September 27 Meetup-Skeptical Trivia

At the next Victoria Skeptics in the Pub, get ready to put your knowledge of random skeptical information to the test. We'll be playing a fun game of Skeptical Trivia - a popular game within Skeptics in the Pub circles. The questions for this episode of skeptical trivia were complied by Rebecca Watson of Skeptics Guide to the Universe and Skepchick fame. I've made a few adjustments to give it a little more local feel. Rebecca is a pretty smart cookie so her questions are challenging. They're not impossible though. Here are some topics to consider in order to get prepared:

• moon landing hoax
• alternative medicine
• holocaust denial
• young earth creationism
• fortune telling/psychics
• Scientology
• 9-11 conspiracy theory
• "The Secret"
• UFOs/ghosts/bigfoot/
• logical fallacies

We'll need at least four players in order to make the game interesting.

Mass Spoon Bending Demo:
Richard Saunders (TANK Vodcast, "The One") from the Sydney Skeptics in the Pub started the tradition of SITP mass spoon bendings. I'll give a quick demo and then we'll all bend spoons together on video and say hello to the Sydney Skeptics in the Pub. Don't worry, I'll bring the spoons.

Logical Fallacy of the Month:
This is a new section for the VSITP meetings. Each month, I'll post a logical fallacy and challenge the Victoria Skeptics to bring a news article or example from pop culture that illustrates the fallacy. I'll post the responses on the blog.

Since we're just getting going, let's start with an easy one:
POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC.

Skeptical News:
Bring whatever recent news articles of interest to the skeptical community for discussion. If you email them to me early, I'll make sure they are posted so everyone can have a look.

Book / Magazine Exchange:
Bring your books and magazines to share with others. Also remember to bring back the stuff you've borrowed! I'll be bringing the latest Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer magazines as well as the book, This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel Levitin.


Venue:

Christie's Carriage House Pub . Christie's has allowed us the use of a meeting facility for us to do our thing in semi-privacy.

WEBSITE

Meeting starts at 5:30 PM

Skeptical Round Up - 08/23/08

by Ray

To start, I just want to thank all who attended. I think we all had a pretty good time despite no presentation and being told by the "management" to sit my ass down and not disturb the other patrons (+5 embarrassment). I especially would like to thank Fred of the Vancouver Skeptics for visiting and showing us his amazing spoon bending powers. There were a total of nine attendees.

A few topics came up that are worth noting.

1. Links to skeptical websites, podcasts etc. I'm working on this right now. Let me know if I've missed anything.

2. New venue needed. I couldn't agree more. Email your suggestions and I'll put a poll up on this site.

3. Meeting dates/time. I picked Saturday at 5:30 for the following reasons:
(a) It allows for out-of-towners to attend.
(b) It's early enough that you can still go out after or stay with the group and par-tay. Still, it might not be the best day or time to meet. Email suggestions.

4. Presentations. To be honest, I have maybe two or three good presentations in me. Also, I don't want to be the focus of every meeting. We all have our areas of expertise and topics of interest so it would be best if we tried to get presentations from as many members as possible.

5. Guest Lecturers. Know of any professors or experts who'd be willing to do a presentation in exchange for beer?

6. News Articles/Blog If you'd like to contribute to the blog, email me and we'll work out a way to get you a regular "column". In addition, bring any newsworthy topics, especially local, to the meetups for discussion.

7. Activism. Personally, I think drinking and socializing is an end to itself but maybe there is more we can do as a group to get the message of reason and critical thinking out there. Specifically, it would be great if we can find a way to advise the local media on their reporting of science and the paranormal.

8. Materials/Equipment Do you have a laptop that you'd be willing to let someone (like me) use for a presentation? Also, it would be nice if we could share reading materials, if only to test the limits of the honor system.

9. Anything Else The reality is that these types of groups are only fun and vital when there is active group participation. By all means, feel free to take ownership and make suggestions and add content.

Once again, thank you all for attending. Next month we will definitely have a presentation and perhaps even a fun game of Skeptical Trivia. See you then.

WTF??

Telekinesis Power (Power of Thor!) - uggggh!!!!

Podcasts

• The Non Prophets
• Skepticality
• Skeptiod
• Skeptic's Guide to the Universe

General

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

Skeptic Magazine

Skeptic's Dictionary

Captain Disillusion