The Hampshire Skeptics Society @hantsskep@qoto.org
- https://www.instagram.com/winskeptics/
- Newsletter sign-up
- https://www.hampshireskeptics.org/subscribe/
The Hampshire Skeptics Society is a non-profit organisation for the promotion of science, reason and critical thinking. We run the Winchester Skeptics In The Pub group which meets monthly at The Winchester Club for expert-led talks in Winchester, UK.
Hello! We're @hantsskep - here's an #introduction to our group and what interests us.
We're a #UK #skeptics group based in 🕍 #Winchester run by a small band of passionately rational friends including @davethedrummer @ClioBel @malcolm901 @dejoslin
We love #criticalthinking #freethinkers #rationality #rationalists #evidence #skepticsinthepub
We meet up in person twice a month:
Once at The Winchester Club, Winchester for informal talks from guest speakers who have an evidence-based approach to their topic from diverse fields of expertise - e.g., #philosophy #journalism and #science
And once at The The Bishop on the Bridge, Winchester for our regular #social, where we get to know local like-minded people who share a #skeptical and #scientific view of the world we live in over drinks and food.
We're part of the #UK national #skeptics network, Skeptics in the Pub
https://sitp.online/about-us/
What is a skeptic? Here is Dr. Steven Novella’s summary:
“A skeptic is one who prefers beliefs and conclusions that are reliable and valid to ones that are comforting or convenient, and therefore rigorously and openly applies the methods of #science and #reason to all empirical claims, especially their own. A skeptic provisionally proportions acceptance of any claim to valid #logic and a fair and thorough assessment of available #evidence, and studies the pitfalls of human reason and the mechanisms of deception so as to avoid being deceived by others or themselves. Skepticism values method over any particular conclusion.”
#empiricism #criticalthinking #askforevidence #secularism #philosophy #ethics #freethinkers #brights #atheist #agnostic #humanism #freethinkers #rationality #reasoning
Your brain comes with its own mental photoshop. In this image there is no yellow. Mouse over closely and you'll see that each line in that circle is white. Your brain--a brilliant three pound mass of fat, water, protein, carbohydrates and salts--fills in the yellow colour for you.
Babe, wake up, a new #JWST image just dropped.
Light from the protostar L1527 escapes above and below an edge-on protoplanetary disk (the dark line at the center of the image), creating an hourglass shape. This illuminates the cavities carved as ejected material from the star collides with the surrounding, dusty nebula.
Dust scatters shorter wavelengths of light, so blue areas are where the dust is thinner and orange areas are where the dust is more dense.
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-055
Another music recommendation!
'The Race for Space,' the second studio album by Public Service Broadcasting, relives the story of the American and Soviet space race from 1957–1972, conveying all the tension and breathless wonder.
Public Service Broadcasting have been "teaching the lessons of the past through the music of the future" for more than a decade now.
#Alternative #ArtRock #Indie #Electronica #DancePunk #Krautrock #NerdCore
https://open.spotify.com/album/65KwtzkJXw7oT819NFWmEP?si=Fo0fr2hdRNihsZvr9FfHBQ
We like to think of humans as rational creatures, who have relied on calculation and intellect to survive, but many of the most important moments in our history had little to do with cold, hard facts and a lot to do with feelings.
How have our understanding and experience of #emotions changed over time?
Richard Firth-Godbehere's talk will explore how our beliefs about feelings have profoundly shaped us and our world.
Richard will take you on a fascinating, wide-ranging tour of the central and often under-appreciated role emotions have played in human societies around the world and throughout history.
Richard Firth-Godbehere PhD, is one of the world’s leading experts on disgust and emotions. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for the History of the Emotions, Queen Mary University of London.
Online at @ 19:00 via Skeptics in the Pub- watch live at https://twitch.tv/sitp
25 years ago today, Lisa the Skeptic became The Simpsons’ critical thinking icon
by Trevor Sloughter
In a show that was never shy to take a satirical look at religion, Season 9's "Lisa the Skeptic" - broadcast 25 years ago today - established The Simpsons' skeptical credibility
I'm doing a talk about the History of Emotions for Skeptics in the Pub online tonight.
Join me via twitch!
RECOMMENDED FOLLOWS:
#COVID, #PANDEMIC, #VACCINES
======================
@gorskon Dr. David Gorski
Surgeon who publishes The Skeptical Raptor, with hilarious sarcasm and pointed critique of #antivax lunatics.
==========================
@HelenBranswell Excellent established credible journalist infectious disease, pandemic, public health.
#evidencebasedmedicine
#science #medicine
#antiantivax #covid #vaccines #vaccinesavelives
#FollowRing #BestFollows #SmartFollows.#sciencebasedmedicine
I used to wave a shitty stick at irrational nonsense, but it seems like a lot of effort these days so I can’t generally be arsed, so I tend to just rant about the bleddy Tories instead. You could follow me anyway, you never know I might cone up with another witty Venn diagram or periodic table at some point. Worth a punt.
Hello! We're @hantsskep - here's an #introduction to our group and what interests us.
We're a #UK #skeptics group based in 🕍 #Winchester run by a small band of passionately rational friends including @davethedrummer @ClioBel @malcolm901 @dejoslin
We love #criticalthinking #freethinkers #rationality #rationalists #evidence #skepticsinthepub
We meet up in person twice a month:
Once at The Winchester Club, Winchester for informal talks from guest speakers who have an evidence-based approach to their topic from diverse fields of expertise - e.g., #philosophy #journalism and #science
And once at The The Bishop on the Bridge, Winchester for our regular #social, where we get to know local like-minded people who share a #skeptical and #scientific view of the world we live in over drinks and food.
We're part of the #UK national #skeptics network, Skeptics in the Pub
https://sitp.online/about-us/
Every day there is a huge injection of energy from the Moon to the ocean via tides. I've been skeptical about extracting significant tidal power near coastlines because of the difficulty & ecosystem effects, but maybe tidal stream turbines offer a more realistic solution in the long term, if they can be deployed safely and (relatively) non-intrusively: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/23/tidal-stream-energy-costs-ebb-reliability-flows #Ocean #Tides #Energy #Sustainability
What is a skeptic? Here is Dr. Steven Novella’s summary:
“A skeptic is one who prefers beliefs and conclusions that are reliable and valid to ones that are comforting or convenient, and therefore rigorously and openly applies the methods of #science and #reason to all empirical claims, especially their own. A skeptic provisionally proportions acceptance of any claim to valid #logic and a fair and thorough assessment of available #evidence, and studies the pitfalls of human reason and the mechanisms of deception so as to avoid being deceived by others or themselves. Skepticism values method over any particular conclusion.”
#empiricism #criticalthinking #askforevidence #secularism #philosophy #ethics #freethinkers #brights #atheist #agnostic #humanism #freethinkers #rationality #reasoning
https://skepticalscience.com/argument.php
A good collection of "favourite" #ClimateDenial talking points
Mastodon, will probably be a tad slow for the coming days. Please post reasonably, and give everyone some time to settle.
Maybe you can repost, summarize, or reflect on the best posts you've seen on Twitter and other sites. Doing a compilation of some of the greatest stuff we've seen elsewhere is a good way to set the tone. 
@hantsskep are a friendly lot - our slogan is “Critical thinking with convivial drinking” - here we are at our last pub meet.
#SkepticsInThePub #winskep #pub #skeptics #winchesteruk #hampshireuk #connection #ideas #science #rationality #friendship
It looks like 42 really might be the answer...
https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S021988782350069X
In Episode 1 we talked to Dr Yihui Quek about what #information means.
How do we understand the process of #learning, and what does it have to do with #QuantumComputers? Take a listen to find out!
#physics #ComputerScience #MachineLearning #quantum #QuantumComputing #QuantumTechnology #insideQuantum #QuantumInformation #information #AL #ML #QML
What is a skeptic? Here is Dr. Steven Novella’s summary:
“A skeptic is one who prefers beliefs and conclusions that are reliable and valid to ones that are comforting or convenient, and therefore rigorously and openly applies the methods of #science and #reason to all empirical claims, especially their own. A skeptic provisionally proportions acceptance of any claim to valid #logic and a fair and thorough assessment of available #evidence, and studies the pitfalls of human reason and the mechanisms of deception so as to avoid being deceived by others or themselves. Skepticism values method over any particular conclusion.”
#empiricism #criticalthinking #askforevidence #secularism #philosophy #ethics #freethinkers #brights #atheist #agnostic #humanism #freethinkers #rationality #reasoning
@hantsskep @malcolm901 @dejoslin and we're hoping that lots of you will join us for our great talks and socials 😊😊
- https://www.instagram.com/winskeptics/
- Newsletter sign-up
- https://www.hampshireskeptics.org/subscribe/
The Hampshire Skeptics Society is a non-profit organisation for the promotion of science, reason and critical thinking. We run the Winchester Skeptics In The Pub group which meets monthly at The Winchester Club for expert-led talks in Winchester, UK.
