Here are some links related to Myths of Creativity presentation from Thursday March 7th, 2012.

• The 4 10-20 minute videos we watched can be viewed at Everything Is A Remix. (Bonus content after credits.)
• There is a short 17 minute TED video summarizing the content with new and different example as well.

Here are some links, notes and videos from the Creationism Evolves presentation from Thursday, February 7th, 2013. First, here is the video featured in the presentation and discussion: “Dr. Eugenie Scott on Evolution and Global Warming Denialism: How the Public is Misled“:

• “Symposium | Why The Debate Matters” video was referenced about creationism being exported around the world, including to Canada. Watch Ronald Numbers from Wisconsin starting at the 2 minute mark.
• “Where’s Darwin?” article referenced, from the United Church Observer in 2008.
• “Evolution In Ontario Schools” blog post summarizes the curriculum in 2008.
• “Ontario Cirriculum Grades 1-8, Science and Technology“
• “Ontario Cirriculum Grades 9-10, Science“
• “Ontario Cirriculum Grades 11-12, Science“
• Project Steve site.
• “Project Steve” article at Wikipedia

Christopher Guest discussing the historical origins of ritual circumcision and how it became a common medical procedure in the late 19th century. Examining the medical debate surrounding circumcision and examine how this practice may conflict with contemporary medical ethics and human rights.

The presentation on male circumcision is two videos (1 hour 30 minutes):

Christopher Guest MD,FRCPC is from Barrie. He is a physician and an intactivist who believes that circumcision of non-consenting minors should be illegal.

Dr. David Stamos spoke to us about his book, “The Myth of Universal Human Rights.” Due to technical difficulties I was only able to record 21 minutes of his presentation, which was about the earliest record of universal human rights. Here’s the clip for your viewing pleasure:

Sadly, I didn’t get most of the presentation, but you can watch an older version of it if you’d like. Here’s a playlist of all 10 videos, each about 10 minutes long, including a Q&A after the presentation.

Download the slides for Am I My Brain.

About the topic: The brain’s ‘job’ is to enable and control everything an organism does. But how exactly does the brain control so many complex tasks so well and so seamlessly every second of every day? Vincent will explain that it is the brain’s dynamic communication capabilities that explain how these processes work and why you can teach an old dog new tricks, namely how adult humans and other organisms have practical intelligences, social capabilities, and he will deal with the question of artificial persons.

About the speaker: Dr. Vincent DiNorcia has a PhD in Philosophy and is widely published on a range of topics, specializing in business/technology ethics. Most recently his article in the current Nov/Dec issues of Philosophy Now, “Ethics & The Brain” is available at Chapters if supplies have lasted. Also, he is a long time member and repeat speaker for the Central Ontario Humanists.

We are pleased to present last month’s presentation by Dr. Monika Havelka on the biology of aging:

You can also view her previous presentations:

• The Biology of Sex (2010)
• Evo-Devo (2009)

Here is Dr. Monika Havelka’s presentation she gave to our group in October 2010:

(This is a YouTube play list of the entire talk, which spans 7 YouTube videos. The above player is set to play through each 15 minute video.)

Slides from the presentation will be posted here soon.

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.