What Can We Do

Matt Schlegel

11 a.m., June 15, 2025

Join us either in person or over Zoom, as we welcome Matt Schlegel.

Humanity is now in the midst of the polycrisis, in which multiple crises confront us all at once – the climate crisis with extreme weather and fire events, acute land and marine biodiversity loss, domestic political turmoil, and increased geopolitical tensions. With so much happening simultaneously, it can be overwhelming. For those who do want to do something they often ask, “What can I do?” But is that the right question? Long time climate activist Matt Schlegel says a better question to ask is, “What can we do?” In this talk, Matt shares tips on how to start down the path towards finding or building a community of people who want to create a better, pro-social world that focuses not only on navigating the current crises but also directs energy towards building that better future for all life on our one shared planet.

Bio
Best-selling author Matt Schlegel is committed to developing highly effective, style-diverse teams and giving them the tools and strategies to navigate environments defined by VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity), and tackle challenges that are seemingly impossible. Principal of Schlegel Consulting (https://evolutionaryteams.com/), Matt discovered a powerful system called the Enneagram and used it to develop a novel set of tools, strategies, and applications for team effectiveness that he uses in his consulting practice and shares in his book Teamwork 9.0. As the climate crisis becomes an ever more daunting problem, Matt uses the Enneagram tools to guide teams towards pro-social solutions that address the crisis. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattschlegel/


Attend in Person:
This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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“Writing Doom”, a short fiction film about the dangers of AI

Superintelligence Imagined, Creative Contest on the Risks of Superintelligence

11 a.m., June 8, 2025

This Sunday we will watch Writing Doom (2024), a prize-winning film from The Future of Life Institute on the risks of advanced Artificial Intelligence. This video stood out for its ability to deliver on the key message of the institute’s “Superintelligence Imagined” creative contest, while also producing a striking and entertaining piece of media. The institute was so impressed that they added an additional $20,000 ‘Grand-Prize’ to celebrate this submission.

The Future of Life Institute is a privately-funded organization whose mission is to steer transformative technologies toward benefiting life and avoiding large-scale risks.

You can watch this 27-minute video at: https://www.suzyshepherd.co.uk/writing-doom


Attend in Person:

This Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists in the Orchard Room at the Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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https://www.humanists.org/blog/2025-06-08

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https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/308312131/

Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20250608/64e7a1a3-7878-4bc0-bdb5-557d86808516/writing-doom-a-short-fiction-film-about-the-dangers-of-ai

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Playing God: An Evolutionary History of World Religion

David Fitzgerald

11 a.m., June 1, 2025

Join us either in person or over Zoom, as the Atheist Community of San Jose and the Humanist Community co-host our old friend and superb speaker David Fitzgerald.

Recently scholars around the world have made some jaw-dropping discoveries in the field of global religious history—including ones that overturn so much of what we think we know about the founders and origins of major world religions.

Mr. Fitzgerald, author of Nailed and The Complete Heretic’s Guide to Western Religion series, including The Mormons and Jesus: Mything in Action, reveals the changing scholarly views and surprising new developments in the study of the origins of our top ten world religions. His 3-volume book on these findings, PLAYING GOD: An Evolutionary History of World Religion, is out now. Dave will bring some of his new books for sale and for signing.

Author David Fitzgerald is an award-winning writer, historical researcher, and atheist activist who lectures internationally at universities and secular events, and is a frequent guest on many podcasts. He has been a passionate advocate for atheism, civil rights, and secular humanism his entire adult life. From 1990 to 2020, Dave was a top atheist leader in San Francisco. He now lives in Eureka, CA.

Please don’t miss Dave Fitzgerald!

To quote our freethought compatriot from the Stockton Atheists, David Diskin, “Dave Fitzgerald has a list of engaging, entertaining, and informative talks on all walks of religion. He’s an absolute favorite.”

06/01/2025 Playing God: An Evolutionary History of World Religion – David Fitzgerald from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.


Attend in Person:
On the first and third Sunday of June, such as June 1, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
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How about a little humor around politics

Graham Kay

11 a.m., May 25, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we explore some of the political humor out there. A skit that one person might think is the best, doesn’t seem funny to someone else. Isn’t that funny?

“The Final Days” White House Correspondents’ Dinner Skit, 6 minutes long, from 2012. A president laughing at himself.
https://youtu.be/PbbUYhyoWz8

Some old Mark Russell routines seem quite recent.
https://youtu.be/lSApwyHrsJE

A Canadian Explains Why Trump Can’t Invade Canada. Everyone on the Program Committee thought this quite funny. 5 minutes.
https://youtu.be/pdLaAyZ0waI

“Republican or Not”, a 5-minute Saturday Night Live skit from 2022, is not anti-Republican.
https://youtu.be/8h_N80qKYOM

“President Obama’s Anger Translator”, as seen on C-SPAN. Another president having fun at his own expense. 5 minutes.
https://youtu.be/HkAK9QRe4ds


Attend in Person:
Attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

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Is Intelligent Life Easy? Human-Like Life Probably Evolves “Right on Time”

Daniel Mills

11 a.m., May 18, 2025

In this video, streamed live on Apr 24, 2025 SETI Live, Frank Marchis of the SETI Institute interviews Daniel Mills of the University of Munich about the likelihood of intelligent evolving on an Earth-like planet.

A recent study proposes a new model for the evolution of intelligent life, which challenges the long-standing “hard steps” theory that the emergence of intelligent life is an exceedingly rare event due to a series of improbable evolutionary milestones. A team led by postdoctoral researcher Dan Mills from the University of Munich suggests that the development of intelligent life is a natural outcome of planetary evolution. They argue that Earth’s environment underwent sequential “windows of habitability,” periods when conditions became favorable for complex life to emerge. (Past Drake Award winner Jason Wright is a co-author on the study.)

The study emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between astrophysics and geobiology to understand the evolution of life. Join planetary astronomer Franck Marchis in an in-depth discussion with Dr. Mills about why intelligent life may be common and how this could affect our search for life beyond Earth.

SETI Live is a weekly production of the SETI Institute and is recorded live it streams with viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Twitch. Guests include astronomers, planetary scientists, cosmologists, and more, working on current scientific research.

Franck Marchis is Senior Planetary Astronomer with SETI specializing in Planetary Sciences, Astronomy, Instrumentation, Education and Public Outreach, Exoplanet Detection. He has a Ph.D., Astrophysics, 1996, Université Paul Sabatier, France

Daniel Mills is a geobiologist and postdoctoral researcher associated with the University of Munich. He is currently working with Professor Bill Martin at the University of Düsseldorf to study the origin of life, although he plans to continue his research into windows of habitability at the University of Munich.

You can view this 30-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEQJfyW5yt4


Attend in Person:
On the first and third Sunday of the month, such as March 2nd, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international number to call: https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

———-

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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20250504/4988bcfa-6d8c-4d47-bc2d-1adc3821feca/how-to-speak-to-someone-about-climate-change

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