Upcoming Skeptic, Atheist, Secular etc Events

robindch

This thread is for notice of any upcoming events which should be of interest to atheists, agnostics, the mildly religious and non-religious, skeptics and their friends, colleagues and families

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Short notice, but this evening at eight in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square Professor John Crown (Consultant oncologist, Senator and newspaper columnist) will present a critical analysis of the Irish health service:

http://www.irishskeptics.org/events/2012/2012-11-13

Enjoy!

lazygal

He's very difficult to listen to. He also constantly refers to himself as a humble consultant in the Seanad, which is deeply eye rolling.

eyescreamcone

I think he's one guy who has spoken sense for years.
That's why he got my No 1 in the Seanad election

lazygal

eyescreamcone wrote: »

I think he's one guy who has spoken sense for years.
That's why he got my No 1 in the Seanad election

I'd go back and read the official report of the debates in the Seanad. I think you'll find he's one of the biggest windbags in there. Full of 'brilliant' ideas but no clue how to implement them or indeed say in three words what he can say in ten.

Galvasean

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, you are cordially invited to the 5th annual Boards.ie Stand-Up Comedy Night in aid of The Santa Strike Force.

Hope you all can make it along to support the Santa Strike Force and have a Fantabulous Night at the same time!

BOARDS.IE PRESENTS: Now Ye're Laughin: The best of Irish comedy!

When: Saturday the 8th of December
Where: The Belvedere Hotel, Great Denmark St, Dublin
Who: The best stand up comedy acts this side of Montreal.

Official Line up to be announced soon!

DEFINITELY.....The best comedy line up in the world!!

Why: to Raise Money for the Santa Strike Force
How Much: Free!! -> but donations to the SSF welcome

Going to be a brilliant night and for a very very good cause.

The Raffle on the night is always a highlight and this year is no exception, prizes TBA:

Every Penny donated and raised by the Raffle goes to the Santa Strike Force!

There will also be special drinks promotions too, watch this space!



Come see great comedy and help kids in need!

http://www.facebook.com/events/353168244778584/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Dades

Temporarily *stuck*.

ShooterSF

One of 3 big xmas party nights I have to work for lands on the 8th. Would have loved to make it. Stupid lack of recession!

Sarky

How did they convince Dav to wear a Santa suit? >_>

[-0-]

I'll be in New Jersey at a free bar Festivus function. Should we add a poll to get an indication of how many from here are going?

Galvasean

Here is the line up so far (we have two more to be confirmed, so keep an eye on the thread!):

- MC Ruairi Campbell: A veteran of many festivals worldwide including Edinburg, New York & Kilkenny Cat Laughs.

- Neil Hickey: A Bulmers Comedy Award winner and also the man responsible for those twisted Anne & Barry videos.

- John Colleary: Star of The Savage Eye and The Panel.

- Gerry McBride: Author of the awesome 'No Punchline' blog and winner of a TedFest award!

- Robbie Bonham An internationally published cartoonist and winner of 98FM's Best Comedian award.

Galvasean

[-0-] wrote: »

Should we add a poll to get an indication of how many from here are going?

I'm not sure I see the point? It's not like it's an A&A only event. Sure people can post here to say they are attending and if people want to arrange meeting beforehand between themselves then more power to them.

Galvasean

Delighted to finally announce the 3 extra comedians that complete the bill:

- Marcus Olaoire: Regular on The Republic of Telly and The Savage Eye.

- Gordon Rochford: Founder of Comedy HaHa and star of the hilarious 'Spare Room.

- Greg Marks: "If Ali McCoist, Ricky Gervaise, Brian Cowan all rode Mary Harney, the bastard child of that UNIQUE sex session".

Galvasean

Couple of the raffle prizes on offer:



You want the Stephen Fry don't you....

Galvasean

There will be a free shot for all attendees at the door thanks to the good people at Piranha.

Galvasean

Just got the total counted.

€1,020

We are delighted!

Obliq

Glad it went well for ya. So crappy being far from Dublin sometimes - I'd have gone to that! Well done - great fundraising:-)

kylith

Delighted to hear that, and sorry that I couldn't make it.

robindch

The Irish Skeptics' final talk for 2012 is taking place tomorrow evening, Wednesday, December 12th, at 8pm in the Davenport Hotel, where Professor Mike Gibney (Director of the Institute for Food and Health, UCD) and author of the recent book Something to Chew on: Challenging Controversies in Food and Health, gives a talk entitled "Facts and fancy of food and health".

This presentation will look at food and health from the point of view of both nutrition and food safety. As regards the latter, Prof Gibney will cover the myth that things "natural" are always superior to those that are synthetic. In all aspects of life we trade risk with benefit and this is also true of the human food chain. Risk is considered and if below certain levels, is accepted and the process of defining that risk will be presented. The 'natural' versus synthetic' debate will be explored in relation to organic agriculture and to genetically modified foods.

It will also extend into the whole area of the slow food (locavore) movement. Given the huge importance of obesity, the nutrition component will focus on that area. Prof Gibney will show that obesity is not a recent phenomenon but has always accompanied affluence throughout history. Trying to explain the modern epidemic on modern root causes is popular but wrong. Finally, Prof Gibney will look at the issue of "nature"and "nurture" in relation to obesity which has a heritability of up to 75% which compares with values of 69% for depression and 53% for alcoholism.

The ISS will be celebrating its 10th birthday on the night, so there'll be a glass of (non-slimline) mulled wine on offer before the talk

Galvasean

For those interested (or perhaps those who couldn't attend), here is a review of the event.

robindch

Jesus H Christ.

The Iona "Institute" is doing something next door with John Waters. Matter and anti-matter meet.

Could be interesting in the bar afterwards.

robindch

We survived. None of them made it to the bar. Probably as most were too old to climb up the stairs. David Quinn is a small little chappie, btw. He must feel weird hanging around all these really old people all the time.

Still, strange to see a priest at the entrance to a skeptics talk.

//sheesh

robindch

Robert Ince of Infinite Monkey Cage fame is doing two shows at The Science Gallery at the end of February:

Science Gallery wrote:

Following his sold-out performance of "Happiness Through Science", Robin Ince returns to Science Gallery with his brand new show, The Importance of Being Interested, where he covers Charles Darwin, Richard Feynman, Aristotle and the joy of picking shells up on the beach and realising that being self-conscious in a big universe is a darn good thing.

Join Robin, host of BBC Radio 4's Sony Gold winning Infinite Monkey Cage, for a night that combines comedy, science, and everything in between.

Doors open at 18:30, Running Time: 90 minutes + interval. Tickets are €18 (€15 for students, unemployed, OAP)

Book for Wednesday 27 here and Thursday 28 here

I was at the last one -- great stuff!

[-0-]

This looks great! Is there a copy of his last show online, can you buy it anywhere?

Standman

Robin Ince. Smart lad, never thought he was particularly funny as a stand up though.

robindch

Can't remember if this has been mentioned before, but Atheist Ireland are organizing a conference on 29th and 30th of June this year entitled "Empowering Women Through Secularism":

http://www.atheist.ie/empowering-women-through-secularism-conference-dublin-ireland/

High-profile speakers include

• Ivana Bacik, Irish Senator and member of Atheist Ireland
• Dan Barker, Freedom From Religion Foundation, USA
• Ophelia Benson, author and commentator, USA
• Jane Donnelly, Education Policy Officer Atheist Ireland
• PZ Myers, science professor and blogger, USA
• Maryam Namazie, Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain, Iran
• Michael Nugent, Chairperson Atheist Ireland
• Rebecca Watson, Skepchick network, USA

And topics will include:

• How religions discriminate against women
• How religiously-influenced laws discriminate against women
• The history of women in atheist and secular activism
• Healthcare, sexuality and reproductive rights
• Education, careers, and social policy
• Combatting violence against women
• Political strategies, media and building coalitions
• The future of women in atheist and secular activism
• Declaration on Empowering Women Through Secularism

As with the World Atheist Conference in 2011, this conference will be in the O’Callaghan Alexander Hotel, just off Merrion Square.

Hotblack Desiato

Will the elevators be turned off...

Obliq

ninja900 wrote: »

Will the elevators be turned off...

Getting in before anyone else did yeah? Well done :pac: Roaring laughing that women's rights get reduced to that - but sure yer right to point it out before anyone else does. In case they wanted to take the piss like.

Hotblack Desiato

Yes I have stopped beating my wife :rolleyes:
I support womens' rights Obliq, ffs, elevatorgate inflated certain people's egos but damaged the cause of womens' rights imho. Damged the cause of reason over insanity imho - which is something all who support rationalism should mourn.

Obliq

ninja900 wrote: »

Yes I have stopped beating my wife :rolleyes:
I support womens' rights Obliq, ffs, elevatorgate inflated certain people's egos but damaged the cause of womens' rights imho. Damged the cause of reason over insanity imho - which is something all who support rationalism should mourn.

Yes, I know that about you ninja, and have never disagreed with you on anything before, to my knowledge. I just read the line-up in the post, acknowledged to myself that it looks like it's a relevant and timely conference and I might go......and the FIRST comment after it was preeeeety predictable. :rolleyes:

That feckin elevator gate passed me by completely. The only damage I'm spotting now is the perpetuation of it. I DO however, have equality issues within my own country. I could die if I go to hospital miscarrying, or I could be sent overseas (unofficially) rather than wander the streets of Ireland with a dead fetus in my womb. This country is full of religious bull****e, I don't have to tell you that.

When I see something that looks as interesting as this,

* How religions discriminate against women
* How religiously-influenced laws discriminate against women
and
* Healthcare, sexuality and reproductive rights

ELEVATOR-FACKING-GATE is not the first thing that springs into my mind. I blame your good self if anyone else starts banging on about it again. It is totally irrelevant to this interesting event, in my book.

SebBerkovich

Looks like a great line up, with some really interesting stuff to discuss. I would have a fear that some of the discussions could just become a big of a back slapping exercises. There aren't many people who disagree on much (to my knowledge).

Dades

Obliq, the 'elevatorgate' thing is a meme of sorts here, and on other boards no doubt.

It says nothing about actual equality and lots about a bunch of people who ended up looking a bit silly. As such, it's mention is harmless.

Obliq

Dades wrote: »

Obliq, the 'elevatorgate' thing is a meme of sorts here, and on other boards no doubt.

It says nothing about actual equality and lots about a bunch of people who ended up looking a bit silly. As such, it's mention is harmless.

Ok, sorry ninja. Ta Dades, I hope you're right.

I don't dare look at the AI facebook page!

robindch

URBAN KNIGHTS: MONTHLY PLATFORM FOR URBAN CRUSADERS AND CHANGE AGENTS
Tuesday, 2013-04-16 18:00–20:00
What inspires you to think differently about how we live in the city? And, if you were to transform Dublin what would you do? Urban Knights is a new series of talks that celebrates the urban crusaders, innovators and those who are actively changing how we behave, think and engage with the city. In the first monthly event, experts will talk about everything from the benefits of open data to why Dublin could be the next Berlin. Admission: Free. BOOK NOW

THE UPSIDE OF RISK WITH DAVID SPIEGELHALTER
Friday, 2013-05-03 18:00–19:15
RISK LAB Curator and Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge David Spiegelhalter will look at why some people take risks, why others play it safe, how people are triggered into betting against the odds and why the house always wins, along with looking at the upside of risk - serendipity, coincidence and happy accidents. Admission: Free. BOOK NOW

JOHN COATES: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF FINANCIAL RISK TAKING
Thursday, 2013-05-23 18:00–19:15
John Coates is a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, but in a former life, he was a successful trader on Wall Street. Having always had a strong intuition that it was body chemistry that causes people to be risk takers or risk averse, he set out to prove it in a series of groundbreaking experiments that linked testosterone and levels of cortisol to our appetite for risk. In this talk John will shed light on what it is inside us, chemically, that drives us to take risks and will leave us with a better understanding of our own risky behavior. Admission: €5. BOOK NOW.

robindch

The ISS's next lecture will be held on Wednesday, June 19th, when Professor J. P. Mallory, Emeritus Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology, Queens University, Belfast, will speak on the topic 'The Origins of the Irish'.

This lecture will be held, as usual, in the Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square at 8pm. Details of the content of the talk to follow in early June and will be posted here.

Due to circumstances beyond the ISS's control, the lecture planned for this month had to be postponed and will now be delivered during the Autumn schedule -- apologies!

robindch

Bumping this - tomorrow evening at eight in the Davenport Hotel:

http://www.irishskeptics.org/events/2013/2013-06-19

James Mallory wrote:

James Mallory is Professor Emeritus of Prehistoric Archaeology at Queen’s University Belfast. Earlier this year he published The Origins of the Irish which has received uniformly excellent reviews. He utilises evidence from a wide range of areas in presenting his arguments including archaeology, geology, linguistics and genetics.

In his presentation to the society, Professor Mallory will take a closer look at some of the book’s contents to elucidate and better illustrate some of the ideas expressed in it. Special attention will be devoted to when a language ancestral to Irish was brought to Ireland and how it may have spread.

robindch

Three upcoming talks from the Irish Skeptics in October, November and December:

On October 9th (tomorrow evening) Dr Aoife Mc Lysaght, Smurfit Institute of Genetics, TCD who will talk on Genetics and human evolution: an overview of current trends

Date and time: Wednesday October 9th at 8.00pm.
Location: Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Admission: €3 (Members and concessions); €6 (Non-members).


Dr. McLysaght is a fellow of TCD and is director of the molecular evolution laboratory. She has a particular interest in the public promotion of science and is an excellent speaker. You can see more information on her work at www.gen.tcd.ie/molevol/.

On Wednesday November 20th, Professor Teresa Burke, Clinical Neuropsychologist, DCU, will speak on the topic 'The New Phrenology'. She will present a sceptical appraisal of neuroimaging techniques and developments in neuroscience and their misrepresentation in a variety of sources.

On Wednesday December 4th, Dr. Nora Khaldi, Mathematician and Molecular Biologist, UCD, will talk about 'The Future of Food'. This lecture will explore the functionality of food in supporting resistance to disease and in disease prevention.

Michael Nugent

Does God Exist?

I will be debating David Glass, scientist, Christian and author of Atheism’s New Clothes, this Wednesday 9 October at 8pm in Courtyard Theatre, Ballyearl, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland.

The debate is organized by Glenabbey Church and will be chaired by Stephen Shaw QC.

Here is a debate that I had with David earlier this year on RTE radio, about his book ‘Atheism’s New Clothes: Exploring and Exposing the Claims of the New Atheists’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNHDQfY9KZo

Turtwig

"Cordial disagreement over coffee"
Who the heck disagrees about coffee? Ye bastards! :pac:

Beruthiel

Jernal wrote: »

Who the heck disagrees about coffee? Ye bastards! :pac:

Perhaps it's instant?
That would definitely upset me!

robindch

On December 4th, Dr Nora Khaldi, post doctoral researcher in the UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research in UCD will present a lecture entitled The hidden molecular mysteries of food:

Date and time: Wednesday December 4th at 8.00pm.
Location: Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Admission: €3 (Members and concessions); €6 (Non-members)

Food and drink are necessities for our existence, and yet we know very little about their composition at the molecular level. Food has been eternally underestimated. Terms such as sugar, fat, and calories are habitually used when talking about food, yet these terms represent only the tip of the iceberg in terms of food content and function.

In this talk, Dr Khaldi will present some groundbreaking findings in the area of molecular food research, and give some examples of what certain foods can do at the subcellular level. This talk will address some basic questions such as: Is energy the only reason we consume food? Do all molecules in food get broken down, or do some resist and communicate with our bodies at the molecular level? And if so, what sort of messages are they communicating? Is current technology sufficient to differentiate between healthy and non-healthy molecules in food? And if so, how can we use this?

Dr Khaldi will speak about her research in the area of bioinformatics of food: an area that applies computer programing and mathematics to food and nutritional research. She will discuss how the use of computers can help solve the mysteries of food and discriminate between healthy and non-healthy ingredients and will talk about the future of food and what we will expect at the molecular level. She will also talk about the challenges we need to overcome and the benefits we will gain in doing so.

robindch

^^^ Bumping this.

robindch

On Wednesday 26th February, the ISS is hosting a lecture by Kevin Nolan entitled 'Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth'

Time: 8pm
Venue: Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2
€3 members and concessions; €6 non-members

Kevin Nolan, coordinator to Ireland for The Planetary Society, is also a lecturer in physics at the Tallaght Institute of Technology. He has published a widely praised book on Mars entitled "Mars, a cosmic stepping stone". During the presentation Kevin will treat us to some extraordinary images of the red planet and will also look to the future of Mars exploration, ethical implications for human exploration if microbial life is discovered there and will consider commercial versus national space programmes.

robindch

April's talk will take place on Wednesday, April 9th when Professor Luke O'Neill, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin will present a talk entitled "Drugs-good ones, bad ones and how to find new ones". I'll put up a summary of the talk as soon as I see it!

The talk will be at 8pm in the Davenport Hotel and admission is €3 for members and concessions and €6 for non members.

Turtwig

robindch wrote: »

April's talk will take place on Wednesday, April 9th when Professor Luke O'Neill, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College Dublin will present a talk entitled "Drugs-good ones, bad ones and how to find new ones". I'll put up a summary of the talk as soon as I see it!

The talk will be at 8pm in the Davenport Hotel and admission is €3 for members and concessions and €6 for non members.

Got a summary yet?

Hotblack Desiato

It's possible that they made it sound like it was about recreational drugs to draw in a bigger crowd, man.

Michael Nugent

Jernal wrote: »

Got a summary yet?

You would want to have some pretty strong drugs to have a summary a week before the event happens.

robindch

El sumario:

Luke wrote:

Since antiquity humans have taken drugs. Originally these were in the form of plants such as marijuana which was in fact the first drug ever depicted ( on the Ebers papyrus from ancient Egypt) its use being as an anti-inflammatory agent. Other plants such as the poppy, coffee plant or tobacco had benefits as did fermented plants which produced alcohol. The very first drug synthesised was aspirin, which was a derivative from salicylates from the willow bark. A striking feature of several medicines in widespread use was the serendipitous nature of their discovery- good examples being penicillin and Viagra. The pharmaceutical industry today spends billions on trying to find new medicines.

What are the challenges? - and might it be true that most drugs are good for us, the only concern being dose and frequency of use?
What are the prospects that new medicines will be found for diseases that still afflict us?

robindch

^^^ That's on tomorrow evening.

And Robin Ince is in the Science Gallery next Wednesday evening - he's been hilarious in the past

https://dublin.sciencegallery.com/events/2013/12/robininceandouthismind

robindch

Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place: Kidney Stone Disease

May 21st at 8.00pm, Davenport Hotel, Merrion Sq., Dublin 2

Admission: €3 (Members and concessions), €6 (Non-members).

The talk will be given by Professor Marguerite Hatch, Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville. Professor Hatch has worked as a clinical researcher in kidney stone disease and has published extensively in the area.

Here's the talk abstract:

Kidney stones are very common, with about 15% of the population afflicted with this disease of unknown cause. There are global geographic "stone belts" and Ireland is in one of these areas. While there are many types of urinary stones with differing chemical compositions, and caused by different mechanisms, the most common type (~80%) is made of calcium oxalate. Still, today in 2014, the cause of stone disease is generally unknown and the diagnosis is based on various "risk factors" as well as the chemical composition of the stone. This talk will present the basics in our current understanding of stone disease, with a special emphasis on oxalate stones. In addition, oxalate stone disease in a rare genetic disease of the liver called Primary Hyperoxaluria, which is generally misdiagnosed, will be discussed as will stone disease in an emerging population of patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery to cure obesity. The latter patient population is growing rapidly because of the rapid growth in obesity in Western society resulting in oxalate stone disease that is secondary to the surgical procedure and manifesting about a year or more after the surgery has been performed. Unfortunately, since there is no effective, pharmacological (drug) treatment for oxalate stones, a potential probiotic ("good" bacteria ingestion) treatment based upon experimental animal studies will be presented.

AshOB

Atheist Ireland's 'Atheists in the Pub' will take place on Tuesday 27th May, 7.30pm, in the Workman's Club, Wellington Quay Dublin 2. The speaker on the evening is the fabulous Tara Flynn. Tara will be hosting a discussion on why ridiculous beliefs need to be ridiculed. All are welcome!