http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/d/6/b/event_48067531.jpegA brief introduction into skeptical and secular history

Liz is one of the Pod Delusion's ( http://poddelusion.co.uk/ ) foreign correspondents in that she originally comes from Ontario, Canada. She is also Deputy Editor of the Pod Delusion.

Liz's love of European history and castles brought her over to the UK in 2006 and the beer, skepticism and doing an MA has made her stay. If you've ever heard Liz talking about History, you'll be familiar with her enthusiasm and extensive knowledge, which she'll be treating us to with a lesson in skeptical history.

Her talk will be a brief introduction into skeptical and secular history, the problems with history portrayed in the popular culture and how to spot it. So giving a tool kit to people who might not be historians but can be skeptical about historical claims.

Liz has a BA (hons) in History from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario and a MA in history from Birkbeck College, University of London in London.

In the meantime, listen to 'The Pod Delusion': a weekly news magazine podcast about interesting things! Highly recommended. The Pod Delusion is a submission-based podcast. If you have something interesting to say, we're sure they'd love to hear from you.

http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/2/c/5/event_48049861.jpegJeff will discuss the topics from his new book, "The Quantum Universe", co-authored by Brian Cox, in which they set out to explain the deepest questions in science. This book follows on from the hugely successful "Why Does E=mc^2?". If you're very good, he may even answer your questions about "Wonders of the Universe", the BBC series which Jeff served as series consultant on.

Jeff Forshaw is professor of theoretical physics at the University of Manchester, specialising in the physics of elementary particles. He was awarded the Institute of Physics Maxwell Medal in 1999 for outstanding contributions to theoretical physics.

19:30 doors for 8pm Sharp Start.

Sense About Science is a charitable trust that equips people to make sense of scientific and medical claims in public discussion – with a database of over 5,000 scientists, from Nobel prize winners to postdocs and PhD students, they work in partnership with scientific bodies, research publishers, policy makers, the public and the media, to change public discussions about science and evidence.

Since 2002 they have shared the tools of scientific thinking and scrutiny through award-winning public campaigns. Their activities and publications are used and shaped by community groups, civic bodies, patient organisations, information services, writers, publishers, educators, health services and many others.

Dr Tabitha Innocent, Communications Officer for Sense About Science, will be at GMSS Skeptics in the Pub to bring us all up to speed with current challenges. She’ll take us on a whistle-stop tour of Sense About Science and tell us about the launch of their fantastic ‘Ask for Evidence’ campaign. You can read all about this campaign on this link here, feel free to donate!

This event will be at Tv21, 10 Thomas St, Manchester. Doors are 7:30, it starts 8pm sharp.

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/c/c/5/event_48052421.jpegHow to create your own cult: The Scientology way

Scientology has been described in the States as “ruthless, litigious and lucrative” and in this country as “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”, yet it boasts global success and has made hundreds of millions of dollars. Thanks to the Internet, it now faces an unprecedented global opposition. The scary secrets of Scientology and its recruitment methods will be exposed in this talk. It will be useful for anyone wanting to set up their own lucrative cult.

Martin Poulter first encountered skepticism while a teenager. He has a Philosophy and Psychology degree from Oxford University and a PhD in Philosophy of Science from the University of Bristol. He has been a Scientology-watcher since 1995, when he was threatened with legal action over material he posted online. He is an ordained minister in the Church of the SubGenius, which offers eternal spiritual salvation or triple your money back.

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/f/3/1/event_48053041.jpegThe corruption of science.
Managerialism and quackery endanger a noble enterprise.
TBA Doors 7:30 Starts 8pm sharp.

David Colquhoun, PhD, FRS, is a noted British pharmacologist. He held the A.J. Clark Chair of Pharmacology at the University College of London (UCL) from 1985 to 2004, Honorary Director of the Wellcome Laboratory for Molecular Pharmacology, and is now is an Honorary Fellow (2004) and research assistant at UCL.

Since 2001, Dr Colquhoun has run DC’s Improbable Science, a wildly popular blog and website (with 2,209,000 hits) and Twitter account (with over 2600 followers). These sites are dedicated to critical assessment of various sorts of pseudoscience, such as “Alternative Medicine” and much managerialism and science fraud. Lately he has taken an interest in more general problems of inference in clinical trials, science policy, and science communication. He has been particularly critical of a number of United Kingdom universities that offer science degrees incorporating pseudoscientific courses such as homeopathy and acupuncture.

In December 2009, Dr Colquhoun won a freedom-of-information judgment, requiring the University of Central Lancashire to release details of their undergraduate course in homeopathy.