Category: Speaker

Category to indicate a forum is a single speaker.

Saving Free Discourse and Our Universities

Tim Rosenberger Jr.

Tim Rosenberger Jr.

11 a.m., April 23, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

Tim Rosenberger Jr. of the Federalist Society will join us in person at the Mountain View Community Center to answer questions and discuss “Saving Free Discourse and Our Universities.”

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.

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If you attend in person, full Covid vaccination and boosters strongly recommended, and mask wearing should be considered by those in higher risk groups. If you have symptoms that may be Covid, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

4/23/2023 Tim Rosenberger from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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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 smart phone, 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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See videos of our past Forums here.
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AI Chatbots: Promise and Problems

Richard Duda

11 a.m., April 02, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday we are happy to have Richard Duda, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at San Jose State University, with us on Zoom to discuss “AI Chatbots: Promise and Problems”.

An AI chatbot with the strange name ChatGPT burst into public attention in November of last year. Ever since then, hardly a day goes by without a new article about ChatGPT or one of its competitors appearing in the news. In this presentation, you will learn what these chatbots are, what they can do, a little bit about how they do it, and what changes they might bring — both good and bad.

Richard Duda is a retired electrical engineer. He was a pioneer in pattern recognition research in the Artificial Intelligence Center at SRI International, where he worked for 18 years. He keeps aware of the amazing progress that AI has made in the last 20 years, and will share that amazement with us.

(The presentation will work much better if people have had some kind of experience with ChatGPT, even if it is vicarious.)

If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

4/2/2023 Richard Duda from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

———-

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 smart phone, 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.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google CalendarLinkedin event.

Pseudoscience and the Law: Why Doesn’t the Government Stop the Charlatans?

Nicholas Little

11 a.m., March 26, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday we are happy to have Nicholas Little, the vice president, general counsel, and legal director of the Center for Inquiry, with us on Zoom to discuss “Pseudoscience and the Law: Why Doesn’t the Government Stop the Charlatans?”

23/03/26 Nicholas Little from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

———-

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 smart phone, 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.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Mysteries of Spinal Fluid Told Through Art and Storytelling

Dr. Masuma Ahmed

11 a.m., February 26, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday one of our members, Dr. Masuma Ahmed, will speak to us in Mountain View.

The brain is perplexing and poorly understood. A holistic approach emphasizes the interdependency of the different parts of the body to perform various functions. The cerebral spinal fluid in the dura mater of the spinal cord performs its critical function by continuously circulating around the brain, keeping it calm and cool. However, the dura mater can rupture, leaking spinal fluid, causing the brain to sag and misbehave. Dr. Masuma Ahmed presents the puzzling behavior of the brain when it lacks spinal fluid, using an innovative artistic and storytelling approach.

About our speaker
Dr. Masuma Ahmed, a physicist and high-tech professional turned artist and writer, received her Ph.D. in physics from Yale University. Masuma is a self-taught artist who has studied art and creative writing at Stanford, Yale, and the Bangladesh Art Institute. She received many awards for her artwork from international and US galleries. Masuma was one of the 16 artists selected by the City of Palo Alto to paint the BLM mural in the city in 2020. Masuma also painted murals in Palo Alto, Redwood City and Harlem. She had solo art exhibits in Palo Alto, Redwood City, and San Jose. Masuma was the “Artist of the Month” in Redwood City for the month of July 2018. Masuma’s poems were published in the New York City Poetry Table Anthology and the Waverly Writers Group Poetry Anthology. Masuma captures the voices of women, diasporas, and science through her artworks and writings at New York City Rainbow Faces, www.facebook.com/nycrainbowfaces.

23/02/26 Dr. Masuma Ahmed from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

———-

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 smart phone, 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.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

From Junkie to Judge: Recovery without God

Retired judge Mary Beth O’Connor

11 a.m., January 29, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

This Sunday we welcome retired judge Mary Beth O’Connor as she joins us in the Mountain View Community Center.

Mary Beth will describe her long history of injecting methamphetamine. She will describe how she responded when her rehab ordered her to comply with the God-based approach of Alcoholics Anonymous and how she built a secular recovery program. Mary Beth then will provide an overview of substance use disorder and treatment options. This will include six peer support groups and a study comparing the efficacy of several of them. She will explain the benefits of building a personalized recovery program and the obstacles to doing so. Mary Beth will provide recovery resources and take questions.

Bio: In her memoir, From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction, Mary Beth shares her three-phase journey. The abuse and trauma that drove her to shoot methamphetamine at 17, the chaos from her addiction, and how she developed a personalized recovery plan, without a higher power, that led to twenty-nine years of sobriety thus far.

Mary Beth is a Board Member for She Recovers Foundation and a Director for LifeRing Secular Recovery. She regularly speaks on behalf of these organizations and about multiple and secular paths to recovery. She had an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, “I Beat Addiction without God,” and one in Recovery Today, “How I Attained 28 Years Sobriety by Rejecting my Rehab’s Submit to AA Order.”

Professionally, 6 years into recovery, Mary Beth attended Berkeley Law. She worked at a large firm, then litigated class actions for the federal government. In 2014 she was appointed a federal Administrative Law Judge from which position she retired in 2020.

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230129 Mary Beth O’Connor from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

———-

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 smart phone, 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.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do. Note that Amazon plans to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-closing-amazonsmile-to-focus-its-philanthropic-giving-to-programs-with-greater-impact