Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, March 19, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: We’re taking a month off from our popular guest speakers to bring back the beloved Skepardy. Join us for fun, frivolity, and prizes!
ARCHIVE
Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, February 19, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: A slightly post-Darwin Day celebration with a special guest speaker Professor Spencer C.H. Barrett. Professor Barrett received his B.Sc. from the University of Reading (UK) and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently University Professor and Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Genetics in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. He works on the reproductive biology and genetics of plants, particularly invasive species, and is an avid natural historian and plant explorer. He was elected to the Royal Societies of Canada in 1998, the Royal Society of London (U.K.) in 2004, and in 2009 he was made a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Prof. Barrett is currently President of the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution. More information on his publications and lab group can be found at http://labs.eeb.utoronto.ca/barrett/. Having just returned from a month in Chile visiting some of Darwin’s haunts, Prof. Barrett will speak about poorly appreciated facts about Darwin with his talk, “Darwin and flowers: the beginnings of the adaptationist program.”
The Great Time Debate
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Auditorium, Rm. G162. 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto.
Notes: ASR is co-sponsoring this event with Centre For Inquiry Canada. Cosmologist Dick Bond, physicist Lee Smolin, and philosopher James Robert Brown will discuss/debate the nature of time, while science journalist Dan Falk (author of In Search of Time ) moderates. Topics to be touched upon: How did the universe begin? Why does time have a direction? Could the flow of time be an illusion? Is time travel possible?
The event is free for CFI members and one guest. Tickets are $7 for non-members online or by calling 416-971-5676. Members are invited to a reception following the event at CFI, 216 Beverley St. For more information and to purchase tickets click here.
Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, January 22, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: We don’t know how we’re going to top Professor Richard Wiseman, but I’m sure our guest speaker Steve Thoms will give it his best shot! Steve is the Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic North and Oot and Aboot with Some Canadian Skeptic. A renaissance man, Steve is an amateur astronomer, an award-winning astro-photographeris, and a professional music teacher; and he studied recorded music production, political economy, and global politics. Steve has appeared as a guest on Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe.
ASR presents Richard Wiseman
Date: Monday, January 4, 2010
Time: 12:00pm until 1:30pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: ASR is privileged to present an exclusive talk by Professor Richard Wiseman while he is in Toronto promoting his new book 59 Seconds.
British psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman started his working life as a professional magician, has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Edinburgh, and currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He has written over 60 academic articles and several books, including The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and most recently 59 Seconds. A passionate advocate for science, Professor Wiseman has established an international reputation for his research into unusual areas of psychology, including deception, luck, and the paranormal. (Over 1 million people have taken part in his mass participation experiments.)
Professor Wiseman frequently appears in the media; his research has been featured on over 150 television programmes, including Horizon (BBC), Body Shock (Channel 4), 20/20 (ABC), and Dateline (NBC). He is regularly heard on BBC Radio 4, and articles about his work have appeared in The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian. A recent poll revealed that Professor Wiseman is the psychologist most frequently quoted in the British media. He has been invited to speak at The Royal Society, Microsoft, Caltech, and The Royal Institution, and his YouTube channel has received over 8 million views.
Professor Wiseman was the recipient of The CSICOP Public Education In Science Award in 2000 and the Joseph Lister Award For Social Science in 2002. In 2004 he was awarded a NESTA DreamTime Fellowship for his innovative work in science communication, and in 2005 served as President of the General Section of The British Association for the Advancement of Science.
59 Seconds exposes modern-day mind myths promoted by the self-help industry and describes hundreds of techniques that help people achieve in minutes, not months. Most people would like to be more creative, more persuasive, and more attractive. For years, gurus and ‘life coaches’ have urged people to improve their lives by changing the way they think and behave, but scientific research has revealed that many of their techniques, from group brainstorming to visualization, are ineffective. Fortunately Richard Wiseman is on hand to provide fast-acting, myth-busting scientific answers to a huge range of everyday problems. From job-hunting to relationships, and from parenting to self-esteem, personal and professional success may be less than a minute away.
http://59seconds.wordpress.com/
www.quirkology.com/USA/index.shtml
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com
Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, December 18, 2009
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes:
In honour of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference this month, we are happy to have Professor Danny Harvey of the University of Toronto speaking about climate change. Professor Harvey is an expert on climate modelling, climatic change, and energy and environment. He has written the books A Handbook on Low-Energy Buildings and District Energy Systems and Global Warming: The Hard Science, as well as various research papers. His latest book is Energy and the New Reality, Volume 1 (Energy Efficiency) and Volume 2 will be out in the spring of 2010. For more information: http://faculty.geog.utoronto.ca/Harvey/Harvey/publications.htm#pub.
ACTION: Natural Health Products Symposium @ University of Toronto
Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009
Time: 8:00am (or whenever you can make it)
Location:
Meet at the northwest corner of University and College @ 8am, or show up any time at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College St.
Notes:
The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto is holding a Natural Health Products Symposium. Two of the sponsors are companies that produce homeopathic preparations, so pseudoscience is likely to be in the air. Association for Science and Reason would like your help to let them know that we oppose their quackery. Please join us to hand out brochures and carry signs—put your skepticism into action! For more information on the symposium, click the following link: http://www.pharmacygateway.ca/microsite/nhp/index.html.
Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, November 20, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: This month there will be no Skepardy, but for good reason—we’ve got two great presentations for you: Umer Noor, who has a PhD in particle physics, will give a brief talk on (and demonstration of!) the Large Hadron Collider, which will have just become operational again. Also, November is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, so David Bailey will also give a brief talk on evolution myths and misinformation. Please join us for food, drinks, conversation, and merriment. Bring friends.
Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, October 16, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: Toronto’s, first Skeptics in the Pub (SiP) in September was a huge success! Members and friends, old and new, packed the venue nearly to capacity and everyone enjoyed our ‘patented’ Skepardy game. Thank you so much for joining us, and please come to the next SiP on October 16th—if only to see our new and improved Skepardy!
Toronto Skeptics in the Pub
Date: Friday, September 18, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St., 3rd floor (across from Wellesley station).
Notes: Join us at Toronto’s first Skeptics in the Pub (SiP) for food, drinks, and conversation.