Event Listing
GMSS Skeptics in thePub with Aubrey de Grey
Defeating Aging and Other Dramatic Goals: The Danger of the Lazy Skeptic.Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist based in Cambridge, UK, and is the Chief Science Officer of SENS Foundation, a California-based charity dedicated to combating the aging process. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Rejuvenation Research, the world’s highest-impact peer-reviewed journal focused on intervention in aging.
He has been a guest speaker for numerous TV programs and events such as CBS 60 Minutes, BBC, the New York Times, Fortune Magazine, the Washington Post, TED, Popular Science and The Colbert Report. Most recently this controversial gerontologist was the subject of Christopher Syke's documentary film Do You Want to Live Forever?
Manchester Skeptics Social
Please note- NEW VENUE!
If you're of a skeptical or scientific mindset and enjoy good company and good beers, come and join us for our monthly Manchester Skeptics in the Pub Social. We'll be meeting in The Bulls Head, which is located very near to Piccadilly train station (round the back where the taxis come out!) and a short walk from Piccadilly Gardens Bus station and tram.
It's a brilliant bar with plenty of great beers at a reasonable price. There will be no speaker at this event, just good company and interesting conversation.
Entry is free, and we'll be there from about 19:00 onwards, in the area which is slightly raised on the left of the door when you arrive at the pub. The pub also serves food etc.
It is also a good opportunity to offer any suggestions for speakers, or other Greater Manchester Skeptics ideas you may have. We hope to see you there!
GMSS Skeptics in the Pub with Sense About Science
Sense About Science is a charitable trust that equips people to make sense of scientific and medical claims in public discussion – with a database of over 5,000 scientists, from Nobel prize winners to postdocs and PhD students, they work in partnership with scientific bodies, research publishers, policy makers, the public and the media, to change public discussions about science and evidence.
Since 2002 they have shared the tools of scientific thinking and scrutiny through award-winning public campaigns. Their activities and publications are used and shaped by community groups, civic bodies, patient organisations, information services, writers, publishers, educators, health services and many others.
Dr Tabitha Innocent, Communications Officer for Sense About Science, will be at GMSS Skeptics in the Pub to bring us all up to speed with current challenges. She’ll take us on a whistle-stop tour of Sense About Science and tell us about the launch of their fantastic ‘Ask for Evidence’ campaign. You can read all about this campaign on this link here, feel free to donate!
This event will be at Tv21, 10 Thomas St, Manchester. Doors are 7:30, it starts 8pm sharp.
SitP Social
Our usual Skeptics in the Pub social event, with a side serving of 'farewells'. This month on a TUESDAY! TUESDAY CAMPAIGNERS- this is what you have been waiting for... :D
"If you're of a skeptical or scientific mindset and enjoy good company and good beers, come and join us for our monthly Manchester Skeptics in the Pub Social. We'll be meeting in Sandbar, which is located very near to Oxford Road train station and only a 12-minute walk from Piccadilly.
It's a brilliant bar with plenty of great beers at a reasonable price. There will be no speaker at this event, just good company and interesting conversation."
In addition this month, we'll be joining forces withhttp://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159556867468875.
Vicky has been coming along to Skeptics events since very nearly the beginning of GMSS. If you haven't spoken to her personally, you may have read her blog, or even seen her talk at our soapbox event. Come along and say goodbye (farewell?!) or Hello! Goodbye! if you haven't had the pleasure. All are welcome.New faces welcome as always!
GMSS Skeptics in the Pub on Scientology with Martin Poulter
http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/c/c/5/event_48052421.jpegHow to create your own cult: The Scientology way
Scientology has been described in the States as “ruthless, litigious and lucrative” and in this country as “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”, yet it boasts global success and has made hundreds of millions of dollars. Thanks to the Internet, it now faces an unprecedented global opposition. The scary secrets of Scientology and its recruitment methods will be exposed in this talk. It will be useful for anyone wanting to set up their own lucrative cult.
Martin Poulter first encountered skepticism while a teenager. He has a Philosophy and Psychology degree from Oxford University and a PhD in Philosophy of Science from the University of Bristol. He has been a Scientology-watcher since 1995, when he was threatened with legal action over material he posted online. He is an ordained minister in the Church of the SubGenius, which offers eternal spiritual salvation or triple your money back.
GMSS Skeptics in the Pub Social
If you're of a skeptical or scientific mindset and enjoy good company and good beers, come and join us for another Manchester Skeptics in the Pub Social. There will be no speaker at this event, just good company and interesting conversation. Entry is free, and we'll be there from 19:30 onwards. It is also a good opportunity to offer any suggestions for speakers, or other Greater Manchester Skeptics ideas you may have. We hope to see you there!
GMSS Skeptics in the Pub with David Colquhoun
http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/f/3/1/event_48053041.jpegThe corruption of science.
Managerialism and quackery endanger a noble enterprise.
TBA Doors 7:30 Starts 8pm sharp.David Colquhoun, PhD, FRS, is a noted British pharmacologist. He held the A.J. Clark Chair of Pharmacology at the University College of London (UCL) from 1985 to 2004, Honorary Director of the Wellcome Laboratory for Molecular Pharmacology, and is now is an Honorary Fellow (2004) and research assistant at UCL.
Since 2001, Dr Colquhoun has run DC’s Improbable Science, a wildly popular blog and website (with 2,209,000 hits) and Twitter account (with over 2600 followers). These sites are dedicated to critical assessment of various sorts of pseudoscience, such as “Alternative Medicine” and much managerialism and science fraud. Lately he has taken an interest in more general problems of inference in clinical trials, science policy, and science communication. He has been particularly critical of a number of United Kingdom universities that offer science degrees incorporating pseudoscientific courses such as homeopathy and acupuncture.
In December 2009, Dr Colquhoun won a freedom-of-information judgment, requiring the University of Central Lancashire to release details of their undergraduate course in homeopathy.
SkepLit meets Manchester Girl Geeks: The Age of Spiritual Machines
This month we're holding a special event with Manchester Girl Geeks, to discuss Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines.
Published thirteen years ago, the book contains Kurzweil's predictions about the possibilities presented by a future full of computers. It includes a list of predictions for 10, 20 and 30 years into the future.
Since the first year of predictions has passed (2009), this is a chance to discuss how accurate t hey turned out to be, and what we think of the chances of his other ideas coming true might be. Hey, we might even start making our own predictions.
This is a great opportunity to discuss the effect of the computer and internet on our lives, how futurologists make their predictions and how accurate they turn out to be.
Join us for tea, cake and skeptical geekery!
Note: Madlab is a community project dependent on donations, grants and charity for support. A small contribution of a £1-2 to help keep it running and providing a space for us all to meet and geek is appreciated.
GMSS Skeptics in the Pub Social
If you're of a skeptical or scientific mindset and enjoy good company and good beers, come and join us for our monthly Manchester Skeptics in the Pub Social. We'll be meeting in Sandbar, which is located very near to Oxford Road train station and only a 12-minute walk from Piccadilly. http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/7/8/7/9/event_47490841.jpegIt's a brilliant bar with plenty of great beers at a reasonable price. There will be no speaker at this event, just good company and interesting conversation.
Entry is free, and we'll be there from about 19:15 onwards. It is also a good opportunity to offer any suggestions for speakers, or other Greater Manchester Skeptics ideas you may have. We hope to see you there!
Skeptics in the Pub Soapbox!
Huzzah! The August Soapbox Special returns to Manchester Skeptics in the Pub!
This year we've got six short 'Soapbox' style rants/talks for your enjoyment! If you've never been to a Skeptics event before, this would be a great chance to get a feel for what it's all about.
This year we have talks ranging from homeopathy through to witches, stopping off at religion, mathematics, "The Secret" and more....with the talks coming from members of our own skeptical community.
Dave Briggs: Homeopathy: the current state of the art.
Joely Black: The Secret: How to use one magic word to make millions, get a NYT bestseller and a top-selling movie.
Victoria Stiles: How Crazy was the (English) Witch Craze?
Polyp: 'Spiritual, but not religious... what the fuck does that mean then?'
Andrew Taylor: 'The Formula for the Perfect Life'
****EARLIER DOORS! 7PM for a 7:30 start****