The Second Annual Global Skeptics in the Pub began this morning, on Friday, August 22 and ends at midnight Pacific Time. (That is UTC 0700 August 22 until UTC 0700 August 23.)
This event is a Zoom Session. Download the Zoom app to your mobile phone and/or computer in advance to participate from anywhere. Download from: https://zoom.us/download
are encouraged to take event photos & videos, and upload them to the Directory noted above.
are expected to conduct themselves in the spirit of civil discourse. Contentious political issues, religion bashing, and ad hominem attacks will not be condoned. [However, there is noting contentious about excoriating the Trump Administration.]
may join individually or as groups or both.
are encouraged to add the name of their affiliation or their city to their Zoom name.
The Humanist Community is a “Participating Organization”, hosting from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight.
Join us this Sunday, either in person or online. We’ll watch Malcolm Gladwell discuss his new book Revenge of the Tipping Point and his rethinking of his 1999 book The Tipping Point in two different videos from October 2024.
In the first video Malcolm covers a range of social epidemics and the possible of social engineering to control them.
In the second video he specifically focuses on crime in New York City, and the possible effect of policy on crime.
Malcolm Gladwell Revisits “The Tipping Point” in New Book | Amanpour and Company Oct 4, 2024
Walter Isaacson interviews Malcolm Gladwell about his latest book, “Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering.” Some 25 years after the publication of Gladwell’s groundbreaking first book, “The Tipping Point,” the author returns to the subject of social epidemics — this time, with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena. You can watch this 18:30 minute video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dMS7c-XwS8.
The Tipping Point I Got Wrong | Malcolm Gladwell | TED Oct 30, 2024
In his 2000 bestseller “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell told the story of why crime fell in New York City in the 1990s. Now, 25 years later, he’s back with a confession and a mea culpa: “I was wrong,” he says. He shares how his analysis contributed to the rise of the infamous “stop and frisk” policing policy in New York City — and shows why journalists should avoid the trap of imagining a story is ever really over. (Followed by a Q&A with TED’s Monique Ruff-Bell. Recorded at TEDNext 2024 on October 22, 2024) You can watch this 17-minute video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmXrwKydM9k.
Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has published eight books. He is also the host of the podcast Revisionist History and co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries.
Attend in Person: On the first and fourth Sunday of the month, like this Sunday, 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.
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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)
Our friend Dick Hewetson died on July 19 at the age of 95 after a long and purposeful life. We will be celebrating his life Saturday afternoon September 6 at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose, California. You may join this celebration in person or on Zoom.
Dick was born in a Chicago suburb in 1930. Dick was raised Christian, and was an Episcopal priest in his early adult years, but he never believed what he was trying to preach. At age 42, he came out of the closet as a gay man. Dick and his then-partner had reached the conclusion that the greatest enemy of LGBTQ-plus people was religion.
Dick joined the Freedom from Religion Foundation in 1978, soon after FFRF was founded by Anne Gaylor and her daughter Annie Laurie Gaylor. Dick Hewetson has been an FFRF member for over 45 years. He has been a leader for atheist rights all this time.
Dick also promoted LGBTQ+ rights in the labor union movement in Minnesota, and founded an LGBTQ+ library there. He has furthered gay rights for over half a century. After Dick left the ministry, he worked for the State of Minnesota Employment Division, helping to locate jobs for recent immigrants.
Dick Hewetson chose the day and time of his own death, and carried out his dying process with the aid of California law, with physician assistance and Hospice assistance. That day Dick was surrounded with a small group of his friends and relatives to celebrate his last day of life.
We encourage you to share your memories of Dick Hewetson with the rest of us in attendance at this Celebration of Life. For folks planning to speak briefly (in person or via Zoom) please email Dick’s friend and our Master of Ceremonies Jim at [jimvanbuskirk@sbcglobal.net](mailto:jimvanbuskirk@sbcglobal.net) For folks planning to attend in person please email Dick’s niece Kim at [kimspawn5@gmail.com](mailto:kimspawn5@gmail.com) using the subject line “Dick’s celebration of life.”
Attend in Person:
Come to the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center, 938 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126, on Saturday September 6 during the setup period 12:30-1:30 pm. The entrance to the Center is at the back of the parking lot.
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Also, you can join the celebration on Zoom. To join and be able to speak briefly, 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)
Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from the 2025 Scopes Trial Centennial Conference.
In this special session, evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins presents the 2025 Richard Dawkins Award to John McWhorter, Columbia University linguist and New York Times columnist. The award honors individuals who champion reason, science, and secularism.
Following the award presentation, Dawkins and McWhorter engage in a thought-provoking on-stage conversation exploring the origin and evolution of language, touching on linguistics, human cognition, and the nature of communication itself.
The Scopes Trial Centennial Conference, co-hosted by the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), commemorates the 100th anniversary of the famous 1925 “Monkey Trial,” a pivotal moment in American history that tested whether science or religious dogma would shape public education.
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.
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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)
