What’s So Funny?

Chris Kramer

A video of a talk by Prof. Chris Kramer

11 a.m., October 22, 2023

You can join the Humanist Forum in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday we’re going to look into the science of comedy by watching The Philosophy of Humor: What makes Something Funny, a short video in which Chris A. Kramer, chair of the Santa Barbara City College Philosophy Department, presents some of the theories about why we find things funny. Second, we’ll watch a sample of three different examples of humor in the 10-minute Examples of Types of Humor. Finally, President Barack Obama and his anger translator, Arthur (Keegan-Michael Key) in President Obama’s Anger Translator at White House Correspondents Dinner.

Bring your favorite joke(s) or a short video to put in the chat window.

You can watch the videos above at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW9ntFy9Ilk, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtFTOUBdv0, and at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6NfRMv-4OY

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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.
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The Israel-Hamas War

Ian Bremmer

A video of a talk by Ian Bremmer

11 a.m., October 15, 2023

You can join the Humanist Forum on Zoom, but come to our in-person location at the Mountain View Senior Center to discuss this topic further with fellow humanists.

This past week Hamas launched a stunning and brutal attack on Israel. Helen Walters interviews Ian Bremmer, who shares his in-depth knowledge about this war, its causes, events leading up to it, and the uncertain future for the middle east and the world.

This is an in-depth TED talk that bears watching more than once. You can preview it at https://www.ted.com/talks/ian_bremmer_the_israel_hamas_war_and_what_it_means_for_the_world.

Early in her career, Helen Walters has written about everything from high technology to low culture. She has worked with TED since 2008 and joined full-time in 2013. She is presently head of curation, bringing the sharpest minds and ideas to TED.

Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of the political risk research and consulting firm, Eurasia Group, and GZERO Media which provides coverage of international affairs. He teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is the author of eleven books.

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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:
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The American Humanist Association Looks at the Supreme Court

Monica Miller

A video of a talk by Monica Miller

11 a.m., October 8, 2023

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This Sunday we’ll watch and discuss a video from the American Humanist Association’s 2020 national conference covering the work the AHA has been doing to preserve Humanist values and the separation of church and state.

The speaker, Monica Miller, is the Legal Director and Senior Counsel of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center. She’ll review some of the separation-of-church-and-state cases before the US Supreme Court in 2022, covering reproductive healthcare, abortion rights, and religion in public schools. She’ll also provide a look at her arguments in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals defending against a government-sponsored prayer vigil.

You can preview this 34-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVDaI1tuYpA&list=PL5Gb8MNhOZ4myuyHAA7uDjyPRnnAUtOse&index=13.

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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
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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.
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The Power of Our Words

Sally Kohn

Videos of talks by Sally Kohn, Robb Willer, and Mark Forsyth

11 a.m., October 1, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday’s topic is the Power of Our Words. We will watch and discuss three videos on this topic.

In Let’s Try Emotional Correctness (5 minutes, https://www.ted.com/talks/sally_kohn_let_s_try_emotional_correctness), Sally Kohn tells what she learned as a progressive lesbian talking head on Fox News.

In How to Have Better Political Conversations (12 minutes, https://www.ted.com/talks/robb_willer_how_to_have_better_political_conversations), Robb Willer, a social psychologist who researches moral values, shows how to communicate with the other side of the political divide.

Finally, in What is a Snollygoster? A Short Lesson in Political Speak (6 minutes, https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_forsyth_what_s_a_snollygoster_a_short_lesson_in_political_speak), Mark Forsyth gives an example of how the significance of a word can change with time and circumstances.

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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:
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Consequences of Climate Change

David Friedman

David Friedman

11 a.m., September 24, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday we are happy to have David Friedman joining us in person to talk about the economics of climate change.

Most criticism of the current climate orthodoxy questions either whether climate change is happening or whether it is anthropogenic. In my view the real question is neither of those. It is what the net consequences are. Climate change has large negative consequences, large positive consequences, both spread through a long and uncertain future; I do not believe we know whether the net effect is positive or negative. The widespread belief that it is predictably negative is based in part on ignoring the positive consequences, which get very little public mention, and in part on a biased, in some cases dishonest, presentation of the evidence.

Prof. Friedman is an American economist, physicist, legal scholar, author and anarcho-capitalist theorist. He was a professor of law at Santa Clara University from 2005 to 2017, and is currently Professor Emeritus. His is a contributing editor to the libertarian journal, Liberty.
Prof. Friedman is a longtime member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, where he’s known as Duke Cariodoc of the Bow. He is a science fiction fan and has written two fantasy novels, Harald and Salamander.
This should be a very interesting forum.

9/24/2023 David Friedman 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 smartphone, 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)
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You can find international phone numbers to call here.

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