Happy Birthday, CNY Skeptics!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 7:00 PM

DeWitt Community Library at Shoppingtown Mall

Buckland Community Room

CNY Skeptics turns ten this spring! We will have pizza, drinks, and birthday cake. Please come by and help us celebrate.

2012 GSSSF Results

Effects of Noise on Rat Performance, Ana Li Kreidler-Siwinski, 5th grade Skeptic magazine award, Edward Smith Elementary

Will Gum Lose Mass When it is Chewed?, Peter Assaf, 5th grade book award, Holy Family School

Amazing Race: Soybean Style, Julia Justafson, 6th grade Skeptic magazine award, Homer Intermediate School

A Tale of Taxonomy, Martin Welch-Flanagan, 6th grade book award, The New School

Do big parking lots affect water quality?, Joanna Bryant, 7th grade Skeptic magazine award, Manlius-Pebble Hill School

How Does Caffeine Effect Human Performance?, Joe Vanable, 7th grade book award, Edward Smith Elementary School

Store Brand vs. Name Brand, Hannah Cofer, 7th grade Skeptic magazine award, Edward Smith Elementary School

The Phantom, Marisa Hurst & Adrianne Milea, 8th grade book award, West Genesee Middle School

Wind Vane Pitch Angle, Olivia Sheppard, Senior Skeptic magazine award, Manlius-Pebble Hill

Modeling Environmental Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing in Upstate New York, Kunal Sangani, Senior book award, Fayetteville-Manlius Senior High School

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 6:30 pm

Al’s Wine and Whiskey Lounge, 321 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

Come hang out with Central New York Skeptics at Al’s in Armory Square. Larry Slosberg is the organizer of this event.

CNY Skeptics Presents Bryce Hand, Ph.D., on Climate Change

Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 7:00 pm

DeWitt Community Library at Shoppingtown Mall

Buckland Community Room

Join us at our March meeting where longtime CNY Skeptics member Bryce Hand, Ph.D., will talk to us about climate change. Bryce is professor emeritus of geology at Syracuse University.

Here’s what he says about his presentation:

This contentious and politically charged issue involves several very important questions: (1) Is it happening? (2) If so, is it our fault? (3) Should we care? and (4) Is there anything we can do to reduce future warming, if in fact it seems to be a problem?

My response to every one of these questions is “Yes,” and I’ll try to show why thousands of scientists active in climate research agree. We’ll look at the historic (and geologically ancient) record, the physics driving “greenhouse” warming, and some implications few people are aware of, while addressing the usual counter-claims of deniers.

February Skeptics in the Pub

Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 6:30 pm

Al’s Wine and Whiskey Lounge, 321 S. Clinton St., Syracuse

Come hang out with Central New York Skeptics at Al’s in Armory Square. Larry Slosberg is the organizer of this event.

Listen to Damian Allis’s talk (35 MB). The file is large; please be patient while it loads.

The infinite unknown that is our universe is being studied by a finite number of people with finite budgets and a finite number of hours in the day, many of them with real jobs to boot. Opinion and intuition have served as double-edged swords throughout the practical application of the scientific method, often weighing down now-famous great leaps forward for reasons having nothing to do with science itself.

Damian will spend his time being both antagonistic and defensive as he discusses some of the history of now-obvious-but-previously-insane truths and facts gleaned from the scientific method, then will briefly describe his own work in the field of molecular manufacturing, an area of research previously seen as profoundly forward, then game-changing, then heretical, then highly suspect, and now increasingly academic, all without strong experimental evidence for or against for most of its history.

Damian Allis is research assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at Syracuse University.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 7:00 pm

DeWitt Community Library at Shoppingtown Mall

Buckland Community Room

Science advances one funeral at a time.
– Max Planck

The infinite unknown that is our universe is being studied by a finite number of people with finite budgets and a finite number of hours in the day, many of them with real jobs to boot. Opinion and intuition have served as double-edged swords throughout the practical application of the scientific method, often weighing down now-famous great leaps forward for reasons having nothing to do with science itself.

We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.
– Anais Nin

Damian will spend his time being both antagonistic and defensive as he discusses some of the history of now-obvious-but-previously-insane truths and facts gleaned from the scientific method, then will briefly describe his own work in the field of molecular manufacturing, an area of research previously seen as profoundly forward, then game-changing, then heretical, then highly suspect, and now increasingly academic, all without strong experimental evidence for or against for most of its history.

Damian Allis is research assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at Syracuse University.

Listen to Mike Affleck’s talk(46 MB). The file is large; please be patient while it loads.

Our November 2011 meeting featured a talk by Mike Affleck. In his talk he discusses the following:

“Two Jewish teachers emerged at the same time and in the same place: first century Judea. They offered two very different perspectives on the same catastrophic situation: Rome’s assault on the life of the Jews. The difference in their perspective has largely been lost in the surprising embrace of the teachings of John by followers of Jesus.

“John looked at Rome’s occupation of the Jewish Homeland and made a bold prediction: God is coming, soon, to make things right. Jesus looked at the same situation and concluded that John was very nearly right, but his timing was wrong. God is not coming soon. God’s kingdom is already here. Yet the followers of Jesus nearly universally side with John. How did it happen?”

It’s almost time for the annual CNY Skeptics Solstice Party. Our hosts are the always gracious Bryce and Judy Hand. The date of the party is December 17, and the time is 6 pm.

The Hands will provide turkey and stuffing, a vegetarian dish, and hot spiced cider. The rest is up to you. Email the Hands with your dinner contribution.

• Bryce and Judy Hand
• 132 Lynn Circle
• Syracuse, NY 13205

CNY Skeptics Presents Mike Affleck

“How Christians Got It All Wrong”

Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 7:00 pm

DeWitt Community Library at Shoppingtown Mall

Buckland Community Room

We invited Mike Affleck back to talk on any topic of his choosing. He picked a compelling one:

How Christians Got It All Wrong

Two Jewish teachers emerged at the same time and in the same place: first century Judea. They offered two very different perspectives on the same catastrophic situation: Rome’s assault on the life of the Jews. The difference in their perspective has largely been lost in the surprising embrace of the teachings of John by followers of Jesus. 

John looked at Rome’s occupation of the Jewish Homeland and made a bold prediction: God is coming, soon, to make things right. Jesus looked at the same situation and concluded that John was very nearly right, but his timing was wrong. God is not coming soon. God’s kingdom is already here.  Yet the followers of Jesus nearly universally side with John.

How is that?

Mike Affleck is an art model and actor, theologian, and social activist.

Photo of John the Baptist by Lawrence OP on Flickr.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 6:00 – 9:00 pm

Al’s Wine and Whiskey Lounge, 321 S. Clinton St., in Armory Square, Syracuse

Join Skeptics in the Pub coordinator Larry Slosberg and other members of CNY Skeptics for casual conversation. Sit back on one of Al’s comfortable sofas or chairs and enjoy the company of fellow skeptics.