September 2013 CNY Skeptics Meeting

[hardindr]

"Let's Be Friends: A Skeptic Embraces the Paranormal"

Presentation by Kitty Mervine

Sponsored by CNY Skeptics

Time: Wednesday, September 18, 2013, 7:00 PM

Where: Community Room at the Manlius Library, 1 Arkie Albanese Ave. Manlius, NY 13104, USA

Event is Free and Open to the Public

Light refreshments will be served

Please contact 1-315-636-6533 or email [email protected] for more information

Presentation Summary:

Kitty Mervine, skeptic investigator and author, shares with us the joys and pitfalls of working with believers in the paranormal. She believes cooperation (not confrontation) is often the best way to arrive at what we all want: the truth. From alien “experiencers” to Bigfoot hunters, Kitty enjoys her role as token skeptic amongst believers. Kitty will be sharing her adventures, and will also hand out free Bigfoot DNA collections kits, along with directions on use (while supplies last).

Presenter Bio:

Kitty Mervine is a professional artist and teacher. Her artwork has appeared in shows and galleries in both the US and Europe. She has been a fixture of the skeptical community for many years. Currently, she blogs at yankeeskeptic.com, where she offers her take on paranormal claims and the goings on the in the skeptical movement.

Central New York Skeptics (CNY Skeptics) is a community organization dedicated to the promotion of science and reason, the investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims, and the improvement of standards for science education and critical-thinking skills.

 

[Foolmewunz]

I'll pretend I wanted to make a wisecrack about CNY coming up in January - since CNY over here means "Chinese New Year".

So, er... maybe you meant JNY - Jewish New Year?

Just wanted to bump the thread.

 

[Fitter]

And I'm wondering why Stephen Stills isn't joining the rest of the group.

 

[hardindr]

Change of plans...

Unfortunately, due to events beyond Kitty's control, her talk will have to be rescheduled for next Spring. However, CNY Skeptics member and retired Syracuse University geologist Bryce Hand has volunteered to give a talk in its place. His talk is at the same time and place as the one Kitty planned to give.

The “Magic” of Crystals

About Bryce’s talk, in his own words:

“Sorry, folks, but I won’t offer to cure your arthritis, rheumatism, or athlete’s foot, align your chakras, or tune the vibrational rates of your auras.

“Such amazing mystical and magical properties that get ascribed to crystals would be more amusing if they weren’t actually believed by so many people. But these I’ll pass quickly — however disappointingly — because there’s so much to be said and shown about the real world of real crystals.

“Those strikingly beautiful forms we call “crystals” owe practically all of what we admire to the regular arrangement of their component atoms, yet only a hundred years have passed since this became known with certainty. We’ll explore some of the mechanisms by which crystals self-assemble, ways we determine their atomic arrangements, methods for identifying different minerals, and why it is that we’re able to use a particular chemical substance (like carbon) for such astoundingly different purposes, depending entirely on its structural form.”

Bryce Hand, Ph.D., is emeritus professor of Geology at Syracuse University and a long-time member of CNY Skeptics.