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Being Consciousness, Exploring my Brain, and Discovering My World

Being Consciousness, Exploring my Brain, and Discovering My World

Martin Squibbs

11 a.m., October 6, 2024

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as Martin Squibbs joins us. Here is a summary.

By considering my own experiences, thoughts and memories, together with studying neuroscience, I have concluded that I am a physically real human consciousness, here in my physically real brain, surrounded by a world, my world, of memories, all growing in duration.

At their foundation are the memories of the events of my life, that is what I know “about” as a fact, being growing durations of memories of my perceptions, and being virtual in nature.

By recognizing and studying these facts of my past I come to imagine, understand and realize as best I can the truth and nature “of” physical reality beyond my brain.

Given then this region of space occupied by my brain contains my whole world and is the only place within the entire universe that I can actually physically explore, in this talk I will explore this space and this place, and the nature of my world within it.

I’ll also share how realizing the nature of my world in this way has changed and deepened my understanding of the nature of physical reality, and the nature of knowledge, of facts, of values and of information.

I’ll consider my knowledge of neuroscience, physics and philosophy, and how, in my mind, understanding reality in this way integrates idealism and materialism, unifies physics and resolves many of the current problems within the theories of physics.

Finally, I’ll consider how understanding reality in this way has changed my relationship with and attitude towards life, nature and the artificial.

Bio
Martin was born in England and graduated with a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and Management from Imperial College, London.
His career has been in the semiconductor industry, mostly based in San Jose, California.

10/6/2024 Martin Squibbs from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

Attend in Person:
On the first and third Sunday of the month, such as this Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

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Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Screen Struggles and Screen Delight: Is Social Media Sabotaging or Saving Adolescent Mental Health?

Patti Valkenburg

11 a.m., September 29, 2024

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss Screen Struggles and Screen Delight: Is Social Media Sabotaging or Saving Adolescent Mental Health?

Social media can be a source of joy and happiness for some adolescents but a trigger for sadness and depression in others. Why is that?

In 2018, Patti Valkenburg and her team launched Project AWeSome–Adolescents, Well-being & Social Media–to explore the complex relationship between social media use and mental health. Pioneering a person-specific (or N=1) media effects approach, they combined qualitative in-depth interviews with large-scale longitudinal data analysis to understand how social media’s impact on well-being differs from adolescent to adolescent.

Both their qualitative and quantitative findings challenge common hypotheses about the impact of social media on well-being. In this seminar, Prof. Valkenburg will delve into these findings, discussing whose mental health is most likely affected by social media use and why.
Prof. Valkenburg is the Distinguished Professor of Communication at the University of Amsterdam, and founder and director of the Center for research on Children, Adolescents, and the Media.

You can preview this 59-minute video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GUwKCNPueQ

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists to watch it together in Milpitas Library Group Study Room B, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

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RSVP on Meetup:
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Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
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Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Whose religious freedom?

Sammi Lawrence

11 a.m., September 22, 2024

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a conversation on “religious freedom” and how the phrase has been co-opted and weaponized by the religious right. There have been several recent egregious examples of how this hyper-religious minority is acting to force American society into its image — to the detriment of the rest of us.

Sammi Lawrence joined the Freedom From Religion Foundation as the Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow in 2022, and is now a Staff Attorney. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and painting.

Christopher Line began working full-time for FFRF as a Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow and is now a Staff Attorney. He is an accomplished photographer whose work has appeared in The Humanist magazine, the Progressive, and FFRF’s own Freethought Today.

You can preview this 40-minute video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNwHzDIBc_g

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists to watch it together in Milpitas Library Group Study Room B, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY

Add this event to your Google calendar:

Like us on Facebook:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-09-22/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/303533408/

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1836901273758511461

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Secular Elected Officials Fighting Christian Nationalism in Government

Jonathan N. Stea

10:30 a.m., September 15, 2024

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as the Humanist Forum begins a half hour early, at 10:30AM. That allows us to attend, online, a session of the 83rd Annual Conference of the American Humanist Association, in which a panel of three elected officials at the federal and state level will discuss the impact of Christian nationalism on public policy, how they’re fighting back, and how AHA members can get involved and support public officials like them in their work. local level.

Congressman Jared Huffman represents California’s 2nd Congressional District. He currently serves on the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In the 118th Congress, he serves as the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries with jurisdiction over federal water projects, fisheries management, coastal zone and oceans policy, and wildlife and endangered species. Jared also founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus, which he co-chairs, to promote sound public policy based on reason, science and moral values, while protecting the secular character of government and championing the value of freedom of thought worldwide.

Sarah Levin proudly represents the secular community as a Co-Chair on the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Interfaith Council.

Representative Chris Rabb is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 200th District since 2017. A former U.S. Senate legislative aide and writer, researcher and trainer at the White House Conference on Small Business in the Clinton Administration, Rep. Rabb is a thought leader at the intersection of politics, media entrepreneurship and social identity.

Attend in Person:
On the first and third Sunday of the month, such as this Sunday, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY

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Like us on Facebook:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-09-15/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/303421352/

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1834757357307674850

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Humanists at UUCPA Humanist Conference Watch Party

8 a.m.-5 p.m., September 14, 2024

The American Humanist Association is holding its 83rd Annual Conference this weekend.

The Humanists at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, UUCPA, invite you to a watch party, so we can participate in the conference together.

The conference is virtual, but the Humanists at UUCPA have reserved a room with a TV at the church. Unlike the monthly Humanists at UUCPA meeting, coincidentally falling on the evening of the same day and which is online-only, this watch party will be in-person only.

Topic: Humanist Conference Watch Party
Format: In-person
Host: Humanists at UUCPA
When: Saturday, September 14th, 2024
8:00 am-5:00 pm
Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
Room 10 (the meeting room closest to the parking lot, by the grassy area)
505 East Charleston Road
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Sessions
https://conference.americanhumanist.org/index.php/sessions2024

8:00am-8:30am
Welcome and State of Humanism

8:40am-9:40pm
Humanism and AI
Panel discussion with Greg Epstein, John Hooper, Krystal Jackson, and David Tamayo

9:50pm-10:20pm
The Visibility of “Invisible” Disabilities
Rebecca Finch Vitsmun, Author and Activist

10:30pm-11:30pm
Reimagining Relationships and Destigmatizing Non-Monogamy
Panel discussion with Mim Chapman, Michelle Hy, Alan MacRobert, Kevin Patterson, and Valerie White

12:10pm-1:10pm
America at the Crossroads: Social Justice Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Tabia Lee, EdD, Director, Dr. T. Lee Educational Consultancy

1:20pm-2:20pm
Conservative Threats to Public Education: Safeguarding the Future of Our Schools
Kevin Bolling, Executive Director, Secular Student Alliance

2:30pm-4:00pm
Saturday Awards Presentation

4:30pm
Meet the New Executive Director
Join us for an opportunity to meet Fish Stark, the new Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. In this interactive session, attendees will hear directly from Fish about his vision for the future of humanism and the organization. This is your chance to ask questions, share your thoughts, and engage in an open dialogue.

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
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Add this event to your Google calendar:

Like us on Facebook:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-08-24/

See event on Meetup, but do not RSVP there:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/302890918/

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1833733435569086942

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508