billions of years). This talk will look at the interplay of scientific and religious thinking that was driving this fluctuation.
Bio: Mano Singham is a theoretical physicist and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. His recent research interests are in theories of knowledge and physics and philosophy. He is the author of four books, the most recent of which is titled The Great Paradox of Science: Why Its Conclusions Can Be Relied Upon Even Though They Cannot Be Proven that was published by Oxford University Press in 2019.
3:15pm – Craig Good – Eating Sceptically
Summary: A lot of people worry about eating the “wrong” food. Well-funded campaigns have spent years convincing you that some foods are good, some are bad, and some are downright evil. It doesn’t have to be that way. Craig Good’s book, “Relax and Enjoy Your Food”, uses science and a little common sense to take away all that anxiety. In this talk Craig will discuss persistent myths about food, how to apply science to nutritional decisions, how to identify trustworthy sources of diet information, and how to eat fearlessly and guiltlessly.
Bio: Craig Good spent thirty one years at Pixar (and Lucasfilm before that), and is now an Assistant Professor at the California College of the Arts. He’s guest-hosted and written for the Skeptoid podcast, and has been a guest on The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe. He has wide-ranging interests that include food and science. When his daughter was diagnosed with anorexia he got an up close look at how important it is to have a healthy relationship with food. As the author of Relax and Enjoy Your Food he’s put on his science communicator hat to untangle the myths that keep us anxious and less healthy than we could be.
3:45pm – Allison Long – Maine Vaccines and GSoW
Summary: Allison will be expanding on her involvement with the Guerrilla Skeptics on Wikipedia project – mainly focusing on Maine, USA.
4:15pm – JD Sword – Operation Onion Ring – Or, How to Fool a Grief Vampire
Summary: JD will be speaking about his involvement with the April 2021 sting that caught medium Thomas John hot-reading a group of children 5-12 years old.
JD is a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer focusing on demonic topics
Přednášející: Úžasná a jedinečná Susan Gerbic
Thomas John Flanagan, známý spíše jako Manhattanské médium nebo Jasnovidec z bezpečnostního pásu, byl zapojen do akce známé jako „Operace Pizza Roll“, která vyústila v článek v New York Times.
Během lockdownu se Flanagan stejně jako ostatní média věnoval výkladům na Zoomu. Susan Gerbic se většiny těchto akcí účastnila a zaznamenávala je, a která se později stala „Operací Lemon Meringue“.
Při posledním pátrání Susan zjistila, že Flanagan začal pořádat čtení pro děti ve věku od pěti do dvanácti let. Susan se s vámi podělí o toto poslední píchnutí nazvané „Operation Onion Ring“.
Susan Gerbicová, wikipedistka, je spoluzakladatelkou Monterey County Skeptics a samozvanou skeptickou narkomankou. Susan je také zakladatelkou projektu Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW). Je členkou Committee for Skeptical Inquiry a píše pro něj sloupek Guerilla Skepticism.
Program:
6:30 – 7:00: Setkání a přivítání; kouzelnický trik
7:00 – 8:00: Přednáška
8:00 – do: Obecná diskuse
Přiveďte kamaráda a pomozte nám oslavit kritické myšlení v rámci mezinárodně oblíbeného formátu Skeptics in the Pub! Přijďte s otevřenou, ale kritickou myslí, vědomím vlastních předsudků a úctou k bližním.
Nastražte uši a připojení!
Wikipedie je známá jako mezinárodní encyklopedie. Je to ale také celosvětová síť s tajnými členy, která se snaží ovlivnit lidstvo? Nebo je to webové fórum, kde může člověk zveřejnit svůj názor? Jak Wikipedie funguje? A jak můžete něco změnit?
Dokonce i mezi skeptiky se na Wikipedii stále pohlíží s nadhledem. Je spolehlivá? Existují mechanismy a procesy, které by Wikipedii učinily validnější a chráněnější?
Na všechny tyto a další otázky odpoví prezentace The Skeptics in the Pub Online.
Annika Harrison je členkou německé organizace skeptiků GWUP. Je také hrdou členkou European Skeptics Podcast (ESP) a píše rozhovory a reportáže pro online sekci Skeptical Inquirer. V roce 2017 se připojila ke Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia a nejraději nahrává zvukové úvody, které dále obohacují stránky týkající se skepticismu.
Profesně působí jako učitelka angličtiny a dějepisu na všeobecné škole poblíž Kolína nad Rýnem v Německu. V soukromí je vdaná a je matkou jednoho dítěte.
Skeptics In The Pub online
The 1700s was a period when the people of England seemed to be especially gullible. They believed a woman could give birth to rabbits; a man could climb inside a two pint bottle and sing inside it; and where a blond-haired European could write a book claiming that he was born in Taiwan. These hoaxes weren’t just written about extensively in newspapers and journals but also brilliantly and amusingly depicted by satirical artists such as William Hogarth and James Gillray. Based on his recently published book, Ian demonstrates how 18th century hoaxes are memorable not only for their imaginative nature but also because of the differing motives of the tricksters.
Ian Keable obtained a first-class degree from the University of Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, qualified as a chartered accountant and then became a professional magician. A member of The Magic Circle with gold star, he has won several awards for his unique brand of comedy magic. Keable has also performed on television and has written and presented programmes for BBC Radio. An accredited lecturer for The Arts Society, he gives talks on magic history, cartoons and eighteenth-century hoaxes. Keable’s other publications include Stand-Up: A Professional Guide to Comedy Magic and Charles Dickens Magician: Conjuring in Life, Letters and Literature. He lives in London.
SkeptiCal is a one-day conference for curious, science-loving people to learn about science, scientific skepticism, and critical thinking in an informal setting, at an affordable cost.
The sponsoring organizations are the Bay Area Skeptics (BAS) , the Sacramento Area Skeptics (SAS), and the Monterrey Bay Skeptics. These are nonprofit organizations composed of scientists and non-scientists who are interested in science, critical thinking, and the public understanding of science. We are part of a national scientific skepticism movement begun in the 1970s and 1980s by Carl Sagan and other scientists who were concerned about the public embrace of various pseudosciences.
BAS and SAS remain focused on what Sagan called “extraordinary claims” (which require “extraordinary evidence,” as his adage reminds us) but we also seek to improve the general public understanding of science and critical thinking. Scientific skepticism is independent of other movements which sometime also claim the term “skeptic.” Scientific skepticism can be embraced by all, whether religious or non-religious, trained in science or new to the scientific method, or anyone interested in better understanding truth and reality.
Find out more about BAS at http://www.baskeptics.org/ and about SAS at https://www.meetup.com/sacskeptics/
SkeptiCal is a great opportunity to hear accomplished and entertaining scientists and other critical thinkers speak about fascinating topics in an informal setting. Our conferences have considered a range of topics including GMOs, science denialism, climate change, science literacy, evolution, medical pseudoscience, extraterrestrials, astronomy, and others topics. At previous SkeptiCal meetings we have hosted local scientists from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, several California State Universities, Stanford, NASA, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, and many other notable local institutions. For our 2021 conference, we are going virtual, so we are not restricted to local talent. We have chosen speakers from far and wide!
Claus Larsen and Steen Svanholm, internationally renowned experts on 9/11 facts and myths, describe how the terror attack was planned and carried out by the terror organization al Qaeda, and what the catastrophe meant for the time following. Claus lived in New York City at the time, and shares his personal experience.
Claus and Steen will also talk about the most common conspiracy theories that are still propagated about the terror attack on September 11th 2001.
This will be an online event with opportunity for participants to send in written questions during the presentation, which will be answered in the Q&A afterwards. Instructions for how to do this will be given when the events starts.
NECSS – The Northeast Conference on Science & Skepticism produced by New York City Skeptics, the New England Skeptical Society, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, and The Society for Science-Based Medicine is a science and critical thinking conference held annually in New York City. NECSS welcomes leading scientists, educators, activists, and artists who educate and engage conference attendees through individual presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and performance pieces. NECSS is as much a meeting of minds as it is a conference, and social events and mixers are organized throughout the weekend to allow attendees the opportunity to mix and mingle in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.
STACEY FINLEY, PHD
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California
GEORGE M. CHURCH, PHD
Professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School
IMARI WALKER
Environmental Engineering PhD Candidate at Duke University
DR. LEENA TRIPATHI
Plant Biotechnologist
SARAH NOBLE, PHD
Program Scientist in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters
DR. ROBERT M. LEVY, MD, PHD
President of the International Neuromodulation Society (INS)
DR. JACOB BLEACHER
Chief Exploration Scientist in NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division
PAUL A. OFFIT, MD
Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
KEVIN M. FOLTA
Professor Horticultural Sciences Department & Graduate Program in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology
PETER ETCHELLS
Psychologist and Science Communicator
Back in the 1980s, alarm spread throughout the world with respect to claims that Satanic abuse was not only real, it was widespread. Fuelled largely by pressure groups and the media, many people came to believe that there was an international network of powerful individuals who regularly engaged in rituals involving Satan worship, human and animal sacrifice, group sex, paedophilia, forced abortions, cannibalism, and so on.