I gave a very brief presentation (total 15 minute slot including Q&A) at Teesside’s Skeptics in the Pub (SitP) open-mike night last Thursday. Since it was my first such outing I gave a couple of minutes intro to what I’m doing here in and around Psybertron, before choosing to major on Free-Will.
A PDF of the presentation MeAndMyFreeWill is here with all the links to the reference sources.
It seemed to go down pretty well and going last of 6 presentations left me with the advantage of an audience able to continue the Q&A into discussions. Having the “hooks” in the introductory slides on my many interconnected topics and sources was not only useful to the discussion, but the entire exercise of condensing my whole interconnected agenda into a few bullet points and slides was useful too.
Thanks to Teesside SitP and the audience, and appreciation to the other presenters on the night. See here for a fuller post of my notes on the other presentations that evening.
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[Post Note: The most up to date / topical stuff – the continuation of the Harris / Dennett conversation happened only the week before so not had chance to review and comment in detail. From my initial notes – despite now returning to respectful dialogue, the differences remain great and real. From my notes Dennett is still on the right track. More later.]
[Post Note: And so up to date & ever-topical this piece from the Grauniad the following day – Oliver Burkeman with reference to Jonah Berger. Hat tip to Sue Whitcombe from the audience on the night.]
[Post Note: Also worth contrasting with my reaction to Graham Bell’s opposing talk at London Active Atheists Group last year. Lots of other reference links.]
[Post Note: Some later research alternatives showing that even Libet was a conservative overstatement of reality when the decisions actually have subjective value beyond mere test participation. Hat tip to Massimo Pigliucci who, like me, already believes even with Libet the real interpretation of mental events is nevertheless clear.]
[Post Note: And another recent John-Hopkins research result on evidence of free-will pre-meditation in the brain. Hat tip to @JudyStout.]
Thez says – yes house building in itself is not adequate.
We do need genuinely affordable social housing, not simply housing for those who are better off.
But the government’s “welfare reforms” play a massive role in creating rent arrears (and mortgage “defaults” to some extent): both the driving of renters into a dysfunctional private landlords’ sector, and homelessness, will continue at a high rate without a radical change in the benefits system (*), tenants’ rights, and exorbitant house prices.
(* the terms “benefits”
“welfare” and”claimants” are associated with “unemployed” in the media, but in fact huge numbers of working people and pensioners are largely affected by “welfare reforms”.