Stories from Deep Time (The Etches Collection)

Saturday 08^th July 1.15pm 
Museum of Jurassic Marine Life, Kimmeridge, Wareham BH20 5PE

With Palaeontologist Steve Etches MBE

Amateur palaeontologist Steve Etches has spent more than 30 years creating the finest single collection of Late Jurassic era fossils ever assembled in Britain, many of which are new to science and are of great palaeontological importance. This extraordinary collection of more than 2,200 fossils includes the world’s best examples of fossilised ammonite eggs, a two-metre-long Pliosaur jaw, a Pterosaur skull, and an Icthyosaur with its belly still full of fish and squid.

Our Kimmeridgian Jurassic experience will begin with a buffet lunch provided by Clavells Café, followed by a fascinating talk from Steve Etches on the most important specimens in his collection. This will provide a unique and exciting insight into the lives of many Late Jurassic marine creatures. The £15 cost per person includes talk, buffet lunch and museum entry (transport not included). Please sign up at one of our meetings or contact us so we can confirm numbers for lunch and help coordinate transport arrangements.

Everyone welcome!

	Booking Information Buffet lunch, museum entry and presentation: £15 per person To book, please see us at one of our meetings, or phone 07910 886629, or email chairman@dorsethumanists.co.uk Booking deadline: 06 July.

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Broken Trust, Damaged Minds

Saturday 8^th October 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Psychologist Peter Naish

There can be little doubt that many people have been harmed by the predatory sexual activities of Jimmy Savile. The nature of child abuse often leaves victims with profound psychological damage that affects them for life, yet there is huge variation in the extent and nature of the impact on the victims, with some apparently suffering little long term harm. Why do different people (both adults and children) respond so differently to trauma, and what factors can help us to be more resilient? in attempting to resolve this issue, Peter Naish will consider a wide range of evidence including everything from brain architecture to the new science of epigenetics.  Along the way we will hear some sad stories, putting a very human face on the science of the neural response to trauma.

Psychologist Dr Peter Naish, now allegedly retired, retains academic links with the Open University, and the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, at Sussex University.  After a lifetime that has included working for the Home Office and Ministry of Defence, he has settled down to ‘a comfortable mix of research, expert witness work, and a busy speaking schedule'.

“Join us to explore our varying responses to trauma, and the factors that can mitigate the psychological harm suffered”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Our Population Predicament

Saturday 10^th September 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Eric Rimmer of ‘Population Matters’

According to the World Wildlife Fund’s ‘Living Planet Report’ 2014, we now consume 50% more resources than the natural world can replace. This problem is exacerbated as we deplete our energy resources and fresh water supplies, and global warming starts to make food production more difficult. Unless we take action now, we could witness major world-wide disruption and suffering. In this thought-provoking presentation Eric Rimmer will provide us with a wealth of information on the crucial issues of the 21st century including overpopulation, overconsumption, food production and water distribution, and explain how a truly sustainable society could be achieved.

Population Matters is a charity concerned with population size, environmental sustainability, family planning, sex education, and women’s empowerment.

Join us at this thought-provoking presentation to discover how we can achieve decent living standards for all, a healthy and biodiverse environment, and a sustainable population size.

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

The Enigma of Nature and Nurture

Saturday 8^th August 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Emeritus Professor Norman Maclean

Eminent geneticist Norman Maclean will be exploring the dual influences of heredity and the environment on our behaviour, intelligence and personality. The nature or nurture debate is one of the oldest in psychology, and has particular relevance for topics such as crime and punishment; as whether someone has a genetic predisposition to behave in a certain way (nature) or has learned criminal behaviours (nurture) affects how much personal responsibility they should bear for their actions.

The debate also profoundly affects educational theory and practice. Should we encourage our children to study, and invest significant resources in their education, assuming that learning and intelligence is mainly nurture, or is intelligence chiefly inherited so the talented will always do well?

Rare cases of identical twins separated at birth and reared separately have helped move these debates forward, but how close are we to solving these psychological and biological mysteries? Find out in this fascinating talk! 

Norman Maclean is an Emeritus Professor of Genetics at Southampton University. His research interests and writings span genetics, genomics, fish, conservation of wildlife and molecular biology, and he has written and edited many popular books on nature and genetics. His books include: Silent Summer: the state of the wildlife in Britain and Ireland, A Less Green and Pleasant Land: Our Threatened Wildlife and Animals with novel genes.

Join us for a thought-provoking examination of the nature or nurture debate!

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.