Forums – Page 50

Humanism: Principles, History and Relevance

Jim Barnett, Ph.D.

11 a.m., April 28, 2019

Efforts to understand the universe, live a good life and build a just society without relying on supernatural revelations have a long history, stretching back half a millennium BCE to the Greeks and other ancients. The resulting humanism was often oppressed by powerful religious institutions. Early in the 20th century, the principles of modern humanism were articulated in the first humanist manifesto. The document reflected the changes in thinking in response to scientific advances and addressed the economic, political and social issues of the time. Does humanism offer solutions to the challenges of the 21st Century?

After retiring from the bio-pharmaceutical industry a few years ago, Jim attended the Humanist Institute (now the education department of the American Humanist Association) where he studied humanism in depth. He is one of the founders and the board president of the Bay Area Humanists in San Francisco.

Please join us for a buffet lunch at 12:30pm. If you’re a student, or a first-timer to an HCSV event, lunch is on us. Otherwise, please help by chipping in $10 (or whatever you can afford).

Humanism: Principles, History and Relevance – Jim Barnett, Ph.D. from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Note: If you would like to speak at a Forum, or know of someone who you think might be willing to speak at a Forum, please send an email about your idea to the HCSV Program Committee.

The History of the AHA and the Humanist Community, 1962-1979

Peter Bishop

11 a.m., April 21, 2019

Peter Bishop, a longtime Humanist Community member and leader (before his move back east a few years ago), will talk about the transition from Edwin H. Wilson at the American Humanist Association (AHA) and Arthur Jackson’s arrival in San Jose, and the early very successful years of the Humanist Community after Arthur Jackson arrived, what happened to bring it to an end, and the struggle to reconstitute the Community with Peter Bishop as an early leader.

Please join us for a buffet lunch at 12:30pm. If you’re a student, or a first-timer to an HCSV event, lunch is on us. Otherwise, please help by chipping in $10 (or whatever you can afford).

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

Note: If you would like to speak at a Forum, or know of someone who you think might be willing to speak at a Forum, please send an email about your idea to the HCSV Program Committee.

Two Videos about the First Photo of a Black Hole

Presented by Matt Courtney

11 a.m., April 14, 2019

Two videos about the first photo of a black hole, which was just taken, will shown and discussed. (A third video about black holes MAY be shown, if time permits.)

Note: If you would like to speak at a Forum, or know of someone who you think might be willing to speak at a Forum, please send an email about your idea to the HCSV Program Committee.

Humanist? Atheist? Agnostic? How would you describe yourself?

Alex Havasy, facilitator

11 a.m., April 7, 2019

Which doughnut would you be? (See graphic above.)
Note: A wide variety of doughnuts will be served at this Forum.

At our first Forum in the new Mountain View location, our Board President, Alex, will facilitate a discussion where members can share how they might answer the above questions. We expect this to spark an intriguing exchange about the pros and cons of each title.

Afterwards, please join us for a “Welcome to our New Home” party and lunch.

If you’re a first-timer to an HCSV event, lunch is on us. Otherwise, please help by chipping in $10 (or whatever you can afford).

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

Note: If you would like to speak at a Forum, or know of someone who you think might be willing to speak at a Forum, please send an email about your idea to the HCSV Program Committee.

The New Carbon Tax Bill

Sudhanshu Jain

11 a.m., March 31, 2019

In this talk, Sudhanshu “Suds” Jain will discuss the new federal Carbon Tax Bill (HR 763) that was introduced a few weeks ago. He will compare it with the Green New Deal and the California bill, AB 40, which would eliminate fossil fuel cars in California.

Suds Jain designed integrated circuits for 25 years. In 2008 he decided that the impending climate crisis was far more important than designing the next switch chip for computer networking and he “retired” from Broadcom Corporation to volunteer full-time on mitigating climate change.

He has installed solar panels on low income housing with Grid Alternatives. As part of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, he leads a group of Bay Area volunteers which meets with members of Congress to advocate for a Carbon Tax with 100% revenue recycling (dividends to consumers). He is on the board of Acterra, a 48 year old environmental non-profit and he chairs the planning commission in Santa Clara. Suds earned his BS and MSEE degrees from MIT.

After the Forum, please join us for a lunch at 12:30pm. The lunch is complimentary for first-time visitors and students.

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

Note: If you would like to speak at a Forum, or know of someone who you think might be willing to speak at a Forum, please send an email about your idea to the HCSV Program Committee.