UPCOMING SKEPTALK

Steven Newton

WHAT: Sh*t Students Say: Chem trails, hollow earths, and other strange ideas about the planet
From rejection of evolution and plate tectonics to questions about chem trails and crystal energy, many introductory science students come to class with strange ideas about the earth. Can animals predict earthquakes? Is the Earth hollow? Is climate change a hoax? Spoiler alert: no. Steven Newton draws from over twenty years of undergraduate geoscience education to illustrate how mistaken views show up in geoscience classes—and what all educators can do to promote good science.

WHO: Steven Newton
After a long stint as a professional gambler, alpaca farmer, and yogi—a career which ended abruptly in what has become known in Ecuador as the ‘Night of the Supple Alpaca’– Steven Newton decided to re-invent himself as an intrepid geologist devoted to defending science education at the National Center for Science Education. Today, from his lair as the Ignatius J. Reilly Chair of Geology at College of Marin, Newton attempts to amuse confounded millennials with a combination of science memes, obscure references to events in Tudor-Stuart Britain, and pontifications about which cafes have the best coffee. Frequently voiced student concerns asking ‘Isn’t this supposed to be a geology class?’ are brushed aside with musings about the details of early Star Wars scripts.

WHEN: 7:30PM Thursday 10 October

WHERE: La Peña Lounge, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley [Map]

HOW: This event is presented FREE by the Bay Area Skeptics.

WHY: Because we’re curious creatures.

Previous SkepTalks:

12 Sep	2019	Successful Skepticism: Creating Lasting Community – Tucker Phelps
9 May	2019	The Bitter M&Ms of Climate Change: Misconceptions and Misinformation – Brad Hoge
11 Apr	2019	The Year in Anti-Science-Education Legislation – Glenn Branch
14 Mar	2019	Australia’s Psychic Detectives and Psychic “Predictions” – Richard Saunders
14 Feb	2019	What Would Darwin Say to Today’s Creationists? – Eugenie Scott
10 Jan	2019	Common Misconceptions About CRISPR Genome Editing – Kevin Doxzen
13 Dec	2018	BAS BAH Fest
8 Nov	2018	A Skeptic’s Guide to Planet Hunting – Josh Lofy
11 Oct	2018	Beyond a Candle in the Dark – Mick West
13 Sep	2018	When a Biology Meets a Biology – David Almandsmith
10 May	2018	Misconceptions in Anthropology – Julie Hui
12 Apr	2018	Skepardy! — Bill Patterson
8 Mar	2018	A Quirky Colloquium Quashing Quantum Quackery — Miriam Diamond
8 Feb	2018	The Human Drive to Explain — Tania Lombrozo
14 Jan	2018	Neuroscience and the Great Questions — Ransom Stephens
14 Dec	2017	Top Ten Myths of Homelessness — Carrie Sager
9 Nov	2017	Myths of Mass Extinctions — Kevin Padian
12 Oct	2017	Hurricanes and Heat Waves: Is This Climate Change? — Brad Hoge
11 May	2017	Beyond the Choir – Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia — Susan Gerbic
13 Apr	2017	An Invisible Plague: the Growing Threat of Tuberculosis — Lauren Popov
9 Feb	2017	Are Saturated Fats Bad for You? Separating Fat from Fiction — Kent McDonald
12 Jan	2017	Harry Houdini vs. Psychics & Mediums — Mark Tarses
29 Dec	2016	Too Good to be True? – Richard Saunders
10 Nov	2016	Myths of Astronomy — Thomas Targett
8 Jan	2015	The Manson Family, Cults, and the Psychology of Commitment – Dr. Patrick O’Reilly
12 Feb	2015	Quantum Pseudoscience and the Nature of Mind — Russel Willcox
9 Apr	2015	Herding Cats and Teaching Science — Dan Pemberton
14 Nov	2012	Climate Change: From the Biotic to the Exotic — Minda McCaffrey
10 Oct	2012	Writing About Vaccines When Evidence Doesn’t Matter — Liza Gross
12 Sep	2012	Gay Conversion Therapy: You Make Me Sick — Sheldon Helms
8 Aug	2012	Documentary & Skype — “In God We Teach”
11 Apr	2012	A Skeptical View of Climate Change Skeptics — Mark McCaffrey
12 Oct	2011	A Unicorn in Your Tank: Magic Tablets That Won’t Improve Gas Mileage — Yau-Man Chan
14 Sep	2011	Catastrophes! — Don Prothero