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.

It’s another year, and after our winter party it’s time to kick it back in to gear.

Monday, January 30th: Dr. DiNorcia on “Am I My Brain?”
On Monday, January 30th at 7PM the Central Ontario Humanists will have Dr. Vincent DiNorcia talk about how our brains does the miraculous things that it does, and how the structure of our brain affects who we are and how we behave.  We meet at the Barrie Public Library in the Angus Ross Room. Guests are welcome, and your first three meetings are free.

Monday, January 30* [Last Monday of January]

Monday, March 5

Monday, April 2

Monday, May 7

Monday, June 4

Summer Solstice will be sometime August/July

It has been a pleasure to serve as your president this year. To close out the year we have our Winter Solstice Party and 15 minute AGM on December 11th. RSVP to Josh with what you will bring (below). We will elect our board members for next year and then have a blast. Your current executive board has been working hard some some dedicated members to already start books fantastic speakers for next year.

We will be meeting on first Monday of the month for the next year, as this is the only day the library allows us to book.

We would appreciate your input as to what was your favourite presentations of the year–the kind you want more of. As well, I’m interested to know which you disliked the most and would like to get rid of going future. Make this your club. Respond to this email and let me know.

AGM & Winter Solstice Party

Where: Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, 107 Dunlop St. E.
When: Sunday, December 11th, 12 noon until 3:30 PM
Why? Because everyone deserves a little fun.

RSVP to Josh at (removed)

We will have a potluck meal and donations to the Grocery Assistance Program are being collected. (No potluck or food donation required if you are coming just for the AGM, but donations to GAP are always appreciated.) Free parking is available all along Dunlop St. and in any city parking lots downtown. There is no charge for all members and guests, and parking is free downtown on Sunday.

Promptly at 12 noon we will begin our 15 minute AGM. We will elect our 2012 executive, and have our financial and membership reports. Then we will spring right in to the fun.

RSVP to Josh at (removed)

Call for candidates: We are looking for people to run for executive positions. If you want to run for Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Secretary, Vice-President or President we really want you. Fresh ideas and fresh perspectives are welcome, no experience needed, and only 1 executive meeting per month is required. (A description of positions is available on our website.)

If you would like to run for any position, please contact Tom Cooke.

Upcoming Meetings

We meet on the first Monday of the month. The next meetings are:

Monday, January 30 [The last Monday of January]
Monday, March 5
Monday, April 2
Monday, May 7

Thanks for a great year

Enjoy this December. Most of us, our friends and loved ones will have time off work this December, as usual. Please use opportunity to enjoy each other’s company, to have a good time and to relax. For those of you who celebrate a secular Christmas, have a happy Christmas. To those of you participating in religious holiday occasions regardless of the practice, best wishes to you and yours. And to everyone, have a merry new year.

 Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

The event is free for members. The public is welcome to come with a food donation for the Grocery Assist Program or pay a $5 charge

• Location: Georgian College, Rowntree Theatre in the Canadian Automotive Building (H)
• Parking: $2 for parking in parking lot 11 (don’t park at a meter, park in lot 11)
• Cost: $5 for non members OR a food donation for the Grocery Assist Program will be collected

Join the Facebook Event for this meeting.

More information below:

On Wednesday, November 30th at 7PM Dr. Chris DiCarlo will be giving a presentation at the Rowntree Theatre at Georgian College. This award winning presenter will talk to us about how to ask the right questions and how to spot bad answers. Dr. DiCarlo will tell us about the important big five questions: What can I know? Why am I here? What am I? How should I behave? What is to come of me?

This dovetails beautifully with last January’s video presentation of Sam Harris’ book “The Moral Landscape.” Ethics, free will, and critical thinking are corner stones of  Dr. DiCarlo’s lively and engaging presentation. His book, “How To Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass” will be on sale. A must have guide for all budding critical thinkers.

Many new members and guests to the Central Ontario Humanists don’t remember the last time Chris DiCarlo came by to entertain and inform us. When speaking to some members, one said he had Dr. DiCarlo as a professor and that he was a great speaker and teacher. I soon got word that another person in that conversation went home and looked him up on YouTube. She immediately said she understands why Chris DiCarlo is held in such high regard by humanists when she saw a video of him debating the existence of God with William Lane Craig. It’s easy to see why he was Humanist Canada’s 2008 Humanist of the Year.

This month we have yet another great presentation: Dr. Chris DiCarlo will talk to us about the importance of asking questions, and which ones you should ask to live a meaningful, fully developed life. On Wednesday November 30th we will meet at Georgian College’s Rowntree Theatre.

Also, next month, on December 11th is our AGM/Solstice party. We are looking for you to help out with our executive committee. We train on the job, and the hours are light and fun.

Read below for more information on all this and more.

This month: Dr. Chris DiCarlo

• Location: Georgian College, Rowntree Theatre in the Canadian Automotive Building (H)
• Parking: $2 for parking in parking lot 11 (don’t park at a meter, park in lot 11)
• Cost: $5 for non members OR a food donation for the Grocery Assist Program will be collected

You can also view her previous presentations:

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

I’m pleased to announce that this month’s meeting will feature Chris DiCarlo as our guest speaker. We will be meeting at Georgian College’s Rowntree Theatre on Wednesday the 30th for this event. More details to follow but to wet your appitite here are a few details about Chris DiCarlo if you have not had the pleasure of seeing him speak before:

Voted TV Ontario’s Big Ideas Best Lecturer and Canadian Humanist of the Year by Humanist Canada in 2008, Dr. DiCarlo presents highly insightful and lively discussions. He is a past Visiting Research Scholar at Harvard University and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

His new book, How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass is an incisive, engaging, and entertaining guide to critical thinking and its benefits. The overall purpose of this book is to provide readers with tools which will allow them to question beliefs and assumptions held by those who claim to know what they’re talking about. A really good pain in the ass is someone who is empowered with the ability to spot faulty reasoning and, by asking the right sorts of questions, hold people accountable not only for what they believe but how they behave. This book revolves around asking and answering five very important questions.

They are so important they are called the Big Five. They are:

1. What can I know?
2. Why am I here?
3. What am I?
4. How should I behave?
5. What is to come of me?

The way you answer these questions can tell you a lot about yourself. And if you ask others, their answers will tell you a good deal about them, how they think, and what they value. Of course, if you persist in asking these questions, others may think you’ve become a pain in the ass. But that’s not such a bad thing according to Dr. DiCarlo because it means you’ve learned to think critically.

This witty and incisive guide to critical thinking provides you with the tools to allow you to question beliefs and assumptions held by those who claim to know what they’re talking about – from politicians and lawyers to bankers, doctors, the divinely inspired, and even your boss. But be aware that many people do not like having their views and beliefs questioned and challenged. As a result, being a really good pain in the ass can be lonely; it can lose you friends, promotions, jobs, and marriages; it can get you hurt, beaten up, and sometimes even killed.

Copies of his book will be on sale at the Georgian College event. I will see you there!

Doors open at 6:30, and the presentation starts promptly at 7 PM. As is our tradition, we will be meeting for dinner and discussion at 5 PM at Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. Anyone is welcome to come. If you have any questions about our pre-meeting dinner, please email me and ask. Guests may visit us 3 times for free before buying a membership or paying per event.

RSVP or invite your friends on our Facebook events page for The Biology of Aging, or retweet from our Twitter page.

Call for candidates: We are looking for people to run for executive positions. If you want to run for Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Secretary, Vice-President or President we really want you. Fresh ideas and fresh perspectives are welcome, no experience needed, and only 1 executive meeting per month is required. (A description of positions is available on our website.)

If you would like to run for any position, please contact Tom Cooke:

tom46@sympatico.ca
(705) 792-4217

AGM: The AGM will see our executive for 2012 voted it. It is free for all members to come and vote. Parking is also free.

Winter Solstice Party: The winter solstice party will be held directly after the AGM. More details to come.

Last months meeting provided me and my team of executives with great information about what you want from our winter solstice event, and we will move forward on that. If anyone has any new ideas please let me know.

This month: The Biology of Aging

On Wednesday, October 26th at 7PM the Central Ontario Humanists will have Dr. Monika Havelka telling us that aging is an inescapable fact of life — or is it?  This talk examines the biology of aging among a variety of organisms and explores mechanistic and evolutionary theories of why we age, raising questions about whether aging is inevitable, preventable or even reversible. We meet at the Barrie Public Library. Guests are welcome.

Doors open at 6:30, and the presentation starts promptly at 7 PM. As is our tradition, we will be meeting for dinner and discussion at 5 PM at Swiss Chalet on Bayfield St. Anyone is welcome to come. If you have any questions about our pre-meeting dinner, please email me and ask. Guests may visit us 3 times for free before buying a membership or paying per event.

RSVP or invite your friends on our Facebook events page for The Biology of Aging.

Charity Beyond Belief

We are continuing to collect for our fellow humans:

• We are taking food donations at every meeting for the Grocery Assistance Program at the Simcoe Elizabeth Fry Society.
• We are collecting financial contribution to buy a Library in a Box through Plan Canada. (Already half way to our goal!)
• We are going to hold a volunteer day where a group of us will go out into the community and make a difference. (If you know of an organization or event that needs more volunteers let me know and we can work together. If you are interested in being one of the volunteers, let me know!)

Upcoming Meeting Dates

• October 26
• Winter Solstice in December

Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/COHumanists

Add this month’s event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=300413726642030