Ladies and jellyspoons.

You may be interested in this ...

http://www.beyondbelief2006.org

It's footage of a 3 DAY long science conference on the much vexed issues relating to science versus religion. There are some big names on the list of speakers: - Richard Dawkins (who wrote the God Delusion, which is Derren's favourite book apparently, and gave us the phrase 'selfish gene') and Ramachandran, to name but two. Steven Weinberg, Nobel prize winner, also speaks.

May not be your cup of tea. I've watched about two thirds of the lectures and they are high quality, although inevitably a couple are a bit crap.

There are many humorous moments.

There's bits of cosmology as well. The cosmology lectures are quite awe-inspiring.

Covers such issues as morality without religion, should scientists attack religion or 'make nice' with them, is religious sentiment a figment of the imagination, creationism/natural selection/intelligent design and so on. And what should be done about the ever-growing legions of creationists in America that are becoming increasingly well organized, well funded and influential. Some of these issues are vaguely relevant to the psychology of persuasion.

It's not really mentalism. It is science. But it is about critical thinking, so I felt it was worth posting here. And I love science as much as magic and mentalism coz I'm a nerd.

Requires broadband and installation of some software.

3 days!

You can practice any difficult moves while you listen. I practice my Zarrow and up the ladder. Or you can cook, iron, or weight lift while listening and learning! Happy days.

Michael Shermer (editor of Sceptical Enquirer, I think) does a lecture and makes brief reference to Penn and Teller. There are a few brief references to James Randi.

Pass the link on.

Maybe I should have posted in another forum but this is a politically important topic and I suspect I'll get more readers here.

Atheists of the world, unite and take over! (sorry)

Thank Olly,
Looks worth watching

Dan - or anyone else who takes an interest - please let me know if there are any lectures in particular that you enjoy.

I liked the Ramachandran lectures a lot. And the Sam Harris ones. And the ones by Neil de Grasse Tyson. Not that I've watched them all yet.

The one by Joan Roughgarden, and her discussion with Richard Dawkins, was also great - although she was not the most charismatic speaker - the content was of a high quality.

To be honest, the *** thing has had me stop concentrating on magic and focusing more on psychology for the past few months. Which is probably a good thing.

I know the feeling! I'm 4/5ths through The God Delusion and lately psychology and philosophy has dominated my thoughts lately....now that the Jazz lost the playoffs.

Thanks for pointing this out.

[quote]On 2007-06-09 22:09, Dan Paulus wrote:


Yeah, I used to be quite anti-Dawkins (not that I ever read his books) because I’ve read lots about the perils of genetic determinism. But I did listen to the God Delusion as an audio book, and now I love the guy. I really admire his passion and clarity of thought. There’s lots of mp3 files of Dawkins lecturing or being interviewed on his anti-religious views available on the internet, if you know how to find them. PM me if you are interested or require assistance for this.


But lets talk Ramachandran.

If you want extra psychology homework check these out!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2003/lectures.shtml

These lectures are approx 30 mins each, with a 15min Q&A afterwards. Collectively the lectures have been written up and published as a book – called ‘The Emerging Mind’. So if you listen to them, you will, effectively, have read a book! Rama has a lovely voice to listen to, and is a very charismatic speaker.

These lectures are supposed to be understood by members of the lay public, so you do not need to be a brain surgeon to understand them – although they can be a bit heavy going occasionally (but hey, you can listen more than once). They are, in the main, very entertaining, and sometimes very funny.

But they only touch on the subject of religion very briefly (if at all - sorry, hazy memory!)

‘Rivetting’ – My dad (not a psychologist)

‘They changed my life’ – My friend Joe (not a psychologist)

Again, you can do all those chores or practice those card slights while listening.

Who knows, maybe the third lecture will help you design a better card trick or routine or something.

I'll shut up ... at least for now.

I've seen/hear/read many of Brother Dawkins and have his site in my favorites. Thanks though. Another great sourse for thinkers and speakers of many topics is
TED, here's a link - http://www.ted.com/index.php/ check it out.

Thanks Dan - That looks like an amazing web site. Just need to sort out my broad band now!

Ever-growing legions!? Let's see...it's been about 80 years since Scopes got arrested for teaching evolution... Secular progressivism has been on a huge wave of popularity... I have a hard time believing (no pun intended) that belief in creationism isn't at all-time low, or darn close too it. But scare tactics are everyone's favorite political weapon.

Yes, maybe my language was a bit dramatic. I didn't mean to frighten anyone. Apologies

Whether belief in creationism is or is not at an all time low, I get the impression that religion remains very popular.

I don't think scientific types or atheists can be complacent about the dangers posed by the religious.

I have a hard time believing that religion is a good thing.

Maybe my advert for the website wasn't very good.

Some of the lectures are great fun.