The Skeptical Society of St. Louis

In March, I suggest we take a look at psychologist Richard Wiseman’s latest: “Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There“. Wiseman takes a novel approach, encouraging the reader to perform activities that allow her to experience the phenomena considered by many to be paranormal, and using these experiences to give us insight into what’s really going on in our brains.

In addition, I will consult portions of Michael Sherman’s newest book: “The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies–How We Construct and Reinforce them as Truths“, in an attempt to form a deeper understanding of why so many people believe in the unbelievable.

Read one book, both, or none. In any case, please join us on Sunday, March 18th at 6pm at Cafe Ventana in the big conference room in the Annex for an imaginative discussion.

Please click here to reserve your spot!

In Daniel Kahneman’s new book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” he discusses  the two systems that drive the way we think–system 1 being intuitive and system 2 being deliberative–and explains when we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can benefit from more deliberative thinking.

Please join us at 6pm on Sunday, February 19th at Cafe Ventana in Think Tank 2 in the Annex for a discussion about how we can improve the way we think about thinking. Click here to RSVP to this event.

On Friday, February 17th at 7PM at Growler’s Pub, Phil Ferguson will be giving a talk entitled “Breaking the Cycle of Woo.” Using examples from his own experiences as a skeptical parent, he will explain the steps we can all take to ensure that the next generation is a little more skeptical than the last. Phil Ferguson is the founder of Champaign Urbana Freethinkers and a former board member of the Secular Student Alliance and Atheist Alliance International. Phil writes about skepticism and money at SkepticMoney.com.

After the talk, things are a little more social. We hang out and have interesting conversations until late at night. People with all sorts of different backgrounds show up, so no matter what you’re interested in talking about, you should be able to find someone else who’s passionate about it.

For more information and to RSVP to this meetup, please click here.

Note: If you’d like to attend this discussion, please take a moment to RSVP at the Skeptical Society of Saint Louis’s Meetup Page!  http://www.meetup.com/skepticalstl/events/38154252/

In November, in honor of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s visit to SIUE, we’ll be focussing on our future in space. Will monetary and political roadblocks decrease our likelihood of discovering new life on planets? How would this stifle the discovery of new technologies? If we do have the means and the ability, what is our next frontier?

To inform our discussion, I’ll continue reading Michio Kaku’s fascinating book, particularly Chapter 6–Future of Space Travel: To the Stars.

The Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 – Michio Kaku

In addition, the JREF has released a video showcasing a fantastic panel about Our Future in Space from this summer’s The Amaz!ng Meeting in Las Vegas, featuring none other than Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/10/20/our-future-in-space-panel-at-tam-9/

Whether you get a chance to read/view the material or not, please join us for a discussion (that’s out of this world!) at Cafe Ventana, from 6pm to 9pm (or however long you can stay) on Sunday, November 27th. We’ll be hanging out in the big conference room in the Annex.

See you at the Salon!

KellyG

Skepticon, the midwest’s biggest Skeptical Conference, will be held on Saturday and Sunday, November 19th & 20th, with some extras happening on Friday the 18th. Speakers include Dan Barker: co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation; PZ Myers: biologist and author of Pharyngula blog; Richard Carrier: philosopher, ancient historian, and author of Sense and Goodness without God among other titles; Joe Nickell: paranormal investigator, and author of dozens of books including Tracking the Man-beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More; along with many more fascinating speakers!

It should be an informative and fun time as well as a great way to meet fellow skeptics. Visit the Skepticon website for more information.

This month, we welcome Washington University psychology professor Roddy Roediger. On Friday, October 21st at 7PM, he will be giving a talk titled “Illusions of Memory: How (and Why) People Confidently Remember Events that Never Happened.” Dr. Roediger is an internationally renowned scholar of human memory and is the principal investigator for Wash U’s Memory Lab. His research interests include such topics as how people can suffer memory illusions and false memories, implicit memory (when past events affect ongoing behavior without one’s awareness) and, most recently, applying cognitive psychology to improving learning in educational situations.
After the talk, things are a little more social. We hang out, have interesting conversations, and play bocce ball until late at night. People with all sorts of different backgrounds show up, so no matter what you’re interested in talking about, you should be able to find someone else who’s passionate about it.

See you at the pub!

Visit our Meetup site here or email mfmckay@gmail.com for more information about the SSSL.