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Bay Area Skeptics needs your help! We’re looking for information on the following topics:

What do you want from BAS?

What topics are you interested in seeing us cover? What services would you like us to offer?

BAS needs a meeting room

Do you know a place where we could hold meetings? Ideally, it would hold 30-40 people, be free, be in East Bay, be available till 9 PM on meeting nights, and have easy parking. Please let us know of any places that meet most or all of these criteria.

Are there any local events we should know about?

What events are coming up that skeptics ought to be interested in? They could be things we like, or things we’re skeptical of.

Virtual Skeptics in the Pub

WHAT: Virtual Skeptics in the Pub

This is a casual night of socializing with fellow skeptics who live in various locations around the oblate spherical planet Earth.

Please join us! This is a free event brought to you by Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome.

WHEN: Wednesday November 27, 7-9pm Pacific (GMT-7)

HOW: Online. Join HERE. Passcode: 1023

SkepTalk

Massimo Pigliucci, Ph.D.

WHAT: The Problem with Scientism and the Nature of the Skeptic Community

We live in times of increased distrust of science, which has real consequences in terms of people’s quality of life and health, not to mention, potentially, in terms of the very future of the human ecosystem. So this is surely not a good time to criticize science itself, right? Well, the problem with critical thinking is that it is supposed to be applied universally, including to science itself. Instead, some well-known science popularizers, and even skeptics, act like uncritical cheerleaders, thus undermining that very confidence in science they so cherish and rightly encourage. Let’s talk about it, shall we?

WHO: Massimo Pigliucci is an author, blogger, podcaster, as well as the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. His academic work is in evolutionary biology, philosophy of science, the nature of pseudoscience, and practical philosophy. Massimo publishes a regular column in Philosophy Now entitled “The Art of Living.” His books include How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books) and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press). He is the former host of the Rationally Speaking podcast, and is a frequent contributor to the Skeptical Inquirer. Massimo’s new book is Beyond Stoicism: A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers (with Greg Lopez and Meredith Kunz, The Experiment). More by Massimo at https://massimopigliucci.org and https://thephilosophygarden.substack.com.

WHEN: Thursday December 12 at 6:30PM PT (GMT -8)

HOW: Click HERE