(a SkepTalk by TaniaTania Lombrozo, Phd Lombrozo, PhD, presented 8 February)

Stephen J. Gould described humans as “the primates who tell stories.” Psychologist Robyn Dawes took it one step further, arguing that we’re “the primates whose cognitive capacity shuts down in the absence of a story.” At BAS’s February SkepTalk, Dr. Tania Lombrozo, Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley, asked: Why are we so...

motivated to find a good story or explanation? Is this tendency beneficial? And Dr. Lombrozo answered with insights that showed how our “drive to explain” itself explains some of the most remarkable human achievements, but also some of our failings.

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(Any errors in this accountRansom Stephens are solely my fault - David Almandsmith)

SkepTalk by Ransom Stephens PhD on 14 January 2018

This SkepTalk combined science, mirth, and intellectual acumen; a genuine treat. Dr. Stephens brought the audience up to date with fruits of neuroscience research and melded them with an evolutionary perspective.

Dr. Stephens began by pointing out that neuroscience in some sense is self-referential - a case of the brain trying to understand itself.

He then warned against over-simplified ideas such as strict roles for the left brain versus roles for the right brain. There are indeed some differences in roles but...

there is some overlap in duties, especially since the brain evinces considerable plasticity. In the most general case, when you walk into a bar (!) the right brain checks for the unexpected - an acquaintance, a hungry leopard, etc. - without 'you' necessarily aware of the search. Any significant results of the search are passed off to the left brain and into your consciousness. Sort of. Neuroscience

Britt Hermes is an Britt HermesAmerican, a former naturopath, a noted skeptical campaigner, and a PhD student studying in Germany. She has spent much time and effort lately in campaigning against naturopathic practices. She is the author of the blog Naturopathic Diaries.

She has now been taken to court in Germany by U.S.A.-based naturopath ‘Dr’ Colleen Huber, who is claiming that Britt has defamed her. Huber is an outspoken critic of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cancer treatment. Instead, she uses ‘natural’ therapies that include intravenous infusions of vitamin C and baking soda.

For this reason, Australian Skeptics Inc is managing a fundraising campaign to assist Britt in her current legal action.

[Editor: To consider helping Ms. Hermes, please read Fundraising Campaign for Britt Hermes.]

A SkepTalk by Carrie Ellen Sager, J.D., Homelessness Program Coordinator, Marin County
14 December 2017

An upbeat talk on homelessness? Well, the problem of homelessness in the Bay Area may border on intractability and underscores the failures of United States' political economics, but Ms. Sager's message, pace, tone, and even her smile made this a lively, enjoyable SkepTalk.

She organized her description of the challenges and successes of Marin County's homeless program by...

using false statements concerning homelessness and then debunking those statements using the results of dozens of peer-reviewed studies and using colorful anecdotes from the frontlines. A number of the false statements were ones that i thought were true before Ms. Sager tore them apart with data from recent research.

An example: "(most of) These people aren't from here, they just come for the services (and the weather)." The facts show differently. In Alameda County, 82% of homeless were living in Alameda County immediately prior to losing a place to dwell. In Marin County, 72%. In San Francisco, 69%. It takes

On Thursday, October 11, 2017, Dr. Eugenie Scott and I scoped out the pro-Homeopathy movie "Just One Drop" at the Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF). There was another showing on the following Saturday and one of our goals was to determine whether a public protest was warranted. We’d previously crafted and sent a letter (via both e-mail and snail mail) to the Executive Director of the film festival expressing our concern but did not receive a response.

Just One Drop: Poster for the pro-homeopathy Film "Just One Drop"The movie is what we expected, although better produced (it took 8 years to make). The narrative goes something like this:

• Nobody knows how homeopathy works.


• There are skeptics.


• But it works, and we’ll prove this with some anecdotes.


• It’s been around for a long time and many people us