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Free Event / Donations Encouraged

This critical thinking-focused organization meets Every Second Thursday of the month with a different topic and guest speaker for every conversational meeting.

THIS MONTH’S TOPIC: “Sh*t Students Say: Chem trails, hollow earths, and other strange ideas about the planet” by Steve Newton

From rejection of evolution and plate tectonics to questions about chem trails and crystal energy, many introductory science students come to class with strange ideas about the earth. Can animals predict earthquakes? Is the Earth hollow? Is climate change a hoax? Spoiler alert: no. Steven Newton draws from over twenty years of undergraduate geoscience education to illustrate how mistaken views show up in geoscience classes—and what all educators can do to promote good science.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

After a long stint as a professional gambler, alpaca farmer, and yogi—a career which ended abruptly in what has become known in Ecuador as the ‘Night of the Supple Alpaca’– Steven Newton decided to re-invent himself as an intrepid geologist devoted to defending science education at the National Center for Science Education. Today, from his lair as the Ignatius J. Reilly Chair of Geology at College of Marin, Newton attempts to amuse confounded millennials with a combination of science memes, obscure references to events in Tudor-Stuart Britain, and pontifications about which cafes have the best coffee. Frequently voiced student concerns asking ‘Isn’t this supposed to be a geology class?’ are brushed aside with musings about the details of early Star Wars scripts.

ABOUT BAY AREA SKEPTICS

Bay Area Skeptics was founded in June 1982 as the first “local interest group” inspired by the Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Center for Scientific Inquiry (CSI). Although they have overlapping interests with CSI, BAS is independent of all other groups.

The organization encourages critical thinking and accuracy in the media and in our schools. They encourage rational thought and critical thinking through the use of scientific methods. They are particularly interested in such topics as claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and untested or poorly tested medical and psychotherapeutic practices.

THIS EVENT WILL NOT OCCUR ON 11/14/19. THE NEXT SKEP TALK WILL BE IN DECEMBER.

Free Event / Donations Encouraged

This critical thinking-focused organization meets Every Second Thursday of the month with a different topic and guest speaker for every conversational meeting.

ABOUT BAY AREA SKEPTICS

Bay Area Skeptics was founded in June 1982 as the first “local interest group” inspired by the Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Center for Scientific Inquiry (CSI). Although they have overlapping interests with CSI, BAS is independent of all other groups.

The organization encourages critical thinking and accuracy in the media and in our schools. They encourage rational thought and critical thinking through the use of scientific methods. They are particularly interested in such topics as claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and untested or poorly tested medical and psychotherapeutic practices.

Free Event / Donations Encouraged
This critical thinking-focused organization meets Every Second Thursday of the month with a different topic and guest speaker for every conversational meeting.

THIS MONTH’S TOPIC: “Are you sure that sippy-cup is safe?” by Dr. Layla Katiraee

Parents face overwhelming amounts of information about the safety and welfare of their children. With social media, every seemingly small decision seems impossible as the internet provides conflicting information on every topic ranging from sippy-cup safety to vaccines and medication. Most people do not assess risk correctly. They tend to overinflate small risks while ignoring large risks. But parents are particularly prone to misinformation as their risk assessment is highly skewed because the stakes seem much higher when it comes to their children. Consequently, stories and articles highlighting the dangers or risks of foods and children’s items gain a lot of traction. When these stories tap into different values or belief systems that the audience may hold, then they become part of one’s identity and worldview, and Parenting Wars are born. Throughout this presentation, Dr. Katiraee will highlight how SciMoms have tried to break through the silos in Parenting Wars. She will highlight the importance of understanding the fears that parents have, and that facts can only go so far in swaying or convincing one’s audience.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Layla Katiraee is a product development scientist in the DNA sequencing space. She holds a Bachelors (HBSc) in Biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario, a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto, and a certificate in Applied Bioinformatics from Penn State. Layla is also one of the directors at SciMoms, an educational non- profit dedicated to helping parents navigate through the overwhelming amounts of (mis)information and marketing claims they encounter. SciMoms strives to frame all topics through the appropriate definitions of hazard and risk, and to use nuance and relevant evidence in the topics they discuss. Established in 2017, SciMoms has written about topics as varied as gun safety, breastfeeding, trampoline safety, vaccines, and GMOs. Disclaimer: Layla’s views and opinions as expressed on SciMoms are hers alone and may not represent the views of her past or present employers.

ABOUT BAY AREA SKEPTICS

Bay Area Skeptics was founded in June 1982 as the first “local interest group” inspired by the Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Center for Scientific Inquiry (CSI). Although they have overlapping interests with CSI, BAS is independent of all other groups.

The organization encourages critical thinking and accuracy in the media and in our schools. They encourage rational thought and critical thinking through the use of scientific methods. They are particularly interested in such topics as claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and untested or poorly tested medical and psychotherapeutic practices.

Free Event / Donations Encouraged

This critical thinking-focused organization meets Every Second Thursday of the month with a different topic and guest speaker for every conversational meeting.

This month’s topic: 

When Biology Meets an Exobiology (Coming through the Sky) by David Almandsmith

When we humans get around to colonizing a planet or moon in another star system, it will likely happen where a biology already exists, i.e. an “exobiology”. Protecting each of those from the other will be the challenge this SkepTalk tackles in some depth.

About the speaker:

David Almandsmith is a board member of the Bay Area Skeptics and a long-time nerd. He graduated in biology from UC Berkeley and studied physiology at Cal State Eastbay. A version of this talk was presented at the 100 Year Starship Symposium in Houston.

ABOUT BAY AREA SKEPTICS

Bay Area Skeptics was founded in June 1982 as the first “local interest group” inspired by the Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Center for Scientific Inquiry (CSI). Although they have overlapping interests with CSI, BAS is independent of all other groups.

The organization encourages critical thinking and accuracy in the media and in our schools. They encourage rational thought and critical thinking through the use of scientific methods. They are particularly interested in such topics as claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and untested or poorly tested medical and psychotherapeutic practices.

Free Event / Donations Encouraged

This critical thinking-focused organization meets Every Second Thursday of the month with a different topic and guest speaker for every conversational meeting.

This month’s topic:

Beyond a Candle in the Dark – Respectfully Debunking Conspiracy Theories by Mick West

How do you get through to conspiracy theorists, especially those who are close to you like friends and family? Often the first step someone takes on their journey out of the rabbit hole is the realization that they and their sources were wrong about something. To get this realization to sink in requires more than a candle illuminating their mistake, it requires a spotlight — a brightly focused blast of detailed debunking. Mick West discusses how shining a light on seemingly obscure minutia like “iron microspheres” or “ballast barrels” helps break the spell of conspiracy theory thinking.

About the speaker:

Mick West is the author of Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories using Facts, Logic, and Respect. He has been debunking extraordinary claims, alternative beliefs, and conspiracy theories for over a decade on his Metabunk.org forum and draws upon this experience in his book. Before he was a debunker he was a video game programmer and thinks debunking claims has much in common with debugging code.

ABOUT BAY AREA SKEPTICS

Bay Area Skeptics was founded in June 1982 as the first “local interest group” inspired by the Center for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Center for Scientific Inquiry (CSI). Although they have overlapping interests with CSI, BAS is independent of all other groups.

The organization encourages critical thinking and accuracy in the media and in our schools. They encourage rational thought and critical thinking through the use of scientific methods. They are particularly interested in such topics as claims of the paranormal, pseudoscience, and untested or poorly tested medical and psychotherapeutic practices.