News – Page 17 – Toronto Oasis, Secular Community

Sun Dec 12 – [Online] How the Internet is Changing Language

This will be an online Zoom meeting. Please RSVP on our Meetup for this event to get access to the Zoom link. See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions

Our program will run from 11 am to 12:30 pm and you can join in to the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social. Followed by an extended discussion for a half hour. Volunteers please join by 10:30 am.

We will be watching and discussing a YouTube audio interview with linguist and science communicator Gretchen McCulloch. She discusses her recent book about the linguistics of the internet, in which she describes what is new and not-so-new about the language we use online and the ways we perceive it. The topic and YouTube clip will be introduced by Lola Bradford, who studies linguistics and is a regular Toronto Oasis participant.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccqbqb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sun Dec 05 – [Online] Fewer, Richer, Greener: Facing the Future with Rational Optimism

Many people fear the future, not understanding that the last 250 years have seen the world go from poor to moderately rich, with no reason for that trend to stop now. In fact, it’s likely to accelerate. And, to be “green,” you have to get rich! Our featured speaker, Laurence B. Seigel will show how the combination of capitalism, technology, and freedom has practically eliminated extreme poverty, made half of the world’s population middle class, and will enable us to meet our environmental challenges.

Laurence B. Siegel is the Gary P. Brinson Director of Research at the CFA Institute Research Foundation and was formerly director of research in the investment division of the Ford Foundation and a founding employee of Ibbotson Associates, now part of Morningstar Inc. He got his BA and MBA degrees from the University of Chicago. He is now a writer (author of Fewer, Richer, Greener and Unknown Knowns), consultant, and speaker on investment and economic issues. He may be reached at lbsiegel@uchicago.edu. His web site is http://www.larrysiegel.org.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccqbhb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BFXMWkk45CMO4ex9ofwBjrcivF1lNSZ4/view?usp=sharing

Sun Nov 28 – [Online] Loneliness

This Sunday we will examine the very human experience of loneliness.

A 2019 Angus-Reid study (https://angusreid.org/social-isolation-loneliness-canada/) showed that 62% of Canadians say they would like their friends and family to spend more time with them, while only 14% would describe the current state of their social lives as “very good.” Visible minorities, Indigenous Canadians, those with mobility challenges, and LGBTQ2 individuals are more likely to experience social isolation and loneliness compared to the general population.

A more recent survey (Feb 2021) conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Global News (https://globalnews.ca/news/7602406/loneliness-pandemic-canada/) echoed these findings, with more than half of Canadians reporting loneliness. In a UK study (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8701763.stm), 60% of 18 to 34 year-olds stated that they often feel lonely, and 46% of Americans say that they regularly feel lonely.

Statistic Canada (https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2021007/article/00001-eng.htm) reports that recent and long-term immigrants report higher levels of loneliness than Canadian-born residents. And loneliness did not appear to be lessened by the length of stay in Canada.
• Is loneliness a part of our biology?
• How has the modern world changed our experience of loneliness and how does this impact our health?
• Is a self-preservation mode helpful?
• How can we strive to be less lonely?

We will watch a short video that tackles the issue of loneliness with intelligence and clarity (presented by a German animation and design studio called Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell (https://www.youtube.com/c/inanutshell/about). Their mission is to ‘make science look beautiful’).

Our regular Toronto Oasis participant Kristen Gane will introduce the subject and also provide some thoughts to get us started on the discussion.

Kristen is a Registered Psychotherapist (with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario), a professional member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the Ontario Society of Registered Psychotherapists. She is also a writer and artist.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccpblc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sun Nov 21 – [Online] Why American Chinese Food Deserves Respect

We will be watching and then discussing a YouTube video clip: Why American Chinese Food Deserves Respect (And Why the MSG Fear is a Hoax), by Xiran Jay Zhao with an introduction by Ryan Zhang, a Toronto Oasis participant and volunteer.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccpbcc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sun Nov 14 – [Online] Live Long – But Don’t Procreate

The idea of not having children can be examined from three perspectives:

Personal: not wanting to be a parent
Ethical: World population should be restricted for the good of the planet and the current human population.
Philosophical: Antinatalism which falls into several different categories.

For our featured presentation this Sunday, we will listen to and then discuss a voice podcast by David Benatar, a South African philosopher, academic and author of the book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence. Toronto Oasis participant Elka Enola, will introduce the topic.

Elka Enola is a poet and social activist who has been an atheist since she learned the words ‘why’ and ‘how’. Since she still knows those words, her life-long quest of learning continues.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccpbsb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sun Nov 07 – [Online] The Danger of a Single Story

We will be watching a TED talk by a Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie introduced by Toronto Oasis participant Sonja.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccpbkb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sun Oct 31 – [Online] Michael’s Perfect French Adventures

Our featured speaker will be Michael Dorman. Michael will give a talk on his many travels to France.

Michael fell in love with the French language even before he knew its name as a schoolboy. He began to learn more about France. You must learn about the countries and cultures that speak the language you love. So, he began traveling to France at age 19 and is now 77. Michael doesn’t so much think of himself as a tourist there but more a part-time resident.

Michael is hoping his talk will have other participants sharing their travel stories and how important it is to them and what they get out of it.

Please RSVP on meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccnbpc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ki9dJL4-yAYRF8icP7LZmD_EkJnGHoko/view?usp=sharing

Sun Oct 24 – [Online] The Minds of Animals

Can animals think or feel? Can they remember specific events? Can they imagine or anticipate what they might encounter in the future? During the twentieth century most scientists subscribed to the view that animals were no more subtle than wind-up toys. In recent decades close behavioral observation, and recordings from animal brains have shown us some of the surprising capacities of animals. Scientists now think they are just beginning to understand some of the diverse intelligences among us.

Our featured speaker, Dr. Mark Reimers, will guide a whirlwind tour of recent discoveries about the minds of animals: from dogs to dolphins and from our cousins the apes to the alien intelligence of octopods.

Dr. Mark Reimers works as a computational neuroscientist: studying brain function by applying statistical methods to look for patterns in large-scale and high-resolution recordings of brain activity and behavior. He applies these methods to understand normal brain function in memory and to shed light on mental illness.

Dr. Reimers has worked at the US National Institutes of Health, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics in Richmond, and now does research and teaches at Michigan State University. His broader aim is to ground our understanding of feeling and thought in the facts of biology.

Dr. Reimers was the leader of the Richmond Humanists in Virginia for five years, and now leads the UU Forum in Lansing, and speaks frequently at humanist and science outreach events in Michigan.

Please RSVP on meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccnbgc/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gYUUp5VrNQKCFy_0VJciYlgL17xQ09W0/view?usp=sharing

Sun Oct 17 – [Online] Understanding Trauma

This Sunday our featured speaker, Dr. Kershini Naidu, will give a talk about trauma. She will start by helping us understand what trauma is – specifically the stress response (fight, flight, or freeze). She will then talk about how we ALL experience trauma on some level and that trauma is stored in the body through neuronal networks. Dr. Naidu will then explain how unresolved trauma leads to habitual life patterns that create chronic conditions but that we can move past our past (meaning we can resolve trapped traumatic experiences).

Dr. Kershini Naidu is a psychologist, classically trained and licensed by the State Board of Psychology in Ohio. Her research has led her toward various areas of interest in the past, however, her most recent area of interest is the study and treatment of Trauma.

Please RSVP on meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccnbwb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sun Oct 10 – [Online] Trans, Non-binary, Gender Fluid, and the Great Pronoun Debate

Trans issues have been in the news in increasing numbers in recent years – and not always good news: for example, dozens of US states have banned trans girls from playing sport, and so-called “gender-critical feminists” in the UK have started transphobic campaigns. At the basis of these actions is, to borrow from Archie Bunker, the view that “girls are girls and men are men”.

Why is binary thinking so popular and so persistent, in the face of decades of scientific evidence that there are more than two genders? Why do pronouns matter? Our featured speaker, Helen Lenskyj, will be addressing these and other questions during this presentation and discussion.

Helen Lenskyj is Professor Emerita, University of Toronto, where she taught sociology. Helen grew up in Australia and has lived in Toronto since 1966. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in 1983, and was a professor from 1986 until retiring in 2007.

As well as writing books, Helen enjoys swimming and kayaking. Her website is www.helenlenskyj.ca; TWITTER: https://twitter.com/helenje63185798

Please RSVP on meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Oasis/events/bhgwksyccnbnb/

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

This meeting has been recorded: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oiGTBmPXwvfiiOwpBTw198aqdgMYA7ef/view?usp=sharing