OC Skeptics Supper Club

Please join us at 4:30 p.m. on the third Sundays of every month for our FEED YOUR BRAIN programs.

These events feature fascinating authors, scholars, and luminaries from many fields that expand our knowledge and understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it. CFI's naturalistic approach to wisdom holds that there is no issue exempt from examination and discussion. Admission to these events is $8, or free for Friends of the Center, unless otherwise noted.

Held at the Costa Mesa Community Center, 1845 Park Ave. Costa Mesa, CA 92627
1 block west of Newport and Harbor Blvd.

Upcoming Events:

4:30 p.m., Sunday, June 21
Jeff Schweitzer
Moral Life in a Random World

      Is morality the biological destiny of humans, or do they need religion to create their meaning and sense of purpose in life? Can we find happiness and fulfillment in life without submitting to a higher power? Dr. Jeff Schweitzer will answer these questions as he has done in his new book, Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World .
      We will not appeal to religion or god, Schweitzer says. Happiness and fulfillment are derived from the freedom to discover within ourselves our inherent good, and then to act on that better instinct, not because of any mandate from above or in obedience to the Bible, but because we can.
      Dr. Schweitzer is a scientist who has written extensively on topics of morality, religion, politics and science - how they relate to each other and their importance in today's polarized social environment. As a former White House science advisor under the Clinton Administration, he provided policy advice and analysis to the President, Vice President Al Gore and the director of the Office of Science & Technology Policy. Dr. Schweitzer says that from that perch, he realized "that one critical element was missing from global efforts to bring science, conservation and development together; there was no appropriate ethical foundation providing a compelling mandate."

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4:30 p.m., Sunday, July 19
Prof. Amos Nur
Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God

      Archaeologists and historians have traditionally rejected earthquakes as an important aspect of out ancient past, but now with the advent of plate tectonics and modern instrumentation, new information is emerging as scientists, such as Stanford University Prof. Amos Nur , begin to offer answers to some key questions in both disciplines.
      Prof. Nur, whose new book is Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God , will explore significant geophysical and archaeological questions about earthquakes and archaeological findings about regional destruction and civilization collapse, focusing on the catastrophic end of the Bronze Age circa 1200 B.C.E. He will also discuss how earthquakes have played a role in the way religious beliefs tried to comprehend the impact of catastrophic disasters.
      Prof. Nur is the Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1970, and the current director of the university's Overseas Studies Program. He received his BS in geology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his Ph.D. in Geophysics from M.I.T. For more than 20 years, he has been investigating the temporal and spatial patterns of earthquakes throughout history to find clues useful for earthquake prediction.

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4:30 p.m., Sunday, August 16
Brad Spellberg, M.D.
The Rising Antibiotic Crisis

      By the 1950s, the medical community predicted the end of infectious diseases as a threat to society. In fact, infections are a greater problem today than any time since the first widespread use of penicillin in 1945. Infections are now more frequent and antibiotic resistant, creating a critical need for the development of new antibiotics - all during a time when antibiotic development is dying.
      In his talk, Brad Spellberg, M.D. will discuss the causes and extent of antibiotic resistant infections and dying antibiotic development, which he describes in his new book, Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them . Spellberg will explain that physician misuse or overuse of antibiotics is not the cause of the problem, but that economic, regulatory, and political forces are the causes. He will describe his own personal experiences at the front line of this policy struggle, share compelling patient stories , and describe a comprehensive plan that attacks the problem of dying antibiotic development at multiple levels, and will serve as a call to action for solving this problem.
      Dr. Spellberg is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Spellberg is an academic scientific investigator who sees patients, teaches students and resident physicians, and has an NIH-funded program in vaccines and immune-enhancing therapies. He is a member of a national task force at the Infectious Diseases Society of America charged with solving the antibiotic crisis.

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4:30 p.m., Sunday, September 20
Exposing the God Virus: Religious Infection in Our Society
Darrel Ray, Ed.D.

      Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and Dennett opened the door to a hard-nosed look at religion in our society, but no one seemed to be using their concepts to explain the psychology of religion and its practical effects on people. So Dr. Darrel Ray , psychologist and author of The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture , stepped into this gap to discuss religious infection from the inside out. How does guilt play into religious infection? Why is sexual control so important to so many religions? What causes the anxiety and neuroticism around death and dying? How does religion inject itself into so many areas of life, culture and politics?
       Darrel Ray is an organizational psychologist and lilfelong student of religion. He has degrees in sociology, anthropology, and religion as well as a Doctor of Education degree in psychology. Ray also is the founder of Recovering from Religion, an organization devoted to helping people escape religion and recover from its effects [www.recoveringreligionists.com]. He has written two other books, both dealing with teams and teamwork in the business world.

OC Skeptics Supper Club

Please join us at 4:30 p.m. on the third Sundays of every month for our FEED YOUR BRAIN programs.

These events feature fascinating authors, scholars, and luminaries from many fields that expand our knowledge and understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it. CFI's naturalistic approach to wisdom holds that there is no issue exempt from examination and discussion. Admission to these events is $8, or free for Friends of the Center, unless otherwise noted.

Held at the Costa Mesa Community Center, 1845 Park Ave. Costa Mesa, CA 92627
1 block west of Newport and Harbor Blvd.

Upcoming Events:

4:30 p.m., Sunday, June 21
Jeff Schweitzer
Moral Life in a Random World

      Is morality the biological destiny of humans, or do they need religion to create their meaning and sense of purpose in life? Can we find happiness and fulfillment in life without submitting to a higher power? Dr. Jeff Schweitzer will answer these questions as he has done in his new book, Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World .
      We will not appeal to religion or god, Schweitzer says. Happiness and fulfillment are derived from the freedom to discover within ourselves our inherent good, and then to act on that better instinct, not because of any mandate from above or in obedience to the Bible, but because we can.
      Dr. Schweitzer is a scientist who has written extensively on topics of morality, religion, politics and science - how they relate to each other and their importance in today's polarized social environment. As a former White House science advisor under the Clinton Administration, he provided policy advice and analysis to the President, Vice President Al Gore and the director of the Office of Science & Technology Policy. Dr. Schweitzer says that from that perch, he realized "that one critical element was missing from global efforts to bring science, conservation and development together; there was no appropriate ethical foundation providing a compelling mandate."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 p.m., Sunday, July 19
Prof. Amos Nur
Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God

      Archaeologists and historians have traditionally rejected earthquakes as an important aspect of out ancient past, but now with the advent of plate tectonics and modern instrumentation, new information is emerging as scientists, such as Stanford University Prof. Amos Nur , begin to offer answers to some key questions in both disciplines.
      Prof. Nur, whose new book is Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God , will explore significant geophysical and archaeological questions about earthquakes and archaeological findings about regional destruction and civilization collapse, focusing on the catastrophic end of the Bronze Age circa 1200 B.C.E. He will also discuss how earthquakes have played a role in the way religious beliefs tried to comprehend the impact of catastrophic disasters.
      Prof. Nur is the Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1970, and the current director of the university's Overseas Studies Program. He received his BS in geology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his Ph.D. in Geophysics from M.I.T. For more than 20 years, he has been investigating the temporal and spatial patterns of earthquakes throughout history to find clues useful for earthquake prediction.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 p.m., Sunday, August 16
Brad Spellberg, M.D.
The Rising Antibiotic Crisis

      By the 1950s, the medical community predicted the end of infectious diseases as a threat to society. In fact, infections are a greater problem today than any time since the first widespread use of penicillin in 1945. Infections are now more frequent and antibiotic resistant, creating a critical need for the development of new antibiotics - all during a time when antibiotic development is dying.
      In his talk, Brad Spellberg, M.D. will discuss the causes and extent of antibiotic resistant infections and dying antibiotic development, which he describes in his new book, Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them . Spellberg will explain that physician misuse or overuse of antibiotics is not the cause of the problem, but that economic, regulatory, and political forces are the causes. He will describe his own personal experiences at the front line of this policy struggle, share compelling patient stories , and describe a comprehensive plan that attacks the problem of dying antibiotic development at multiple levels, and will serve as a call to action for solving this problem.
      Dr. Spellberg is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Spellberg is an academic scientific investigator who sees patients, teaches students and resident physicians, and has an NIH-funded program in vaccines and immune-enhancing therapies. He is a member of a national task force at the Infectious Diseases Society of America charged with solving the antibiotic crisis.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 p.m., Sunday, September 20
Exposing the God Virus: Religious Infection in Our Society
Darrel Ray, Ed.D.

      Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and Dennett opened the door to a hard-nosed look at religion in our society, but no one seemed to be using their concepts to explain the psychology of religion and its practical effects on people. So Dr. Darrel Ray , psychologist and author of The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture , stepped into this gap to discuss religious infection from the inside out. How does guilt play into religious infection? Why is sexual control so important to so many religions? What causes the anxiety and neuroticism around death and dying? How does religion inject itself into so many areas of life, culture and politics?
       Darrel Ray is an organizational psychologist and lilfelong student of religion. He has degrees in sociology, anthropology, and religion as well as a Doctor of Education degree in psychology. Ray also is the founder of Recovering from Religion, an organization devoted to helping people escape religion and recover from its effects [www.recoveringreligionists.com]. He has written two other books, both dealing with teams and teamwork in the business world.

OC Skeptics Supper Club

Please join us at 4:30 p.m. on the third Sundays of every month for our FEED YOUR BRAIN programs.

These events feature fascinating authors, scholars, and luminaries from many fields that expand our knowledge and understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it. CFI's naturalistic approach to wisdom holds that there is no issue exempt from examination and discussion. Admission to these events is $8, or free for Friends of the Center, unless otherwise noted.

Held at the Costa Mesa Community Center, 1845 Park Ave. Costa Mesa, CA 92627
1 block west of Newport and Harbor Blvd.

Upcoming Events:

4:30 p.m., Sunday, June 21
Jeff Schweitzer
Moral Life in a Random World

      Is morality the biological destiny of humans, or do they need religion to create their meaning and sense of purpose in life? Can we find happiness and fulfillment in life without submitting to a higher power? Dr. Jeff Schweitzer will answer these questions as he has done in his new book, Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World .
      We will not appeal to religion or god, Schweitzer says. Happiness and fulfillment are derived from the freedom to discover within ourselves our inherent good, and then to act on that better instinct, not because of any mandate from above or in obedience to the Bible, but because we can.
      Dr. Schweitzer is a scientist who has written extensively on topics of morality, religion, politics and science - how they relate to each other and their importance in today's polarized social environment. As a former White House science advisor under the Clinton Administration, he provided policy advice and analysis to the President, Vice President Al Gore and the director of the Office of Science & Technology Policy. Dr. Schweitzer says that from that perch, he realized "that one critical element was missing from global efforts to bring science, conservation and development together; there was no appropriate ethical foundation providing a compelling mandate."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 p.m., Sunday, July 19
Prof. Amos Nur
Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God

      Archaeologists and historians have traditionally rejected earthquakes as an important aspect of out ancient past, but now with the advent of plate tectonics and modern instrumentation, new information is emerging as scientists, such as Stanford University Prof. Amos Nur , begin to offer answers to some key questions in both disciplines.
      Prof. Nur, whose new book is Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God , will explore significant geophysical and archaeological questions about earthquakes and archaeological findings about regional destruction and civilization collapse, focusing on the catastrophic end of the Bronze Age circa 1200 B.C.E. He will also discuss how earthquakes have played a role in the way religious beliefs tried to comprehend the impact of catastrophic disasters.
      Prof. Nur is the Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1970, and the current director of the university's Overseas Studies Program. He received his BS in geology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his Ph.D. in Geophysics from M.I.T. For more than 20 years, he has been investigating the temporal and spatial patterns of earthquakes throughout history to find clues useful for earthquake prediction.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 p.m., Sunday, August 16
Brad Spellberg, M.D.
The Rising Antibiotic Crisis

      By the 1950s, the medical community predicted the end of infectious diseases as a threat to society. In fact, infections are a greater problem today than any time since the first widespread use of penicillin in 1945. Infections are now more frequent and antibiotic resistant, creating a critical need for the development of new antibiotics - all during a time when antibiotic development is dying.
      In his talk, Brad Spellberg, M.D. will discuss the causes and extent of antibiotic resistant infections and dying antibiotic development, which he describes in his new book, Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them . Spellberg will explain that physician misuse or overuse of antibiotics is not the cause of the problem, but that economic, regulatory, and political forces are the causes. He will describe his own personal experiences at the front line of this policy struggle, share compelling patient stories , and describe a comprehensive plan that attacks the problem of dying antibiotic development at multiple levels, and will serve as a call to action for solving this problem.
      Dr. Spellberg is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Spellberg is an academic scientific investigator who sees patients, teaches students and resident physicians, and has an NIH-funded program in vaccines and immune-enhancing therapies. He is a member of a national task force at the Infectious Diseases Society of America charged with solving the antibiotic crisis.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:30 p.m., Sunday, September 20
Exposing the God Virus: Religious Infection in Our Society
Darrel Ray, Ed.D.

      Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and Dennett opened the door to a hard-nosed look at religion in our society, but no one seemed to be using their concepts to explain the psychology of religion and its practical effects on people. So Dr. Darrel Ray , psychologist and author of The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture , stepped into this gap to discuss religious infection from the inside out. How does guilt play into religious infection? Why is sexual control so important to so many religions? What causes the anxiety and neuroticism around death and dying? How does religion inject itself into so many areas of life, culture and politics?
       Darrel Ray is an organizational psychologist and lilfelong student of religion. He has degrees in sociology, anthropology, and religion as well as a Doctor of Education degree in psychology. Ray also is the founder of Recovering from Religion, an organization devoted to helping people escape religion and recover from its effects [www.recoveringreligionists.com]. He has written two other books, both dealing with teams and teamwork in the business world.