Hey all,

We've finished our second year of being a club, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

We will not be meeting over summer quarter, but some of us will be on campus and available for skeptical discussion and such. E-mail us at ritskeptics@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2363894238 if you have any questions, want to get into an argument, or have anything you'd like to see us get involved with next year.

See you in September,
-Ben Isserlis

To keep up to date, make sure you're subscribed to our mailing list. Send an e-mail to rit-skeptics-announce-subscribe@googlegroups.com with the subject line "Subscribe" to get signed up.

Friday, March 27, 2009
Time:
  8:00pm - 9:30pm
Location:
  SAU Cafe (Davey Room) Student Alumni Union bldg.
Email:
  ritskeptics@gmail.com

Hosted by the RIT Skeptics, and the Interfaith Student Council.

Join us for a panel discussion on the origins of morality and its ties to God
and Religion. Can an atheist still be a good person? Is God the source of
morals?

How should we as a group of theists and rationalists reconcile scientific
knowledge, social implications of behavior, and modern society in general?

Participants include an interfaith panel, representing Islam, Judaism, and
Christianity, as well as the RIT Skeptics representing the positions of
Secular Humanism.

Two interpreters have been requested for the event.

Well I'm done. That's it. When Jeremy and I started this club it was just two guys who met on the bus to the RIT inn to discuss the weird stuff people believe, and now it's like 10 people that meet each week in a room to discuss the weird stuff people believe.

I think the club is being left in good hands for the future. Good luck guys, and don't let the meetings get too normal. We wouldn't be the same club without some level of zany joking around.

Time: Mondays @ 8:00 PM
Location: 06-3215

If you can't make it but want to be involved in the club, be sure to sign up to our mailing list at rit-skeptics-announce@googlegroups.com so you can stay apprised of what we have going on. You may use the box on the left of the page, or send an e-mail to rit-skeptics-announce-subscribe@googlegroups.com to be automatically added.

Come join the RIT Skeptics in viewing Richard Dawkins' newest multi-part documentary The Genius of Darwin in celebration of Darwin Day. The Genius of Darwin is a three part series on just what the theory of evolution is, why it is so very important, and just what it means for us. Discussion and refreshments during intermissions and after the showing.

Info
Location: 06-A201
Time: Thursday 2/12 @ 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM (Will be open to discussion afterward)

http://www.ritskeptics.org/system/files/Darwin+Day.pdf

Welcome to Week 9. Does the work ever end?

The meeting is as usual.
Location: 06-3214
Time: Monday @ 8:00 PM

On the agenda:
- New members

- Old Business
-- Debate
-- Darwin Day
--- The Genius of Darwin screening
--- The Origin of Species readings

- New Business
-- Zeitgeist the Travesty
--- Excuse me, I mean movie
-- Got any?

- Discussion
-- Likely will be focused around pseudo-science and similar nonsense

Hope you can make it.

What is it now, Week 8? Drawing ever nearer to the end of the quarter, hopefully you've all been keeping up with your work.

Meetings are as usual in 06-3214 at 8:00 PM this Monday.

On the agenda:
- New Members
- Old Business
-- SkeptiCamp
--- New date, format
-- Panel Discussions
--- Debate? Debate!
- New Business
-- Got any?
- Discussion
-- http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/monkey_business_over_ohio_citys_pro...
-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KikkGlCAKHw
--- The aliens approve of our new leader, and are currently content with not being taken to him.
-- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090121-lizard-ants-missi...
--- If you read the changelog for lizards, the design has been improved with longer legs.

Is it just me or is the website more glitchy and terrible by the day?

The meeting information is as usual:
Location: 06-3214
Time: Monday 1/26/09 @8:00 PM

On the agenda:

- New members

- Old business
-- SkeptiCamp
--- Location and date information is pretty much settled
-- Speaker search
--- To do with SkeptiCamp
-- Recent e-mails
-- Religious panel discussions
-- Darwin Day
--- The Genius of Charles Darwin

- New business
-- Got any?

- Discussion
-- fstdt.com
-- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/education/22texas.html?_r=2

See y'all on Monday. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns you can contact us at ritskeptics@gmail.com

The sixth meeting of Winter quarter. We'll be in our usual location.

06-3214 - The liberal arts building, across from the library.

On the agenda:

- Welcoming any new members.

- Old Business
-- Club Day
-- SkeptiCamp
--- Our search for space, attendees and topics
--- Reporter's Crowdsourcing thing
---- http://reportermag.com/crowdsourcing/wiki/BarCamp_Rochester
----- Let's wikiality us some SkeptiCamp
-- Speaker Search
--- We've contacted CFI and are anticipating a quick ramp up in progress on this front.
-- Darwin Day
--- We need to start reserving rooms and planning events for Darwin Day in earnest
--- Love Day
-- Religious discussion panels
--- Anyone interested in participating?
-- Humanism
-- GTLC

- New Business
-- Got any?

- Discussion

If you're looking to attend a meeting with us this quarter, consider the following.

Time: Mondays @ 8:00 - 9:00 PM
Location: 06-3214 (The liberal arts building - IE the building across from the library, third floor)

If you have any questions, contact us at ritskeptics@gmail.com

The fifth meeting of winter quarter. Junk food will be provided.

Find us in 06-3214! (The building across from the library, third floor)

Preliminary agenda:
-- New member welcome
-- SkeptiCamp news
--- Progress with creating interest and administrating
--- http://barcamp.org/SkeptiCamp%20RIT
-- Speaker Search
--- Prepared short list with ultimate decision to be made at meeting
-- Darwin Day/Week
--- T-shirts?
--- Possible evolution-related movies to screen
---- ... riff track... maybe.
-- Humanism?
-- Discussion
--- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/06/religion-atheist-bus-campaig...
---- Strong Agnostic bus ads in London
--- http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/stonehenge-beneath-waters-of-lake.h...

Meet behind the library at 10:30 am to head out to the pagan pride festival. If you have a car, that might be helpfull, but we should have enough room.

Things of a skeptical nature have been sent to our mailbox in the last few days.
CFI informs us that James Randi, (yes, THAT randi) will be in Buffalo this friday for a lecture. We're planning a delegation.

In response to the people claiming that the soon activation of the LHC will be the end of the world, Ben wrote:
I was noodling about with a list of things that are more likely than the LHC
destroying the world earlier, so here it is in roughly descending likelihood
of possibility.

1) Winning the lottery.

2) Being struck by lightning.

3) Winning the lottery and being struck by lightning in the same day.

4) Climate change is completely unrelated to human activities.

5) The Law of Attraction works.

6) Brittany Spears regains her lost dignity.

Skeptics Meeting

2nd meeting of the year. Come skepticize!

http://www.skepdic.com/acupunc.html
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/167/17/1892?maxtoshow=...
http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=362

Dr. Stephen Novella says:

Taken as a whole, the pattern of the acupuncture literature follows one with which scientists are very familiar: the more tightly controlled the study the smaller the effect, and the best controlled trials are negative. This pattern is highly predictive of a null-effect - that there is no actual effect from acupuncture.