2013
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God of the Galapagos
Talk by Dr Karel de Pauw on the the religious and philosophical implications of Darwinism. When I asked Karel for an abstract he suggested the quote that first inspired him to give a talk on this topic.
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A Skeptical Look at Statistics
John Fletcher presents a talk on how stats are used and abused.
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Providing Pastoral Support in Prisons
Amy looks at the inequalities faced by non-religious prisoners and how the BHA and HM Prison Service are seeking to address them through a pilot involving pastoral care at HMP Winchester.
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Humanism and the Armed Forces
As a representative of the UK Armed Forces Humanist Association, Robin offers an insight into some of the issues facing Humanists in the military today.
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What the BHA does for you
Sara discusses the shared human values that are the bedrock of Humanism and the development of the BHA as an internationally respected organisation that puts Humanism at the heart of everything it does.
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What is Humanism?
What do we mean by Humanism? What does it mean for how we live our lives? And what is the role of the Humanist movement?
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The Modern Face of Physiognomy
The notion that one can judge a person's character on the basis of their facial appearance is an idea that dates back to the ancient Greeks and for a short period, the practice of physiognomy was considered scientific. Despite the fact that this ancient practice has long been discredited, the idea that one can "read" a person's character simply by looking at their face still persists within folk psychology. In fact, this belief and our natural tendency to judge people on the basis of facial appearance has a surprisingly pervasive effect on all of our lives.
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Oi! Scientology!
John Sweeney is 'psychotic, a bigot and a liar', and also the reporter who made the BBC Panorama programmes about the Church of Scientology.
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Homeopathy is Hokum
Chris Worfolk presents an introduction to the field of homeopathy, an alternative medicine that claims to offer miraculous healing properties, but is unable to demonstrate them under double blind clinic trials.
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A History of Tarot
This talk was given at Leeds Skeptics under the title "Confessions of a Tarot Reader".
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The European Witch Hunts
Hugh Clayden addresses three common misconceptions of the European Witch Hunts. Were they a persecution of pre-existing Pagan cults? Was it inter-religious persecution between Catholics and Protestants? Was it persecution of women by men?
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The Frontiers of Chemistry
James Murray presents a talk on where the latest research innovations in chemistry may be leading us.
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The Christian Ideology of New Atheism
Michael Burgess presents a talk on how the ideology of New Atheism mirrors that of Christianity.
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Origins of Islam
The talk is about the mythical origins of Islam. Most people know that much of the origins of Christianity and Judaism is mythological, but it is not so widely known that Islam's origins are similarly mythical. This is not least because Muslims insist Islam is rooted in factual history and get 'touchy' if this, or any aspect of Islam, is questioned.
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The Sex Myth
Is there any truth to the epidemic of sex addiction? Are our children really getting sexualised younger? Are men the only ones who like porn? Brooke Magnanti looks at all these questions and more - and proves that perhaps we've all been taking the answers for granted.
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Alan Turing: The Building of a Brain
2012 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing - mathematician, Bletchley Park decoding genius, father of computer science, and seminal figure in artificial intelligence and developmental biology. Every stored-program computer today is an embodiment of his 1936 Universal Turing Machine.
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Good and Evil in Gospel Myth
Unfortunately we only captured the first half of this talk. Jim Hatfield explores the hidden meanings that can be found below the surface of Gospel language.
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Disproving God With Philosophy
Heini Reinert looks as some of the philosophical arguments against god.
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How Physics Has Shed Light on the Nature of Time
Josh Hulks presents a talk on what physics has to teach us about the nature of time.
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Superstition - The Odd Delusion
Where does superstition come from? Who are the most superstitious people in the world? Can scientists be superstitious? What about atheists? What's God got to do with it? Does it matter? Just some of the questions we'll explore, touch wood.
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Death; a Not So Glum Look
Humanist Celebrant Matthew Simpson takes a more positive look at death and compares the differences between how Humanists and believers might view the prospect.