Talks

Join members of the Merseyside Skeptics Society in attending QEDcon, the UK's leading science and skepticism convention, which takes place in Manchester each year.

For those who aren't familiar, QEDcon is a two-day celebration of science, reason and critical thinking. It's an event where 500 skeptics from around the world gather in a hotel in Manchester to enjoy a mix of fascinating speakers, lively panel discussions, interactive workshops, and live podcast recordings. It’s a great social event, and it’s always a huge amount of fun.

Whether this is your first QED or your tenth, we’re sure you’ll enjoy attending – it’s a great opportunity to learn, share ideas, and foster discussions, in a fun, social environment.

Speakers at QED will include: magician and psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman; journalist and investigator of wellness culture Rina Raphael; archaeologist and ‘ancient aliens’ debunker Dr Flint Dibble; health tech and wearables expert Professor Bola Grace; medical doctor and social media health myth debunker Idrees “Dr Idz” Mughal; open-source intelligence investigator and disinformation specialist Joe Ondrak; and security expert and ‘people hacker’ Jenny Radcliffe, and much more.

Alongside the mainstage line-up of speakers, there will be lively panel discussions, interactive workshops, and live podcast recordings, plus an evening of comedy and entertainment.

Tickets for QED are available at qedcon.org/tickets, at an early bird price of £164 (or £189 after September 2nd).

There will also be a FREE one-day Skepticamp event taking place at the hotel on Friday 18th October, where speakers from the audience will present a series of short talks on a wide variety of subjects. For more details visit sitp.online/skepticamp.

There will be plenty of Merseyside Skeptics Society members there, so we look forward to you joining us!

Join us for our monthly talk with our exciting guest speaker.

We haven't announced who will be joining us yet, but please look back at our previous events for examples of our excellent previous speakers.

If there's anyone you'd like to see speak for us, or any topic you'd like covered, why not contact us (https://www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk/contact) to let us know.

Against the backdrop of the presidential election, 27 year-old British journalist Layla Wright traveled from her hometown in Liverpool to the US, to meet a new wave of women using social media platforms and podcasts to champion extreme views on social media, including content that is increasingly shocking and, surprisingly, anti-feminist.

From Nashville to the Arizona/Mexico border, Layla immersed herself with the ultra-conservative influencers who see themselves as on the frontline of a war against progressive politics. As part of a new documentary for the BBC, she attempted to understand exactly what is driving young women, including some close to her own age and others as young as 16 years-old, to advocate for a movement that is looking to roll back the clock on hard-earned rights.

Layla Wright is a multi-award winning documentary presenter and maker from Liverpool, mentored by Louis Theroux. She has made a range of films from investigations into alternative cancer treatments to a BBC Panorama looking into failings at the Champions League Final featuring Liverpool FC and Real Madrid.

If you would like to watch the documentary beforehand, it is available on BBC iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022mrd

There are numerous well documented instances of coincidences occurring that seem to be so unlikely that many people are tempted into concluding that something more than the blind laws of probability is at work. In many contexts, including ostensibly precognitive dreams and so-called telephone telepathy, explanations involving paranormal abilities are invoked. This talk will address the question of whether or not it is reasonable for sceptics to explain away such instances as nothing more than “mere coincidences”. This will involve consideration of both the mathematics and the psychology of coincidences as well as addressing the issue of why coincidences have such powerful emotional impact.

Alcohol is something of a national obsession - deeply ingrained in many aspects of British culture and available on almost every street corner. Yet we are regularly faced with conflicting messages about the impact alcohol has on our health - will a glass of wine a day keep the doctor away, or give you cancer? Deaths caused by alcohol have increased sharply in recent years, yet young people are drinking less than ever. In this talk Colin will examine the data behind the health impacts of alcohol, the evidence behind drinking guidelines and try and make sense of recent changes in our relationship with the demon drink.

Join BBC journalist Alistair Coleman as He guides us through the world of fake news and its consequences, and how the corporation separates fact from fiction. And hear about countries where the news is so tightly controlled at the whim of ruling dictators that citizens only ever hear one voice, be they North Korea's Kim, Turkmenistan's Berdimuhamedovs or - of course- Russia's Putin.

As skeptics, it's easy for us to warn people about the harms of alternative medicine at an individual level, but what can we do when quackery is being pushed by authorities, or when the problem is to widespread for a one-on-one approach? From NHS homeopathy to midwifery alt-med, via quack charities and dubious overseas cancer clinics, professional skeptical investigator Michael Marshall will explain how a dogged approach to analysing publicly-available data can help us understand what we're up against, and provide the media with the evidence they need to publish stories that make a difference.