Magic of Numbers

Our next meeting is on Thursday 10^th July at the normal time of 7.00pm at the White Rock Hotel

The subject this month will be:  The magic of numbers

If the Scientific Method is a key to the philosophy of Humanism,

and Maths is the language of Science,  

then numbers are the alphabet of maths.

Numbers have the capacity to reveal a type of truth that is independent of opinion, even overwhelming conventional wisdoms. To make the point we will start with a short quiz on the facts that ‘everybody knows’ and compare them to the actual facts… then a gallop through some interesting stuff about numbers:

•                    The history of numbers and the resulting change in human understanding

o   Roman numerals that could not be manipulated,

o   The invention of zero and negative numbers

o   The concept of infinity

o   The maths concept of ‘i’ (square root of -1)

•                    Universal constants like Pi that a clever alien would be able to recognise and understand even though there are no other reference points.

•                    A definition of what numbers are…Bertrand Russell’s ‘Principia Mathematica’

•                    New facilities for making maths easy to access and might lift the fear for future generations  – Khan academy and Wolfram

•                    And fun things to do with numbers

I know a lot of people find the whole concept of maths totally off-putting and scary. But I think it is like any other language; once you understand a little bit of the vocabulary, you might end up loving the simplicity and poetry of its better writers.

Stephen Milton

Scientific Methods in Medicine

Our next meeting is on Thur 12^th June at the normal time of 7.00pm at the White Rock

The subject this month will be:  The application of scientific methods to Medicine?

And it will be introduced by Leonard Sterling

The practice of medicine has arguably been one of the greatest achievements of modern man, largely liberating us from the tyranny of pain that formed a backdrop to everything from toothache to childbirth.  Today we in the UK spend 9% of GDP on health care (the USA spends 19% of GDP) and in part as a result, we live longer and better.

We will review how medicine has progressed from opinion and prejudice  to peer group review of a major scientific industry.  And let’s think about  the implications of future developments, the role of complimentary medicines and the placebo effect.

Stephen Milton.

What is Art?

Our next meeting is on Thursday 8^th May at the normal time of 7.00pm at the White Rock Hotel

The subject this month will be:  What is Art?

This is a question that has been asked since the beginning of philosophy (and perhaps before)

There are definitions from Leon Tolstoy to Germaine Greer and many more besides. 

Is art a manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or even of God,  or should the question be dodged as the Dadaists proclaimed “art is anything done by an artist”. The human attachment to art is clear and deep, so it might be the result of some Darwinian natural selection that rewards artistic appreciation in some other survival characteristics; or could it be an accidental side effect of the thinking mechanisms of the brain?

I will look at some of the science of Art.  The golden rectangle, the fibonacci series, the Mandelbrot set, and the way the brain works. 

And then Alistair Robertson will be looking at the art of Art.  What should be included in the category of ‘Art’? And who should decide?

The following are two of the art-works that Alistair particularly spoke about.

Kazimir Malevich The Black Square
http://www.moodbook.com/history/modernism/malevich-black-square.html

Mark Rothko Black on Maroon
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mark-rothko-1875

Consciousness

Please be aware that our next meeting is on

Thursday April 10 at White Rock Hotel from 7pm

when Leonard Sterling will arouse our

consciousness of Consciousness.

Local Government Discussion

Our next meeting is on Thursday 13^th March at the normal time of 7.00pm at the White Rock Hotel

 

The subject this month is:  How does local Government work?

I am delighted to welcome Councillor Jeremy Birch to answer our questions on how we manage local issues.

Jeremy was born and bred in Hastings and has been involved in local politics throughout his adult life.  He is a member of the East Sussex County Council and is currently the leader of the Hastings Borough Council of which he has been a member for 18 years since 1995. If anybody can explain the intricacies and limitations of local government, he can.  

He will be joining us for the second half of the evening from 8pm till 9pm, so I think we should limit ourselves to about 10 questions: Please give me your questions in advance so I can organise them.

For the first half of the evening and in preparation for the Q & A, I will prepare some basic information on what things are the responsibility of local government and what budgets are available to meet those obligations, and any other basic information that I can find.

My personal feeling is that England has one of the most centralised governments in Europe and that governments of all political persuasions have progressively reduced the level of local discretion and moved it to Westminster.  That is why we all feel increasingly politically impotent or are reduced to single issue protesting.

Expect an interesting debate, as always…..

 

Stephen Milton

 

Darwin Day: Anthropology, Race and Eugenics

Anthropology, Race and Eugenics.

These are the topics for discussion at the Hastings Humanists "Darwin Day" meeting

on Thursday 13 February, 7 to 9 pm at the White Rock Hotel.

The Secretary will introduce these subjects by a look at their history.

There have been many new discoveries regarding human precursors reported over the last years –

in fact only today there is a report in the News of 800,000 year old footprints discovered in Norfolk –  do we have the full story of human evolution yet? – probably not, it's getting more complicated.

The concept of Race has long been controversial – does it have any meaning?

Eugenics got a bad name in the twentieth century – is it making a comeback?

We are not experts – If you have views or knowledge bring them to our discussion.

======
Here are some links to sources of some of the information in my talk

ANTHROPOLOGY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/montaigne/montaigne-essays--2.html
- of cannibals

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/entire-neanderthal-genome-finally-mapped-amazing-results-001138

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q8ncuH3VgE
- Michio Kaku on CBS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_race
- origins of racist ideology, Gobineau. Lapouge, etc.

http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/john-mitchel-was-hailed-as-a-totem-for-irish-liberty-but-he-was-a-white-supremacist-1266182-Jan2014/
- John Mitchel paradox

RACE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(human_classification)

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/about-thinking/201312/four-simple-reasons-smart-people-shouldnt-believe-in-races
- I don't think denying races exist is any way to get rid of racism!

http://www.edge.org/response-detail/25534
- what scientific idea is ready for retirement?
- race according to Nina Jablonski

EUGENICS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics

http://www.galton.org/letters/darwin/correspondence.htm

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/support/the-churchill-centre/publications/finest-hour-online/594-churchill-and-eugenics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzfMfJxA0K0&list=PLEEE3F51FFB962000
- eugenics a question of authority

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/feb/17/eugenics-skeleton-rattles-loudest-closet-left
- see the comments too

http://www.wiringthebrain.com/2013/05/the-new-eugenics-same-as-old-eugenics.html

http://westhunt.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/get-smart/
- can we increase human intelligence

http://rrresearch.fieldofscience.com/2014/02/who-really-discovered-trisomy-21.html
- cause of down syndrome

This is by no means a complete list.
 

The Year Ahead

Since our first meeting of the New Year is very early in the month I thought we should begin with a survey of members' resolutions, if any, for the New Year. We can also devote some time to a consideration of the future of the group, which may be in question due to health and business problems of key members. As a start I have chosen a new, more colourful, Template for the blog.

The meeting is on Thursday 9 January, from 7 pm to 9 pm at the White Rock Hotel. This will also be the occasion to make or renew your annual subscription to the group, which costs £6 (a further £2 is charged at each future meeting, or £3 if you remain a non-member). These fees are to cover the cost of the meeting room and payments to visiting speakers.

I have now set up a Programme for the first three meetings in 2014 but wish to reduce my activity after that. This could be done by appointing a Programme Manager to arrange speakers for the meetings from April onwards. I hope newer and younger members will take on the task of continuing the group and taking it in new and more active directions.

I have modified the title of this meeting to "The Year Ahead" to give people more to talk about, such as the anniversary of the First World War, the World Humanist Congress, The Euro-Elections, and other upcoming events. Are there other important anniversaries we should take note of?