December 6, 2020
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Conspiracy Theories with Dr Robert King

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

QAnon and the Radicalisation of Uncritical Thinking

Friday 11 December on Zoom

In this talk, Dr Robert King will examine the psychology behind conspiracy theories, with a particular focus on QAnon.

About the Speaker: Robert James King, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, in Ireland.

This talk will take place via Zoom at 8.00pm on Friday 11th December. Simply follow the link below or use the Meeting ID and Passcode:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81099276340?pwd=bld0M0Zla056ajkxSU03N0sxNCt0dz09

Meeting ID: 810 9927 6340 • Passcode: 568970

We look forward to seeing you there!

January 6, 2020
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Gone Fission with Dr Paul Deane

GONE FISSION

Is It Time For Ireland To Give Nuclear Power A Chance?

Friday 17 January at Blackrock Castle Observatory

This is an interactive talk and audience members are asked to bring their smartphone to share their thoughts.

About the Speaker: Dr Paul Deane is a research scientist in clean energy futures at UCC. He is also a fellow at the Colorado School of Mines and in 2018 was the Royal Irish Academy speaker on computer science.

His research helps us understand the choices involved in delivering clean, affordable energy to all.

He has co-authored over 100 technical papers in diverse areas such as electricity production, farming and agriculture, natural gas futures, energy access and international aviation. His research has been published in Nature, Joule and he is a regular contributor to print, television and social media in Ireland.

The talk will begin at 8.00pm on Friday 17th January. It is free to attend, and we welcome anyone with an interest in the topic to come along on the night. For directions to Blackrock Castle, see our Skeptics In The Castle information page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

November 10, 2019
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5G Or Not 5G with Sean Slater

• 5G OR NOT 5G•

Taking Arms Against the Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Pseudoscience

Thursday 28 November at Blackrock Castle Observatory

5th generation mobile networks are coming in for increasing criticism by otherwise reputable sources and commentators. They have been demonised as mind-control, as using ‘untested, weapons-grade, ultra-high frequency technology’ and purported to cause severe harm to the population just by existing.

Are they a back-door for governments to manage their population through technology? Are we simply leaving ourselves open to other countries infiltrating our national infrastructure? Are there real dangers to this new technology?

Sean Slater of Edinburgh Skeptics will try to address these fears head-on and clarify what 5G is and what it is not.

About the Speaker: Sean has worked in the mobile phone business for over 25 years and has seen 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G being rolled out by several different networks. He is also the vice-chair of Edinburgh Skeptics and as such has taken an interest in the pseudoscience surrounding his industry.

He can be found on Twitter @TheTrueScotsman

The talk will begin at 8.00pm on Thursday 28th November. It is free to attend, and we welcome anyone with an interest in the topic to come along on the night. For directions to Blackrock Castle, see our Skeptics In The Castle information page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

June 15, 2019
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Wildlife Myths with Rob O’Sullivan

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• SEPARATING THE BULL FROM THE BS •

Wildlife Myths And Why They Matter

Thursday 27 June at Blackrock Castle Observatory

If you’re worried about the hordes of killer spiders invading our shores, or the swarms of seagulls reigning death from above, this talk is for you. Science Communicator, Rob O’ Sullivan, separates the fact from the fiction and shows you how to do the same.

About the Speaker: Rob O’Sullivan is an Irish Zoologist turned Space Nerd.

He knows far too much about animal sex, and nowhere near enough about Space. Rob has received glowing recognition for his Science Communication work including an award of a SMASH Fellowship and getting called a pervert by Phill Jupitus.

You can find Rob by day pottering around CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory, and after dark on Twitter @Rob0Sullivan.

Please note: Due to the nature of this talk, some sections may not be suitable for a younger audience.

The talk will begin at 8.00pm on Thursday 27th June. It is free to attend, and we welcome anyone with an interest in the topic to come along on the night. For directions to Blackrock Castle, see our Skeptics In The Castle information page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

June 13, 2018
by Cork Skeptics 1 Comment

Paranoia For The People • Friday 22 June

Dr David Robert Grimes presents Conspiracy Theories in the 21st Century

8:00pm • Friday 22nd June • Blackrock Castle Observatory

Conspiratorial ideation (e.g., the moon landings were faked; climate-change is a hoax; vaccination is dangerous) is the tendency of individuals to believe that events and power relations are secretly manipulated by certain clandestine groups and organizations. Public acceptance of these ostensibly explanatory conjectures remains high, even when they are non-falsifiable, lacking in evidence, or demonstrably false.

To exacerbate the problem, social media provides fertile ground for conspiracy theories to rapidly propagate, and dedicated echo-chambers can insulate these beliefs from critical examination.

In this talk, we’ll examine what makes conspiracy theories so virile, including recent mathematical models that aim to understand the viability of such beliefs, and models of how they spread. And we’ll see how much damage such claims can cause, and why in our hyper-connected era its more imperative than ever before to combat false narratives.

About The Speaker: Dr David Robert Grimes is a physicist and cancer researcher, currently based at the Queens University Belfast and a visiting researcher at University of Oxford. His research focuses chiefly on the application of radiotherapy physics, and oxygen modelling, and academic work on factors influencing public perception and understanding of science.

He is also a science writer and frequently contributes to the Guardian, Irish Times and BBC on a wide spectrum of science, society and philosophical topics. He was joint recipient of the 2014 Nature / Sense about Science Maddox Prize for Standing Up for Science.

David can be found on Twitter @drg1985

This talk takes place at Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork at 8:00pm on Friday 22nd June. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend!

June 2, 2018
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Odd Numbers with Darren Dahly

Darren Dahly, Principal Statistician of the Clinical Research Facility Cork, Presents A Skeptic’s Guide To Common Statistical Paradoxes & Biases

8:00pm • Friday 8th June • Blackrock Castle Observatory

There are lots of ways to fool ourselves with data. This talk will help you defend yourself against the most common statistical paradoxes and biases. Examples will include how regression to the mean can explain most placebo effects, and how collider bias can lead us to think that smoking during pregnancy is actually good for small babies.

About The Speaker: Darren Dahly is the Principal Statistician of the Clinical Research Facility Cork, and a Senior Lecturer in Research Methods at UCC.