Big Screen Science: Scientists' Backstage Role in the Production of Hollywood Films

Many sceptics look suspiciously at science in the movies and may ask themselves: Why don't these filmmakers ever talk to real scientists? You may be surprised to learn that filmmakers do, in fact, speak with scientists on a regular basis. Hollywood filmmakers routinely ask science consultants to examine scripts, participate in pre-production meetings, and serve as advisors on the set. There are even a number of recent initiatives by high profile scientific organizations, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, designed to facilitate scientists' involvement in entertainment productions. In this talk Dr. Kirby will elaborate on the role science consultants play in negotiating information transfer between the scientific community and the entertainment community as well as showing how filmmakers must negotiate scientific accuracy within the constraints of film production.

Dr. David A. Kirby
Senior Lecturer in Science Communication Studies
Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
University of Manchester

God vs The Law: Religious Rights and Wrongs

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Religious groups are becoming increasingly vocal and have sought to use this right to resist legal and social change they believe conflicts with their scriptural teachings. Litigation is inevitable. There are a huge number of areas where the courts have had to decide on religious claims, not of the big questions such as does God exist, but more down to earth matters such as the wearing of religious symbols at work or at school, corporal punishment, open air funeral pyres, the destruction of sacred cows (literally), civil partnerships and even drug use.

In his talk, Geoff will talk about a number of notable cases where religious practices have come into conflict with the law.

Geoff Whelan is a barrister practicing at Kenworthys Chambers, Manchester. He specialises in criminal law and has prosecuted and defended a number of high profile cases. He's used to dealing with rapists and murderers but has some trepidation about a room full of skeptics.

Clutching at Random Straws

Did aliens help prehistoric Britons found the ancient Woolworth's civilization? Matt the 'Stand-up Mathematician' will look at how seemingly incredible results can actually be meaningless random patterns.

Find out more about Matt at http://www.standupmat...

Karen Douglas received her PhD in social psychology from the Australian National University and has worked in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. She is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Kent. Karen's research examines the psychological factors underlying people's beliefs in conspiracy theories. She is also interested in language and communication, persuasion and attitude change, and justice beliefs. Karen's research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Academy. She has published her work widely in social psychological journals and books.

TV21
10 Thomas St, Manchester M4 1DH, UK

Martin Robbins is a science writer and freelance journalist covering science, skepticism and politics at The Guardian, The Lay Scientist and beyond!

In this talk Martin will give us a more global view of homeopathy, crackpots abroad and Bad Science in the developing world. He will cover Homeopaths in Haiti and Africa, AIDS denialism, how alt med props up the Cuban healthcare system, anti-vaccination movements in Africa and Asia, dodgy bomb-detectors, and a plethora of other stories about quacks amok in the third world.

layscience.net
mjrobbins.net

Jan Swammerdam, mystical materialist.

Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680) was a renowned microscopist, anatomist and experimenter who lived in the Dutch Republic, and is now largely forgotten. But he helped contribute to one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of science - understanding where life comes from. Not only did he show that "all animals come from an egg laid by a female of the same species", he was also part of a small group that made the amazing discovery that women have eggs. But Swammerdam was not a modern day life scientist transposed back to the time of Rembrandt and Vermeer. He was a product of his time, profoundly mystical and deeply religious - he even gave up science for a couple of years, in order to join a bizarre sect that believed that Adam and Eve were hermaphrodites. By looking at his life, work and opinions, we can see that the road to the full development of scientific, rational thinking was not straightforward, and involved people who simultaneously believed in completely contradictory things.

Matthew Cobb is an acclaimed science-communicator, scientist and writer who spent most of his adult life living in Paris, where he worked as a scientist and spent a great deal of time active in far-left politics. His day-job is studying the sense of smell in fruitfly maggots, and being in charge of Manchester University's Zoology degree. He also studies the history of science, and recently published a book ("Generation" in the US, "The Egg & Sperm Race" in the UK and Commonwealth). He also writes regularly on science and historical issues for the LA Times and the Times Literary Supplement.

Skeptical Activism and the Quacklash

Simon is an active campaigner against nonsense. Using the ASA, Trading Standards, other regulatory bodies and even gaining help from MPs, his campaigns have helped shut down dodgy allergy test services, prevented traditional chinese medicine salesmen from claiming to cure cancer and exposed psychic scams.

His largest involvement in a campaign, coined the "Quacklash" by Jack of Kent involved almost 600 separate letters being sent to trading standards to report claims to treat childhood diseases with a back rub. 60 of the letters gained 500 signatories. Further complaints were issued with the General Chiropractic Council.

Simon will be explaining the techniques he's used to fight woo, what works and what doesn't and tell stories about some of the crazy nonsense he's encountered along the way.

Simon runs Leicester Skeptics in the Pub, blogs at http://adventuresinno... and writes a skeptical column in the Leicester Mercury. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Si....

The natural cycles of climate change "skeptics"

Dr Andrew Russell discusses the current scientific knowledge on climate change, alongside arguments used by climate change "sceptics".

Dr Andrew Russell is a weather and climate scientist at the University of Manchester. Alongside media appearances (such as 'The One Show' and NERC's 'Planet Earth Podcast'), Dr Russell chairs the committee of the North-West Local Centre of the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS), and is an Associate Editor of the journal 'Atmospheric Science Letters'.

Find out more about Andrew Russell: http://www.andrewruss...

Our very first speaker will be Trystan Swale on the 13th of April at TV21 in the Norther Quarter, Manchester who will be talking about Ghosts and the people who hunt them. This will be followed by the first ever live recording of the Righteous Indignation podcast!

--GHOSTS AND THE PEOPLE WHO HUNT THEM--

Who are the people that spend their weekends sat in haunted buildings hoping to capture evidence of an after life or a snapshot of a ghost? From academics to housewives, Trystan Swale blows the whistle on the profiles, methods, means, deception, poor research and bad science of the people who continue to shape popular culture and perception of ghosts.

Between 2004 and 2009 Trystan served with a range of paranormal investigation teams in the south of England, investigating a range of unusual phenomena from poltergeists to UFOs and winged humanoids. When not busy helping compile and present Righteous Indignation Podcast, he is a teacher by profession.

--RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION--

Righteous Indignation is the weekly UK based podcast that aims to critically exam ine extraordinary claims and the people who surround them. These include ideas related to conspiracy, the paranor mal, the occult and attempts to redefine the boundaries of science and current understanding. The show is presented by Hayley Stevens, Michael Marshall, Trystan Swale and Gavin Schofield, for more information visit http://www.ripodcast....