Category: Forums

Category for all Forum posts.

Getting Around to What’s Important

Susan Cabrera

December 11, 2016

In our hectic lives, we often find ourselves unable to find time for the things that are important to us such as spending time with family and friends, being close to nature, and getting enough exercise. In this presentation, Susan Cabrera will address these topics and include several readings from her poetry book Life in the Fast Lane. Following the lecture, books will be available for purchase and Susan will sign books.

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

Humanist Community Forum (2016-12-11): Getting Around to What's Important (Susan Cabrera) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/235679015/
Join our Meetup group: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/
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(Note: People interested in the Family Program should contact Harrianne Mills at 650-257-0478.)

How the Universe Allows Things to Create Themselves

Keith D. Swenson

December 4, 2016

Of all areas where science and the Bible have friction, the topic of origins is the war zone. Exactly why do evolution and abiogenesis kick up such emotion? Maybe it’s that by-your-bootstraps thing, auto-creation, the idea of organization “creating itself.” Even scientifically minded people struggle with that one. Consider how snowflakes form. Crystallization is palpable auto-creation, a spontaneous increase in order without intelligent meddling. It seems to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics, but creationists use a flawed understanding of this law and then promulgate that misunderstanding and exploit it to support creationism. Keith D. Swenson has a degree in Physics and a Masters Degree in Computer Science. He will discuss the above topics, as well as (1) Why some people find it hard to accept evolution, (2) What the natural cognitive barrier is and why it exists, (3) The roles that misunderstanding randomness and entropy play, and (4) Several examples of how complex systems display auto-creation (such as snowflakes!).

Click here to see the slides that the speaker presented during his talk.

Humanist Community Forum (2016-12-04): How the Universe Allows Things to Create Themselves (Keith D. Swenson) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/234663627/
Join our Meetup group: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/.
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HumanistCommSV

(Note: People interested in the Family Program should contact Harrianne Mills at 650-257-0478.)

Performance Event

Hosted by Sena Havasy

November 27, 2016

Do you love music? Play a musical instrument and /or sing? Solo, group or sing along? Do you have a favorite poem, one that you’ve read or maybe even written yourself? Do you have a skit or dance piece you could share with us? We are looking for participants for our seventh Annual Performance Forum. We are taking sign-ups at the greeters table. Contact Sena Havasy at senahav@gmail.com for more information.

 
RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/234962797/
Join our Meetup group: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/
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Can a divided America heal?

Featuring a video of a TED Talk by Jonathan Haidt

November 20, 2016

How can the US recover after the negative, partisan presidential election of 2016? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the morals that form the basis of our political choices. In this TED Talk, which shows a conversation between Jonathan Haidt and TED Curator Chris Anderson, Jonathan Haidt describes the patterns of thinking and historical causes that have led to such sharp divisions in America — and provides a vision for how the country might move forward. A discussion of this topic by audience members will follow the showing of this video.

Please see www.ted.com and www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_can_a_divided_america_heal.

Note: The previously scheduled talk by Jason Kazarian, “Forward To The Past: Life In A Second-World Country”, will be given at a later date.

 
RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/234962783/
Join our Meetup group: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/
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A Humanist Author’s Journey

Timothy Savage

November 13, 2016

Timothy Savage previously worked as a journalist, corporate communicator, web geek and freelance writer for more than two decades before devoting himself full time to raising his son. He will be discussing his first published novel, “Davey’s Savior”. This book takes up themes of fatherhood and misplaced faith from a humanist perspective.

 

Humanist Community Forum (2016-11-13): A Humanist Author’s Journey (Timothy Savage) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

(Note: Jonathan Karpf’s talk, “Where do new species come from?”, previously scheduled for this date, will occur sometime in 2017 instead.)

RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/234962769/
Join our Meetup group: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HumanistCommSV