Category: Video+discussion

A video of Tim Hickson

11 a.m., August 6, 2023

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Our video for use in our discussion this week was made by Tim Hickson. He is otherwise known as Hello Future Me on YouTube, and has been making educational content to teach writing, world-building, and narrative for “a while now.” His aim is to create informative, down-to-earth, and accessible educational content for everyone. He is the author of On Writing and Worldbuilding.

This video is a tutorial for fantasy writers and world-builders on the factors that create revolutions. These factors exist in the real world and his analysis can help understand what’s happening today. Hickson’s style may seem deadpan and sarcastic, but his points are very illustrative. To make his points, he uses images from science fiction and fantasy genres to illustrate how they might look in real world scenarios.

You can preview this 15-minute video at https://youtu.be/ZeWOdF3deZI

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A video of Katherine Maher

11 a.m., July 30, 2023

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Wikipedia is the largest and most-read reference work in history, and has consistently been one of the 10 most popular websites. It’s an online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers who disagree on many of the topics on which they collaborate.

So, how do we unite minds and disparate views? Instead of seeking one key truth, we must shift to a minimum viable truth, getting it right enough, enough of the time to be useful enough to enough people.

The speaker, Katherine Maher, is the former CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia. In this talk, she delves into the transparent, adaptable, and community-building ways the online encyclopedia brings free and reliable information to the public — while also accounting for bias and difference of opinion.

This 15-minute TED talk was recorded May 2022. You can preview it at https://www.ted.com/talks/katherine_maher_what_wikipedia_teaches_us_about_balancing_truth_and_beliefs

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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 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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A video of Chimamanda Adichie

11 a.m., July 23, 2023

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Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
Inspired by Nigerian history and tragedies all but forgotten by recent generations of westerners, Ms. Adichie’s novels and stories are jewels in the crown of diasporan literature.
Ms. Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction.

Ms. Adichie presented this popular 18-minute TED talk in 2009. You can preview it at https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

———-

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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A video of an interview of Barack Obama by Hasan Minhaj

11 a.m., July 16, 2023

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Hasan Minhaj is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He describes Barack Obama as the most hopeful president in American history.
In this entertaining but honest conversation, Hasa asks President Obama about life as an ex-president and his feelings about the current state of American politics. He asked the president if he ever gets depressed. Obama’s answer covered many of the problems that cause the hopelessness that so much of this generation feels.
You can preview this 29-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYVKZSWXhY

———-

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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A video of a talk by Alex O’Connor

11 a.m., July 9, 2023

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Alex O’Connor, the cosmic skeptic, is a great fan of the late Christopher Hitchens and loves to hear his debates, but he feels that in all honesty there are holes in Hitchens’s arguments that should be exposed. In this video O’Connor shows him misinterpreting arguments, reinterpreting what was said, and blowing off another’s comments with a witty comeback. Still, he’s a charismatic speaker. He wins debates with charm and humor and it’s easy to miss the holes in his arguments.
You can preview this 31-minute video at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fopo9E7UAVQ

———-

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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See videos of our past Forums here.
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