What's everyone up to right now?

[JesusHChrist]

So what was the main take-away from his talk? Was there a theme?

[Jackalope]

So what was the main take-away from his talk? Was there a theme?

Fundamentalism and apathy is killing whatever leadership American had in scientific progress. There were a fair number of tangential anecdotes and such, but I believe he made a fairly compelling case that what the US is currently experiencing is analogous to the end of the Islamic golden age circa ~1100AD. There was much more to it, if course, but it was largely a warning that if we as a country do not value science, we'll fall behind.

I had no idea what to expect, I had not seen a synopsis or anything like that - and I thought perhaps it was going to be heavier on the science end, but the lecture was quite riveting.

The man is a machine - he spoke for nearly 2.5 hours and took audience questions afterwards. The man has quite the sense of humor - for much of the lecture, it had the feel of a nerdy standup routine. But the comedy did not distract from the overall point, it merely served to keep the audience engaged.

[JesusHChrist]

Fundamentalism and apathy is killing whatever leadership American had in scientific progress. There were a fair number of tangential anecdotes and such, but I believe he made a fairly compelling case that what the US is currently experiencing is analogous to the end of the Islamic golden age circa ~1100AD. There was much more to it, if course, but it was largely a warning that if we as a country do not value science, we'll fall behind.

I would agree with that premise. Compared to our Indian and Chinese competitors we are losing, maybe irreversibly.

Did he offer any solutions? Science in this country has a bit of a nerdy "ewww" factor - not sure why. People think they can go to school and get all sorts of unmarketable degrees and then go out and get a 100k/year job. Good luck with that.

Meanwhile, I don't think I've ever met an Indian in my professional capacity (and I know dozens and dozens), with a degree in anything other than CS or Engineering. Selective sample to be sure, but still.

[Clueless Morgan]

Judging by that photo, you must have been only a few rows behind me (I was center stage, section C, row 2, seat 1, orchestra level.

...I might even be in that picture, at least the back of my head. LOL

Naw, I was WAAAAAY in the back, like second row from the back (Section C, Row HH, seats 1 and 2, Orch level). I zoomed in to get this, which is why it's not that great a quality photo.

And if you were in the second row you probably are in this photo.

Where were you sitting in relation to the guy who was talking about Marie Curie on the 20,000 Polish note (Dark hair, white shirt, second row, just left of the middle)? Or was that you? :p

So what was the main take-away from his talk? Was there a theme?

Fundamentalism and apathy is killing whatever leadership American had in scientific progress. There were a fair number of tangential anecdotes and such, but I believe he made a fairly compelling case that what the US is currently experiencing is analogous to the end of the Islamic golden age circa ~1100AD. There was much more to it, if course, but it was largely a warning that if we as a country do not value science, we'll fall behind.

I'd second this description. If I had to title his talk it would have been something along the lines of "Who's Leading the World?"

I had no idea what to expect, I had not seen a synopsis or anything like that - and I thought perhaps it was going to be heavier on the science end, but the lecture was quite riveting.

I don't think a synopsis was given - I looked and looked yesterday but couldn't find anything.

The man is a machine - he spoke for nearly 2.5 hours and took audience questions afterwards. The man has quite the sense of humor - for much of the lecture, it had the feel of a nerdy standup routine. But the comedy did not distract from the overall point, it merely served to keep the audience engaged.

I thought that he was an excellent speaker, personable, engaging, witty while still being knowledgable and conveying his message...

Sometimes you get an overblown sense of a person from their youtube presence, but I was not disappointed by NdGT. He was just as awesome live.

Highly recommended to anyone that gets the opportunity to see him.

Some of the questions he was asked were stupid, though.

[Jackalope]

Judging by that photo, you must have been only a few rows behind me (I was center stage, section C, row 2, seat 1, orchestra level.

...I might even be in that picture, at least the back of my head. LOL

Naw, I was WAAAAAY in the back, like second row from the back (Section C, Row HH, seats 1 and 2, Orch level). I zoomed in to get this, which is why it's not that great a quality photo.

And if you were in the second row you probably are in this photo.

Where were you sitting in relation to the guy who was talking about Marie Curie on the 20,000 Polish note (Dark hair, white shirt, second row, just left of the middle)? Or was that you? :p

Was that during the Q&A? I ducked out after the third question (due to a neurological condition, it's very painful for me to stay seated for that long - if you saw a big guy with long hair dressed in black limping up the center aisle, that was me). From your perspective, I was just to the right of the center aisle.

[Clueless Morgan]

Was that during the Q&A? I ducked out after the third question (due to a neurological condition, it's very painful for me to stay seated for that long - if you saw a big guy with long hair dressed in black limping up the center aisle, that was me).

Yeah, someone asked why there were no women represented on the currency NdGT showed and some guy in the second row googled it, I think.

You definitely walked right by me, but a lot of people were leaving at various points during the Q&A and I didn't give them much notice. I thought about going down to the stage before the talk began and just yelling out "Cthulhu!!" and seeing who responded, but I ended up being too shy to do that.

From your perspective, I was just to the right of the center aisle.

I was basically sitting directly behind you, only about 30 rows back, or you were sitting directly in front of me, only 30 rows closer to the stage. :p

[FatAndFaithless]

Currently reading through this thread...
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments...christian/

It's an AMA for a 15-years-experienced evangelical christian teacher who is now an atheist. Some very interesting questions and answers, especially the one about how the theory of evolution shattered his entire theology.

[JeffofGallifrey]

^ Whew, not the kind of setting or topic where I would want to start an AMA thread. That would be scary, logging in in the morning to find 100 new questions!

[The Valkyrie]

Recovering from an evening at the pub and one too many vodkas, and planning on heading back out tonight.

[JeffofGallifrey]

Facebook is stupid today.

Facebook is stupid every day.

It should be a proven scientific law by now.