The Day After Tomorrow: Our Oceans and Climate Change

Wednesday 28^th February 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

With Professor of Physical Oceanography Meric Srokosz

Anthropogenic climate change is now accepted by virtually all credible scientists in the relevant fields. Professor of Physical Oceanography Meric Srokosz will be exploring the role of the oceans in climate and climate change, and explaining how the earth’s climate is actually changing and the consequent effects. Points of interest in this presentation will include the impact of sea level rises, the potential changes in global weather patterns, and a look at the effect of ocean acidification. All of these factors could have dramatic effects on both marine ecosystems and human populations, so it is essential that we gain a fuller understanding of them and work together to limit environmental damage.

Professor of Physical Oceanography Meric Srokosz coordinates the Rapid Climate Change programme looking at how changes in the north Atlantic circulation will affect UK and northwest European climate.

“Join us for an expert’s review of the impact of climate change on our planet’s vital ocean ecosystems”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

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. Please email Dave at DHweb2(at)live.co.uk for a PDF copy for you to print and display.

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

What Next for Humans in an Age of Machines?

Saturday 10^th February 12.00pm/2.00pm 
Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH

With Artificial Intelligence Expert Dr Kate Devlin

Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three course buffet lunch in BIC’s Purbeck Lounge, followed by a thought-provoking talk from our special guest Dr Kate Devlin. We live in an age where automation of our everyday world is becoming increasingly achievable, and we barely notice artificial intelligence because it blends seamlessly into our lives. For as long as humans have existed, we’ve used technology - from sticks to smartphones - to improve our existence but will we reach a point where that technology usurps us? What happens if, or when, we become redundant, and where does life go next? Join us for an insider’s view of what it means to be human in an age of ever-advancing machines.

Kate Devlin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London. She works in the fields of Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence, and is known for her work on human sexuality and robotics.

	Booking Information Italian buffet lunch and presentation (12:00pm start): £25 per person Presentation only (2:00pm start): £3 per person (inc tea/coffee) For tickets, please see Lyn Glass at our meetings, or phone 01202 767323, or email lyn.glass@btinternet.com (Please book lunches by 30th January).

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. Please email Dave at DHweb2(at)live.co.uk for a PDF copy for you to print and display.

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

Astounding Science and Our Genetic Legacy

Wednesday 25^th October 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

With scientist Graham Marshall

The ancestor we share with chimpanzees lived around six million years ago, and we have lived as ‘modern’ humans for only a few hundred thousand years. For just a miniscule fraction of that latter time we have learned to use the scientific method to gain a better understanding of our history and the world around us, and it is easily forgotten that we were fashioned by evolution in small groups on the plains of Africa, and that our inner natures have not changed. Our improved evidence-based knowledge of who we are gives us the power to rise above our basic survival instincts of greed and fear, and the selfish programming of our genes, but can our predicted future population of around 10 billion humans, who have all evolved to be hunter gatherers, adapt quickly enough? Graham Marshall will be reviewing some of the most amazing scientific advances of the last 70 years and will consider how well our species is adapting to modern life in light of our genetic legacy.

Graham Marshall studied physics at Birmingham and Nottingham universities, and his career has included developing electronic devices at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in Malvern, and a scientific post at the British Embassy in Japan.

“Join us for a stimulating review of the most important recent scientific advances and a thoughtful examination of the impact of our genetic legacy”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

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.

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.

The Magic and Sorcery of Alternative Medicine

Wednesday 28^th June 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

Featuring Magician and Illusionist (and former surgeon) Dr. Richard Rawlins as the ‘Esteemed Quackademic’ Professor Riccardo

Having previously revealed the ‘Real Secrets of Alternative Medicine’ to us, Richard Rawlins will step aside and allow his alter-ego Professor Riccardo, ‘a master of illusion and a mind-reading marvel from the Department of Quackademic Medicine’, to demonstrate his skills in magic and illusion in this reality-defying performance that the multi-billion dollar complementary medicine industry would rather you didn’t see!

As a psychological illusionist and a member of The Magic Circle, retired surgeon Dr. Richard Rawlins does not deny that he sets out to take advantage of his “medical experience of non-verbal means of communication, body paralanguage, chronemics and advanced telepathy”(sic) to entertain and entrance, but what is reality and what is deception? As Richard says, “You must be the judge.”

“Join us for an entertaining evening of magic and illusion in this thought-provoking magical exposé of alternative medicine”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Dr. Richard Rawlins is a former lecturer in Anatomy, King’s College, London, Clinical Director of Surgery and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Bedford Hospital and Chairman of the UK Consultants Conference. He is also an illusionist and a member of the Magic Circle.

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

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.

A Walk with our Ancestors: Human Evolution and Archaeology

Saturday 13^th May 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Emeritus Professor of Genetics Norman Maclean

Beginning with an account of early human evolution from ape-like ancestors, the proliferation of many hominid species in Africa, and the eventual move out of Africa by Homo Sapiens and other hominids. Norman will examine many unsolved mysteries such as what happened to the Neanderthals, how the "Hobbit" people evolved on the island of Flores, how humans lost their body hair but became very clever, and what brought about the demise of the Indus Valley culture.  A range of Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Indus Valley artefacts will be available to view.

Norman Maclean is an Emeritus Professor of Genetics at Southampton University, a BHA eminent humanist, Chair of South Hants Humanists, and author of many popular nature books including "Silent Summer" and "A Less Green and Pleasant Land".   

“Join us for a fascinating afternoon exploring some of the mysteries of human evolution”

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.

Science Without Pedestals

Saturday 11^th February 12.00pm/2.00pm 
Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH

A Darwin Day Celebration with Philosopher Julian Baggini

Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three course buffet lunch in Bournemouth International Centre’s (BIC) Purbeck Lounge, followed by a fascinating talk from our special guest Julian Baggini.

Humanists and free-thinkers rightly celebrate the many achievements of science, however some go too far in their admiration, and make science the model for all reason. Julian will argue that the scientific method cannot provide the template for reason, partly because there is no such thing as the scientific method, and most importantly, science cannot be the source of ethics nor can it debunk it. By challenging the pretensions of those who elevate science too high, we can better appreciate it for what it really is and more fully understand what it means to value reason and rationality.

Please note that entry to this event requires you to have a ticket. For booking information, see below.

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, journalist, author, and editor and co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine. His books include: The Edge of Reason, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, and The Pig That Wants to be Eaten.

	Booking Information Italian buffet lunch and presentation (12:00pm start): £25 per person Presentation only (2:00pm start): £3 per person (inc tea/coffee) For tickets, please see Lyn Glass at one of our meetings, or phone 01202 767323, or email lyn.glass@btinternet.com (Please book lunches by 30th January at the latest).

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.

Animal Journeys: Migration and Navigation

Saturday 13^th August 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Emeritus Professor Norman Maclean

What is it that makes animal migration such a magnificent spectacle? Is it the sheer abundance of wildlife in motion, or the amazing feats of precise navigation required to reach the distant destinations that must be somehow coded in genetic memory?

Animal migrations are one of the great wonders of the animal world, made all the more interesting as so many mysteries remain about it. In this talk, Norman Maclean will be exploring our current understanding of this fascinating subject, with a special focus on the various navigational systems used by different species - from navigating by the sun and stars, to using exotic supersenses that rely on quantum entanglement to guide the animals on their way!

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 fascinating afternoon exploring the mysteries of animal migration”

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.

Ten Ways the Universe Tries to Kill You

Wednesday 22^nd June 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

With Astronomer Steve Tonkin

As we go about our daily lives, it is easy to forget we are passengers on a small planet travelling at nearly 70,000 miles per hour around a solar system that orbits the Milky Way at equally breathtaking speeds. We often hear from apologists that our universe is ‘fine tuned for life’, but the reality is that most of our unbelievably vast universe is extremely hostile, with terrifying phenomena that could wipe out humanity in the blink of an eye if they ever come close enough. From gamma-ray bursts to asteroid impacts, and from supernovae to galactic collisions, it seems certain that the universe is out to get us! Steve Tonkin’s light-hearted but scientifically robust review of potentially cataclysmic events will help us understand many fundamental cosmological processes and their potential effects on us.

Steve is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and has taught astronomy to adults and children for over 30 years.

He has written books and articles on practical astronomy, and has a monthly column in the BBC’s Sky at Night magazine. He is also a STEM (Science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassador with a special brief for astronomy.

“Join us for an entertaining review of the cosmic catastrophes that could threaten our existence here on earth”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

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.

Predatory Dinosaurs and the Evolution of Birds

Saturday 13th February 2016  12.00pm or 2.00pm 
Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH
 
Dorset Humanists proudly present a Darwin Day celebration with Vertebrate Palaeontologist Darren Naish
 
Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three course buffet lunch in BIC’s Purbeck Lounge, followed by a fascinating presentation by palaeontologist Darren Naish.

Recent discoveries of a wealth of fossil feathered dinosaurs and early birds have helped scientists show how birds emerged as the end-products of a sustained phase of miniaturisation within theropods, which enabled this group to be the only dinosaur lineage to survive and thrive beyond the Cretaceous mass extinction event around 66 million years ago. 

In addition to explaining how birds evolved, Darren will also consider the diversity, anatomy, biology and behaviour of some of the most awe-inspiring predators ever to walk the earth. These include spinosaurs, allosaurs and tyrannosaurs, as well as the remarkable scythe-clawed therizinosaurs and sickle-clawed dromaeosaurs. 

Darren Naish is a vertebrate palaeontologist whose technical work mainly covers theropod (beast-footed) and sauropod (lizard-footed) dinosaurs. His best-selling books include Walking with Dinosaurs: the Evidence and The Great Dinosaur Discoveries.

Booking Information

• Lunch & presentation tickets: £20 each (£10 students) - 12.00 noon: welcoming glass of wine or soft drink followed by a 3 course Italian buffet lunch in the BIC Purbeck Lounge
• Presentation only tickets £3 each (£1 students) - 1.50pm arrival for 2:00pm start includes coffee or tea on arrival.
• For tickets, please see Lyn Glass at our meetings, or phone 01202 558763, or email lyn.glass@btinternet.com (Please book lunches by 30th January).

Everyone Welcome!     Please ensure you book your tickets in advance.

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.

Beyond the Syringe: the Secrets of Alternative Medicine Exposed

Saturday 14^th November 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Dr Richard Rawlins

Since time immemorial humans have been concerned about our health and well-being. For early civilisations it seemed obvious that the gods, spirits and stars were the cause of illness and disease. The Age of Enlightenment ushered in more critical analysis and we now expect medicine and healthcare to be evidence-based. Despite this progress, a third of the UK population indulges in alternatives to evidence-based medicine, and at least £500 million is spent every year on implausible treatments. There is no satisfactory way of differentiating between a sincere practitioner of complementary or alternative medicine, a dissembling quack, and an out and out fraudster. In this presentation Richard Rawlins reviews how conventional, orthodox, mainstream medicine has evolved from esoteric, hermetic, and arcane origins and now provides the best possible care in the light of current knowledge and understanding.

Dr. Richard Rawlins is a former lecturer in Anatomy, King’s College, London, Clinical Director of Surgery and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Bedford Hospital and Chairman of the UK Consultants Conference.

Join us for an entertaining exposé of the secrets of alternative medicine.

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 Consciousness Conundrum

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

With Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology Dr Peter Naish

What is consciousness, and how do physical processes in the brain give rise to the sub­jective life of a conscious mind?

Simple animals like the amoeba presumably have no such experience, since they have no brain or nervous system, yet they can react to their surroundings well enough to survive without it. Many of our own cognitive functions such as perceiving objects, making decisions, and even performing apparently voluntary actions can take place without consciousness intervening, but if we can function without conscious awareness, why should consciousness be there at all? Is consciousness just an accidental by-product of having a large brain, or has it been selected for by evolution because creatures with consciousness have improved prospects for survival?

Historically, questions about the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness have primarily been a topic for philosophers, but advances in neuroscience are bringing us closer to a scientific understanding. Peter Naish, a senior lecturer in cognitive psychology at The Open University, will be revealing many of the latest developments in our efforts to unravel the mysteries of consciousness.

“A fascinating exploration of the mysteries of consciousness”

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.

Being Human

Wednesday 26^th August 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

With Dr Fiona Coward.

What does it mean to 'be human', and what is it that makes us unique as a species? Is it even possible to identify a single, critical, and universal human characteristic that explains the essence of our uniqueness?

Charles Darwin’s ground-breaking theory of evolution showed that we share common ancestry with other great apes, and the fossil record and archaeological finds clearly demonstrate that modern humans didn’t emerge from ancestral apes in a single step, so when did populations along the way become distinctively ‘human’?

In recent decades scientists have been surprised to discover that many other animals demonstrate some of the skills we once thought were exclusively 'human', such as making and using tools, living together co-operatively in large groups, communicating in highly complex ways and even using and understanding symbols. In this thought-provoking presentation Fiona Coward will discuss the implications of these findings on how we think about what it means to be human, and will explain when and how some of the most obvious characteristics and behaviours that distinguish us as a species evolved.

“Join us for a highly informative examination of what it means to be human”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Dr Fiona Coward is Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Sciences at Bournemouth University whose research focuses on how and why humans were able to scale up their social lives from the very small social groups we lived in for much of our prehistory to the global social networks which characterise people’s lives today.

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

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.

Science and Religion in the Classroom

Saturday 09^th May 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Alom Shaha - author of The Young Atheist’s Handbook

How can children brought up in religious families reconcile the different ‘truths’ they are told about the world? And to what extent should we discuss these issues in schools? What exactly should science teachers say when asked about the ‘truth’ of science by religious students? In this talk, Alom Shaha will describe his personal experiences of growing up in a Bangladeshi Muslim community in London, what role his science education played in his journey towards atheism and how, as a physics teacher in a London comprehensive, he responds to the apparent conflict between science and religious ideas in the classroom.

Alom Shaha was born in Bangladesh but grew up in London. As a teacher, science writer, and filmmaker, he has spent most of his professional life sharing his passion for science and education with the public, and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts (NESTA) and the Nuffield Foundation. He has also represented his community as an elected politician, and currently produces the children’s science video series ‘ExpeRimental’ for the Royal Institution (Ri).

“A great opportunity to discover what happens when science meets conflicting religious beliefs in the classroom”

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 Difference that Darwin has Made

Thursday 12^th February 5.30pm 
Bournemouth Natural Science Society, 39 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth BH1 3NS

A Darwin Day Celebration with Professor A. C. Grayling

Join us for a Darwin Day celebration with renowned humanist philosopher A.C.Grayling. Professor Grayling will be explaining how Darwin’s theory of evolution represented a new paradigm in human history, radically changing our understanding of our place in the universe, and that Darwin’s discoveries continue to have a huge impact on our lives due to their ongoing influence on a multitude of scientific disciplines. His talk will be followed by light refreshments.

Note that this is one of a very limited number of ticketed events organised by Dorset Humanists, so please be aware that that you will need a ticket to attend, and availability is limited.

***Update: Please note that all tickets for this event have now been sold***

Booking Information and Ticket Prices

Advanced Booking: Members: £2 per person; Non-members: £4 per person; On the door (if any seats are still available): £5 per person. To check ticket availability and/or purchase tickets please contact Lyn Glass on 01202 558763, or email lyn.glass(at)btinternet.com.

A C Grayling MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSL, FRSA is Master of the New College of the Humanities, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. Until 2011 he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy and other subjects; among his most recent are "The Good Book", "Ideas That Matter", "Liberty in the Age of Terror" and "To Set Prometheus Free". He is a frequent contributor to the Literary Review, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Times Literary Supplement, Index on Censorship and New Statesman, and is an equally frequent broadcaster on BBC Radios 4, 3 and the World Service. In addition he sits on the editorial boards of several academic journals, and for nearly ten years was the Honorary Secretary of the principal British philosophical association, the Aristotelian Society. He is a past chairman of June Fourth, a human rights group concerned with China, and is a representative to the UN Human Rights Council for the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He is a Vice President of the British Humanist Association, the Patron of the United Kingdom Armed Forces Humanist Association, a patron of Dignity in Dying, and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. Anthony Grayling was a Fellow of the World Economic Forum for several years, and a member of its C-100 group on relations between the West and the Islamic world. His latest books are "The God Argument" (March 2013) and "Friendship" (September 2013).    Anthony Grayling's new book, "The Challenge of Things" will be published in March 2015.

Please 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.

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/

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

Sunday Assembly (aka “Atheist* Church”) comes to Bournemouth

Bournemouth Sunday Assembly’s Inaugural Event

Sunday 28th September from 11.00am to 12.30pm

Rooper Hall, 5 Victoria Park Rd, Bournemouth BH9 2RB

September 28th 2014 will be an important day for Sunday Assembly!

Across the world, many new Assemblies will be launching and thousands of people will be coming together to celebrate being alive. Thousands of people who didn’t know each other before will be coming together to form new communities, and the great news is one of them is in Bournemouth!

Sunday Assembly was founded in London in January 2013 by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans as “all the best bits of church but without the religion, and with awesome pop songs too”. “We are dedicated to helping the people that attend, and the folk in the wider community, to make the most of this one life that we know we have”. “We harness fun, joy and wonder to build communities and to help others”.

Sunday Assembly is for everyone who wants to:

•  Live Better. We aim to provide inspiring, thought-provoking and practical ideas that help people to live the lives they want to lead and be the people they want to be
•  Help Often. Assemblies are communities of action, building lives of purpose, encouraging us all to help anyone who needs it to support each other
•  Wonder More. Hearing talks, singing, listening to readings and even playing games helps us to connect with each other and the awesome world we live in.

Each service is based around a theme, with a guest speaker, poets and/or comedians and some great pop songs. The theme of the first assembly will be ‘community’.

* Please note that although Sunday Assemblies are regularly referred to as ‘atheist churches’ by the media, Sunday Assemblies welcome everyone, regardless of any theological beliefs they may have.

For more information, or to help organise Sunday Assembly Bournemouth, visit https://www.facebook.com/sundayassemblybournemouth

(Edit: Link to new post on 26th October meeting: http://dorset-humanists1.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/singer-songwriter-shelley-segal-at.html )

Freethinker’s Delights: More Hidden Treasures From YouTube

Thursday 14^th August 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

Dean Robertson will be presenting another eclectic selection of entertaining and enlightening clips from the vast archive of atheist, rationalist, humanist and skeptical lectures and discussions which are now available on YouTube.

While YouTube is probably best known for its huge collections of music videos and amusing Candid Camera style home movie clips, there’s a wealth of more serious material available from debates and discussions, right through to entire online lecture series from top universities, and this presentation will provide another great introduction to just what it has to offer. And don’t be surprised to see some classic comedy clips, and a couple of epic fails from Creationists and/or Conspiracy theorists too!

To give you a flavour of what to expect, here's a rundown of the film clip selection from last year’s very popular, “Dawkins, Hitchens and Other Hidden Treasures of YouTube” evening :
http://dorset-humanists1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/hidden-treasures-of-youtube-videos.html

“Join us for an enjoyable evening as we explore and discuss another big helping of the best freethought YouTube videos”

Free entry (donations appreciated). Everyone welcome!

Our Indian friend Swami Manavatavadi will also be attending this event and there will be an opportunity to meet him in the bar afterwards. Swami Manavatavadi is director of a small secular humanist school in Kurukshetra, Haryana (100km from Delhi). Dorset Humanists have had a friendship link with, and been providing some financial support to, this school since 2003.

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

Please 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.

Making Sense of Animal Rights

Saturday 13^th September 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Emeritus Professor of Genetics Norman Maclean

The relationship between animals and humans has been the subject of differing philosophical views for thousands of years and the controversy continues today. Science has shown beyond doubt that we are part of the same evolutionary continuum as all other life on earth, sharing behaviour, physiology and many of our genes with our animal cousins, yet even the most passionate animal rights campaigner would be unlikely to argue that a cockroach warrants the same rights as a human being. So how should we treat other animals, whether farmed, domesticated, or wild, and what rights should we accord to the diverse range of species with which we share our planet? Is a vegan lifestyle the only moral choice?

In this presentation, Norman Maclean will explain the important role played by scientists in providing us with a strong evidence base for improving animal welfare attitudes and practices, and argue that, as a minimum, animal rights should include rights to exist, to hold territory, to reproduce, and to be free from unnecessary pain and exploitation. He will also examine controversial topics such as intensive farming, badger culls, hunting for sport, and the use of large numbers of laboratory animals in medical research and product testing.

Join us for a thought-provoking examination of the animal rights debate with geneticist and author Norman Maclean

Norman Maclean (SDA, BSc, PhD, FLS, FIBiol) is an Emeritus Professor of Genetics at The University of Southampton. Besides genetics he has worked in wildlife conservation and river management. He is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Biology and the Linnaean Society and served as the editor of the Molecular and Cell Science section of the Journal of Fish Biology. He was also a Trustee of Marwell Wildlife Park for many years, and served as its Honorary Scientific Advisor. Norman is an active member of the British Humanist Association and currently serves as a chair of his local humanist group.

Norman has authored, co-authored and edited over a dozen textbooks and reference books in genetics and cell biology. Between 1984 and 1991 he edited an annual review entitled 'Oxford Surveys on Eukaryotic Genes' (published by Oxford University Press) and most recently edited ‘Silent Summer’ (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He is editor of the forthcoming book, ‘A Less Green and Pleasant Land’ (Cambridge University Press, 2014), due for release in February 2014. The book details the current state of wildlife in Britain and Ireland and offers an insight into the outlook for the future. Chris Packham wrote the foreword.

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please 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.

Science & Pseudoscience: How to Tell the Difference

Thursday 17^th July 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

A Discussion with Science Journalist Peter Hadfield

In these times of information overload, media hype, disinformation, and chequebook journalism, how do reasonably intelligent people ensure we are accurately informed about science? What sources can we trust and what are the relative merits of books, websites, newspapers, and scientific journals?

With a particular focus on the topical issue of climate change, science journalist Peter Hadfield and Chair of Dorset Humanists David Warden will discuss how credible information is gathered, how to spot bogus information, and how to minimise the risk of being deceived.

Peter Hadfield is a firm defender of science and a staunch critic of pseudoscience, creationism, and global warming denialism. He regularly debunks pseudoscience and conspiracy theories on his YouTube channel, Potholer54, which now has approaching 90,000 subscribers, and also hosts the annual Crocoduck Awards.

“Join us for this lively discussion in which Peter Hadfield will guide us through the process of defending ourselves against pseudoscience and scientific deception”.

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed by car and on foot via it’s rear driveway in Gervis Road. Gervis Road is well lit and has roadside parking available).

Please 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.