Ideas are big news in Manchester at the moment. Sure, the city's universities are always hosting fascinating talks and lectures, but it can be difficult for the non-academic public to get involved in their events. Following on from FutureEverything's City Debate, it seems like there are plenty of interesting discussion-based events around or in the works, and this week I learned of a couple more that have been going for quite a while.
I saw something in Laura Barton's View from A Broad column this morning about Ladies who do Skepticism - a group I had never heard of before but whose existence I heartily applaud. They have meetings all over the country, at which crictical thinkers gather to discuss the appalling pseudoscience targeted at women (just open your nearest glossy mag to a random page). The Manchester group will be meeting for a luncheon outing this Saturday June 12 at 1pm - details here. And if you're a skeptic with a Y chromosome, you should check out the Greater Manchester Skeptics, who even do podcasts. I had no idea there were whole societies just for skeptical people. It seems uniquely English, though it probably isn't. But how cool.
Also new to me (via our great hyperlocal news blog Inside The M60), The Manchester Salon is a monthly discussion forum tackling current affairs questions such as the politics of football, how cities can best be developed, and the future of transport. The discusssions are led by experts and open to the public. The next one, Weds July 14, is about why crime novels are so popular. It's at Blackwell's Bookshop and there is a charge of £5 to attend.
3 comments:
Hello!
Thank you for mentioning us. You should come along to LWDS!
Skeptics in the Pub (SitP) is indeed worldwide! There's usually a speaker event each month, and a social event too. That's how we organise it in Manchester, plus special one-off events in which we team up with the guys over in Liverpool. It's always nice to know you're not alone as a critical thinker!
Janis
Let's hope there is something of a long overdue renaissance of intelligent and critical thinking in Manchester.
By the way, the Manchester Salon discussion on the crime novel as genre and Millennium Trilogy in particular on Wed 14 July will have a wine reception starting at 6:30pm - hope to see you there.
Thanks both for your comments - do hope to be able to get along at some point.
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