Forrest Valkai

A video of a talk by Forrest Valkai

11 a.m., May 21, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday we will watch an entertaining 30-minute video in which renegade science teacher, Forrest Valkai discusses what defines sex in the plant and animal kingdoms and in individual members of a species. He covers the genetic and physical variations and how difficult it can be to define the sex of anyone.

Forrest holds degrees in education and integrative biology, teaches science to over 800,000 followers on the internet, and is an incredibly bad dancer.

Forrest can be found on YouTube and TikTok and is a regular host on shows such as SkepTalk and The Atheist Experience. He is proud to have built a career teaching people to love science and themselves and encouraging everyone to never stop learning!

If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

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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 smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

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RSVP on Meetup here.
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See videos of our past Forums here.
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Political Dynamics and the Future of Democracy

 

11 a.m., May 7, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday, we will have a talk by one of our own, Michael Abramson

Many of us feel that our democracy is in danger, but this is probably not the first time. What can we learn from history? What is different this time? And most importantly, what can we do, individually and collectively, to save and improve democracy?
 
Our speaker, Michael Abramson, will provide an overview of theories and models of political change. HIs slides are here: Political Dynamics and the Future of Democracy. It’s a work in progress, they will likely change before, during, and after our discussion. They already included comments from a recent discussion of this topic at humanists@UUCPA, and your discussion comments and ideas will be incorporated as well. As a result, it will be a summary of our collaborative deliberation, not just the presenter’s point of view.
Feel free to review the slides by clicking the link above and to explore the references that you find interesting. Such pre-meeting research will only enrich our discussion.
 
Speaker’s bio: Michael’s area of expertise is system modeling and simulation. Most of his work was related to technical and engineering applications, ranging from electromagnetics and radiation transfer to fluid and gas flows and air traffic control systems. He also had a few publications on modeling social and political dynamics, closely related to the current topic.
 
Michael currently works as a contractor for NASA and lives in Mountain View with his wife and close to their children’s families.

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You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch. If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

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 smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Retweet our Twitter announcement here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

The Phantom God: What Neuroscience Reveals About the Compulsion to Believe

John Wathey

John Wathey

11 a.m., April 30, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday John Wathey will be at Mountain View to discuss his book The Illusion of God’s Presence: the Biological Origins of Spiritual Longing.

Science has only begun to make sense of religion’s powerful grip on the human mind. Why do seven percent of members of the National Academy of Sciences believe in a personal god who answers prayer? The question is important because it probes the most irresistible essence of the appeal of religious and spiritual thinking. Using evidence from visual illusions, behavioral biology, and neuroscience, he will offer an explanation for this and other puzzles of religion in terms of a cognitively impenetrable illusion, one that science has largely overlooked.

If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

4/30/2023 John Wathey from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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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 smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Retweet our Twitter announcement here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Saving Free Discourse and Our Universities

Tim Rosenberger Jr.

Tim Rosenberger Jr.

11 a.m., April 23, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

Tim Rosenberger Jr. of the Federalist Society will join us in person at the Mountain View Community Center to answer questions and discuss “Saving Free Discourse and Our Universities.”

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

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If you attend in person, full Covid vaccination and boosters strongly recommended, and mask wearing should be considered by those in higher risk groups. If you have symptoms that may be Covid, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

4/23/2023 Tim Rosenberger from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

———-

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 smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Retweet our Twitter announcement here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Art Jackson wins Humanist Society Lifetime Achievement Award

Arthur M. Jackson

The Humanist Society has honored Art Jackson, former executive director of the Humanist Community of San Jose (now the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley), with its Lifetime Achievement Award, “with gratitude and appreciation for your many decades of service.”
https://thehumanist.com/magazine/spring-2023/commentary/everyday-humanist-hero-art-jackson/apollo_robbins_the_art_of_misdirection