Hello Happy Humanists,

It is my great pleasure to invite you all to another open discussion meeting. Last months open discussion went very well and I’m happy to ask you all out again this Wednesday, July 28th at the Barrie Public Library in the Angus-Ross room. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own topics for discussion, news clippings, et cetera. The doors open at 6:30 and the discussion will start promptly at 7 PM.

Also, you are welcome to join us for dinner before the meeting. We will be eating in the Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St at 5 PM. Just ask for the Humanist table.

COHA Calendar:

Wednesday August 18 (discussion meeting)
Wednesday September 29
Thursday October 28
Thursday November 25
Wednesday December 29 (available but not currently planned)

See you on Wednesday

Hello Happy Humanists,

It is my great pleasure to invite you all to our first* open discussion meeting. This Wednesday, June 30rd at the Barrie Public Library we will be meeting in the Angus-Ross room. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own topics for discussion, news clippings, et cetera. The doors open at 6:30 and the discussion will start promptly at 7 PM.

Everyone is welcome to join us for dinner before the meeting. We will be eating in the Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St at 5 PM. Just ask for the Humanist table.

COHA Calendar:

1. Wednesday July 28 (discussion meeting)
2. Wednesday August 18 (discussion meeting)
3. Wednesday September 29
4. Thursday October 28
5. Thursday November 25
6. Wednesday December 29 (available but not currently planned)

See you on Canada Day Eve.

Greetings!

COHA’s Thursday, April 29 meeting is just two weeks away (in the Angus-Ross room, just inside Barrie Library’s main entrance on the left; open 6:30pm; start 7:00pm sharp).

This month we take a breather from religious issues in order to discuss two topics from the TED website that are kind of related, and that I think will be great discussion starters.

The first one is Daniel Dennett’s 15.5 minute video: Dangerous Ideas. Dan Dennett is a well known philosopher-scientist and author of several popular books, as well as a secular humanist who often debates religious issues. Combining the principle of free speech with the outrageous misinformation, such as what many US politicians have been spreading, make his topic especially relevant today.

The second is Jared Diamond’s 18 minute video: On Why Societies Collapse, based on his book “Collapse,” which I enjoyed reading. He has identified five patterns that lead societies to collapse, and I sense that several of them are at work in the USA and globally. He points out that collapses have occurred suddenly, right after a society has reached some sort of apex, a fact that I found particularly disturbing.

I encourage you to preview the videos before our meeting. That way you might get even more out of them at the meeting, and you can come with your comments and questions ready, thus assuring stimulating discussions. Here are the links:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_dangerous_memes.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse.html

Sneak Preview: For our May 26 meeting, we are very fortunate to have Reverend Don French come and speak to us. His topic will be:

How Science Affects Religion, One Priest’s Perspective

This marks the first time COHA has had a speaker from “the other side.” You may be surprised at how open he is to our ways of thinking. But more on that next month.

And as a great coincidence, I have accepted an invitation from my physicist friend Prof. Gordon Drake, who is also President of Canterbury (Anglican) College, to present the affirmative side of a formal debate to be held on May 8 at the University of Windsor on the question: Do Religion and Science Conflict? Gordon will argue the negative case.

I will be introduced as the president of COHA. Gordon says that the media might be there and I hope to have it recorded. If any of you are interested in vetting the arguments that I plan to make, email me and I will be pleased to send them to you. (Gordon, you and your confederates need not respond.) And this will nicely set the stage for Reverend French’s May 26 talk!

Last but not least, planning for our Summer Solstice Party has started. So please put Saturday, June 19 into your calendar right now!

Best regards,
Paul
President, COHA

PS: Because COHA meeting dates are no longer the last Wednesday of most months, below is a reminder to replace them with these dates:

Thursday April 29
Wednesday May 26
Saturday June 19 – Summer BBQ
Wednesday June 30 (available but not currently planned)
Wednesday July 28 (available but not currently planned)
Wednesday August 18 (available but not currently planned)
Wednesday September 29
Thursday October 28
Thursday November 25
Wednesday December 29 (available but not currently planned)

Happy March!

This years third meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 24 at the Barrie Public Library in the Angus-Ross room, just inside the main entrance on the left. Doors will open at 6:30pm with a 7:00pm start.

This month we will be watching “Judgement Day.” We will present and discuss the second half of this documentary. For those who didn’t see the first part about the division and motives in the community of Dover, PA, you can certainly jump in to the second part that discusses the trial and the US Governments position on teaching Intelligent Design in public schools.

The Dover account is exciting because the story is told by participants on both sides of the issue, including the vitriol and threats tearing apart the community. Then there is the dramatic court battle, reenacted from actual testimony. I learned a lot, not just about the legal issues, but about cutting edge science presented by the scientists who were called as witnesses. Last but not least is the judgement itself, written by a republican judge who had prior exposure to neither evolution nor creationism. The case was precedent setting and there were consequences to the judge himself. You won’t want to miss this month’s meeting!

We invite you to join us at Swiss Chalet at 5 PM on Bayfield Street for dinner and chatting before the movie. And just a reminder that if you want to begin or renew your COHA membership please come prepared to sign up for 2010. Forms will be available, and individual dues are just $30 per year.

Greetings!

I hope everyone was pleased with our new “digs” at the Barrie Public Library. Your executive was, but if you have any concerns please let me know.

Well, time is flying by and our second meeting of the year will take place on Thursday, February 24 in the Angus-Ross room, just inside the main entrance on the left. Doors will open at 6:30pm with a 7:00pm start.

I’m pleased to announce we have purchased a copy of Nova’s excellent documentary called “Judgement Day,” and this month, we will present and discuss the first half. No, it’s not about the second coming of Christ. In Dover Pennsylvania in 2005, the local school board decided to try to introduce intelligent design into its science curriculum, and to force science teachers to warn students that evolution was “just a theory.” Well, that sparked a landmark court battle, kind of a replay of the 1925 “monkey trial”, which the evolutionists lost.

The Dover account is exciting because the story is told by participants on both sides of the issue, including the vitriol and threats tearing apart the community. Then there is the dramatic court battle, reenacted from actual testimony. I learned a lot, not just about the legal issues, but about cutting edge science presented by the scientists who were called as witnesses. Last but not least is the judgement itself, written by a republican judge who had prior exposure to neither evolution nor creationism. The case was precedent setting and there were consequences to the judge himself. You won’t want to miss this month’s meeting!

Thank you to Bruce Murphy for steering me onto http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4082. I enjoyed reading the articles posted there. The one on “What do Creationists Believe” has excellent information about seven flavours of Creationism (with Intelligent Design as the “science” available to all of them).

And just a reminder that if you want to begin or renew your COHA membership please come prepared to sign up for 2010. Forms will be available, and individual dues are just $30 per year.

Warm regards,
Paul
President, Central Ontario Humanists Association
_______________________________________________
Central Ontario Humanists

http://www.cohumanists.ca/

info@cohumanists.ca

Topic: Secular Morality

(Tomorrow) Wednesday January 20 is COHA’s first meeting at the Barrie Public Library. Doors of the Angus-Ross room, just inside the main entrance on the left, will open at 6:30pm with a 7:00pm start. Our pre-meeting social dinner is as usual at the Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. at 5pm.

Our topic is What is morality? Where does it come from? Shawn will lead off with a video presentation from an expert — associate professor of Psychology Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. Prof. Haidt discusses the secular roots of innate morality, and how differing views of morality intersect with religion and the political spectrum. After the video, Shawn has invited two or three members to comment. By then I’m sure the rest of us will be itching to react to all of this, so expect a lively discussion.

Don’t forget to renew your membership — $30 per year.

This month the Central Ontario Humanist Association was pleased to have biology professor Dr. Monika Havelka give us a presentation on Evo-Devo.  In this presentation she explains how small changes in the HOX genes that control development can lead to big changes in how an animal looks.

This video is now posted online and you can watch it right here:

You can download the slides in PDF format.

I just received an email from our featured speaker, Dr. Monika Havelka, saying that her daughter has contracted H1N1 flu, and Monika thinks she is coming down with it too. So, … we will reschedule her visit to a later meeting. Tomorrow we will meet as planned, at 7pm the Barrie Native Friendship Centre (175 Bayfield). In lieu of Dr. Havelka, we will present:

Saturday Night Live comic actor Julia Sweeney’s video: Letting Go of God
When two young Mormon missionaries knock on her door one day, it touches off Julia’s “quest for something I could really believe in” — which turns out to be no God at all. In the process she explores love, cancer, family and faith.

For those inclined to break bread before the meeting, see you as usual at 5pm at the Swiss Chalet, 397 Bayfield.

Sorry about the late notice. And please, … stay healthy or stay home!

The Central Ontario Humanist Association’s Wednesday, October 28th, meeting will feature Dr. Monika Havelka giving her extraordinary presentation on the emerging biological specialty of “evo-devo” — the application of evolutionary theory to the development of all life forms, including us of course. We will see you at the Barrie Native Friendship Centre, 175 Bayfield St. Doors open at 6:30pm. Our usual pre-meeting dinner will be at the Swiss Chalet, 397 Bayfield, 5:00pm.

Hello Everyone,

A record 38 people attended our September meeting. And two first timers wanted to become members on the spot. Momentum is building!

Thanks to fellow member Klaus Kuch, we learned about behaviorism in everyday life.

This was our first experience in the Barrie Native Friendship Centre (175 Bayfield Street, south of #400). We were supposed to meet in their Board Room, but a very heavy roll of carpet took up so much room that at the last minute we decided to cram into a smaller room. And it was crammed. As October’s meeting could enjoy an even larger turnout, I’ve asked the Centre to move or dispose of the carpet.

Why a larger turnout? Last January a snow storm caused most of us to miss Dr. Monika Havelka’s extraordinary slide presentation. Since 2009 is Darwin’s 200th birthday, it is entirely appropriate for us to invite TVO’s twice nominated best lecturer back to tell those who missed her the first time about the exciting discoveries coming from the emerging biological specialty of “evo-devo” — the application of evolutionary theory to the development of all life forms, including us of course. Sooo, by popular demand,… I am pleased to announce she will be treating us to a repeat performance at our October 28 meeting (this time the weather gods will cooperate). There will be ample time for questions, and I intend to ask her about the even newer field of epigenetics.

I expect many non-members, as Barrieites, scientists and non-scientists alike, should have another chance to enjoy it. To this end, I’ve attached a publicity poster of this event. Please post a copy on your favorite grocery store’s bulletin board or other places.

In other news, COHA is now officially a non-profit corporation. This should enable us to meet at the Barrie Public Library during 2010.

More potentially good news: In a recent revision of their affiliation rules, it appears that the Humanist Association of Canada will now permit us to issue tax receipts. We are in the process of confirming this revision.

Warm regards,
Paul
President, Central Ontario Humanists Association