fayfreethinkers.com

Just a note to let you know we will be having our July Freethinker meeting this Saturday at the Fayetteville library. It may be worth mentioning that it is a new and modern building and blessed with a very powerful air-conditioning system.

What we are working on:

Doug Krueger will have a presentation on his day at the UFO
convention in Eureka Springs. The aliens have landed, and they're
helping our government build new things, according to the main speaker
at the convention.

Darrel will talk about alternative medicine with an emphasis on the field of homeopathy. Some therapies work, some don't, how do we discover the difference? Why do so many get caught up into fervently believing in the ones that don't?

After a break we will watch part two of a show written and presented by Richard Dawkins which aired in Britain. We watched part one several months ago. This one is entitled: "Enemies of Reason: The Irrational Health Service." You probably know where that is going, but it's actually quite fair and really well done. He has an extraordinary exchange with none other than Deepak Chopra.

We always try to get the large main meeting room but it is not always available to us. This month we will be meeting in the Board Room which is more cozy. However, seating is limited to about 30 truth seekers. Come early to secure a prime seat so you don't have to sit on someone else's lap.

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Details:

When: Saturday, July 26, 2008

Where: The Fayetteville Public Library. 401 W. Mountain
St. (two blocks west of the town square). Library phone: 571-2222.

Time: 2:00pm.

Room: The Boardroom. Walk in the front door, through the lobby and go
to your LEFT. Just to the left of the audio/video section is the Board
Room. We'll be in there. You can bring snacks and drinks from
Arsaga's coffee shop in the lobby.

fayfreethinkers.com

July Freethinker Meeting Summary:

We had 34 in attendance.

Kitty balance report: $963.11

Doug introduced the meeting with a discussion about "What is a Freethinker?"

We watched this prayer scene from the movie Talladega Nights.

Doug Krueger give a colorful presentation on his day at the UFO convention in Eureka Springs.

Here are links with more information about things he mentioned:

The lights in Stephenville, Texas

Timothy Good, UFO authority

The Mutual UFO Network

2008 Ozark UFO Conference at the Inn of the Ozarks

Darrel gave the main presentation on human delusion and Homeopathy. Two topics that go remarkably well together. As background on delusion he recommended this article from the Skeptical Inquirer:

Mass Delusions and Hysterias: Highlights from the Past Millennium
Over the past millennium, mass delusions and hysterical outbreaks have taken many forms. Sociologists Robert Bartholomew and Erich Goode survey some of the more colorful cases.

This article is free online here

He also referred to this one page summary of the scientific evidence regarding Homeopathy. You can see it here.

If you can't get enough, there is always the classic:

Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions
by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1842-1882)

It's free online here

The wiki article on homeopathy is quite thorough

We also watched this ten minute clip which is a shortened version of a longer BBC show. It's a famous test of homeopathy that James Randi was involved in.

Lastly, this brand new book gives the very latest on the scientific testing of alternative medicine:

Snake Oil Science : The Truth About Complementary and Alternative Medicine
by R. Barker Bausell

You can read a review of this book here

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After the break we watched the Richard Dawkins special: "Enemies of Reason: The Irrational Health Service."

You can watch this video online. Youtube has it in five parts. The first part is here.

The next parts four will be listed on your screen.