Why Chicks Matter

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Rebecca Watson is editor of the Skepchick blog which she describes as:

"a group of women (and one deserving guy) who write about science, skepticism, and pseudoscience. With intelligence, curiosity, and occasional snark, the group tackles diverse topics from astronomy to astrology, psychics to psychology."

Skepchick is an important part of the wave of science and skeptics sites that have spread across the internet in the last few years. Suddenly it's hip to be a nerd. This is good news, but is it also a defensive response to an increasing trend against science and medicine in society?

Originally from Massachussetts, Rebecca is living in the UK at the moment and she has very kindly agreed to come and speak to us about her adventures over the last three years of blogging, organising and campaigning.

How risky is it?

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Uncertainty may be due to unpredictability or ignorance, and often there's a messy mixture of the two.  The scientific approach to all uncertainty is through probability theory, and I will talk about how uncertainty can be quantified, whether it's about the risks of driving a car, taking statins, predicting football results or climate change.  But it gets difficult to be mathematical when we don't fully understand what's going on and how the world works, so at some point should we just own up and admit that we don't know? 

David Spiegelhalter is Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge and Senior Scientist in the MRC Biostatistics Unit.  His background is in medical statistics, particularly the use of Bayesian methods in clinical trials, health technology assessment and drug safety.  He led the statistical team in the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry and also gave evidence to the Shipman Inquiry.  

In his post he leads a small team (UnderstandingUncertainty.org) which attempts to improve the way in which the quantitative aspects of risk and uncertainty are discussed in society.  He works closely with the Millennium Mathematics Project in trying to bring risk and uncertainty into education.  He gives many presentations to schools and others, advises organisations on risk communication, and is a regular newspaper columnist on current risk issues.

He was elected FRS in 2005 and awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to medical statistics.

I highly recommend watching amusing David's youtube video 'Professor Risk' to get some understanding of what he does.

The Real X-Files

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The Ministry of Defence is in the process of declassifying and releasing its entire archive of UFO files.  These go back decades and are packed with thousands of fascinating cases, including UFOs seen by police officers and pilots, and UFOs being tracked on radar.  Some files involve the secretive Defence Intelligence Staff and contain documents that were classified Secret UK Eyes Only.  Nick Pope will explain the history of the British government's involvement with this fascinating subject, setting out the policy on the issue, detailing how investigations are undertaken and revealing what conclusions were reached.  He will also update attendees on the programme to release the MoD's archive of UFO-related documents and will discuss some of the most extraordinary cases from these real-life X-Files.

Nick Pope used to work at the Ministry of Defence, where from 1991 to 1994 he was posted to a division where his duties included investigating UFOs. Initially sceptical, his official research and investigation convinced him that the UFO phenomenon raised important defence, national security and flight safety issues. He was particularly interested in cases where the witnesses were pilots or where UFOs were tracked on radar. Nick is now recognised as a leading authority on UFOs and the unexplained.

Help us: print out our poster for this event and place somewhere people can see it.

NOTE: Moved to the Wednesday from the usual Tuesday due to the World Cup.

The Psychology of Anomalous Experiences

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Ever since records began, in every known society, a substantial proportion of the population has reported unusual experiences many of which we would today label as 'paranormal'. Opinion polls show that the majority of the general public accepts that paranormal phenomena do occur. Such widespread experience of and belief in the paranormal can only mean one of two things. Either the paranormal is real, in which case this should be accepted by the wider scientific community which currently rejects such claims. Or else belief in and experience of ostensibly paranormal phenomena can be fully explained in terms of psychological factors. This presentation will provide an introduction to the sub-discipline of anomalistic psychology, which may be defined as the study of extraordinary phenomena of behaviour and experience, in an attempt to provide non-paranormal explanations in terms of known psychological and physical factors. This approach will be illustrated with examples relating to a range of ostensibly paranormal phenomena.

Professor Chris French is the Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has published over 100 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics within psychology. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. He is the editor of The Skeptic and writes a regular column for the Guardian's online science pages.

 

Holocaust Denial

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This talk deals with a strange, politically motivated phenomenon that claims to be sceptical but in fact is engaged in the manufacture of new myths and conspiracy theories: Holocaust Denial.

Richard J Evans teaches History at Cambridge University and is the author of many books, including "Telling Lies About Hitler".

Ectoplasm

Remembering the Medium Helen Duncan

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Helen Duncan, an ordinary Scottish housewife, is reputed to have been one of the greatest materialization mediums that ever lived. She didn’t just speak to the dead: she welcomed them back to the séance room, wreathed in ectoplasm that emanated from her body. In this talk, Malcolm Gaskill looks back on Mrs Duncan’s legacy, particularly his experience of researching her life over a decade ago. Despite her conviction for fraud in 1944, this medium, like her spiritual guests, remains a vivid presence in the annals of Spiritualism and in Gaskill’s historical consciousness.


Malcolm Gaskill is Reader in Early Modern History at the University of East Anglia. An expert in the history of witchcraft and seventeenth-century mentalities, he is the author of many essays and articles, and of four books, mostly recently Witchcraft: a Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2010). In 2001 he published Hellish Nell: Last of Britain’s Witches (4th Estate), a biography of Helen Duncan.

Bad Law

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Skeptic and legal writer Allen Green (@JackOfKent) will discuss what constitutes a "bad law", with examples ranging from witchcraft and blasphemy to prostitution and copyright. He will also discuss the need for libel reform and the progress of the Simon Singh case.
 
Allen Green is an Oxford University graduate and was offered a place at Cambridge University to study intellectual history, but he opted to try and become a lawyer instead.

Allen writes the Jack of Kent blog and is also convenor of Westminster Skeptics.

Note: This talk has been moved from the last Tuesday of the month to a week earlier due to Allen Green's commitments later in the month.

Allen will arrive at 7pm to start talking at 7:30pm

The Persistence of Delusion

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The late eighteenth century was a very creative time for inventing new forms of quackery and many became quite wealthy on the back on their invention. Of these creations, it is perhaps only homeopathy that has survived virtually unchanged into the 21st century. The majority of alternative medicines available today have been invented and developed within living memory, despite claims of their origins in antiquity.

What makes an alternative medicine successful? Why should homeopathy survive when the very popular tractors of Perkins have long since been forgotten? Could you have predicted this in 1800? Today, we have a new industry of quack devices protecting is from mobile phones. Should you invest in such enterprises?

In this talk, Andy will look at the factors that make pseudo-medicines thrive and why consumers and practitioners latch onto them. Importantly, we shall explore the implications of these views for regulation and protecting the public from delusional or fraudulent claims.

Andy Lewis developed the web site quackometer.net that explores the pseudo-medical claims of alternative medicine web sites and their impact on society. Despite his detractors' claims, he does not own a yacht in the South of France paid for by Big Pharma. He has yet to secure a single penny from such sources for his work.

Andy Lewis will arrive at 7:00pm and the talk will start at 7:30pm

Download the poster for the event if you want to help advertise the talk.

Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial

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Prince Charles is a staunch defender and millions of people swear by alternative medicine, but most UK doctors consider it to be little more than superstition and a waste of money. And whilst much of this ‘medicine’ is free on the NHS, does it really work and is it safe? Indeed, does it even matter as long as patients are satisfied with the end results?

Based on the conclusions of his book 'Trick or Treatment?' (co-authored with the world’s first professor of complementary medicine), Simon Singh will look at which alternative therapies are safe and effective, and which are useless and even downright dangerous. From acupuncture to homeopathy, from herbal medicine to Hopi ear candling, Singh will also look at the origins of these therapies, their rapid growth in popularity in the West and their supposed modes of action.

Simon Singh is the author of "Fermat's Last Theorem", "The Code Book" and "Big Bang". Before becoming a journalist, he was a TV director at the BBC, working on programmes such as "Tomorrow's World" and Horizon". He is currently being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association, a case that has been at the centre of Keep Libel Laws Out of Science Campaign. He will touch on issue of libel and talk generally about his own case during the launch of Skeptics in the Pub in Cambridge.

There is a Facebook event page for those who want to invite friends.

Skeptics in the Pub Cambridge - Launch Drinks

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To celebrate the start of the series of Skeptics in the Pub talks from next month with first talk on the 24th November given by Simon Singh, we though some people might like to meet up for an informal drink.

We also are proud to say that we several other speakers already lined up for the coming months and hope to announce them over the next few weeks as details are finalised.