You wait all that time for a renowned skeptic to visit, and then two arrive at once!

First up we have Susan Gerbic: Stop feeding the Trolls – Do this instead

Tired of fighting trolls online? Tired of fake news? Want to do something that actually fights back? Susan Gerbic will be explaining why the answer is to join her project, Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW). She will explain why improving the pages for Science and Scientific Skepticism on the 4th most popular website improves education world-wide. GSoW works to support the people and organizations that do the research, write the books, organize the conferences and take the heat from the anti-science and paranormal world. GSoW gives them the best possible Wikipedia pages possible, while following all the rules of Wikipedia. The GSoW has had a large impact on education around the world since 2010.

The GSoW has written and rewritten over 850 Wikipedia pages in many languages … including some recent updates on the Overtoun Bridge page to reference our recent blog post about credulous reporting from the New York Times
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtoun_Bridge

Next Up: Mark Edward – When is ‘Psychic Entertainment’ Not Entertainment?

Aren’t we tired of lies? When does entertainment become outright fraud and abuse and how can we quickly recognize and differentiate the two? Come along and see a seance performed in the bowels of the Old Town. Can we really conjure up the spirits of long dead citizens?

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About the speakers:

Susan Gerbic (https://abouttimeproject.wordpress.com/) is an American skeptical activist living in Salinas, California. Gerbic is the co-founder of Monterey County Skeptics, founder and leader of the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project, a regular contributor to Skeptical Inquirer, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Gerbic has focused much of her skeptical activism on people claiming to be clairvoyant mediums, such as Sylvia Browne, Tyler Henry, and Thomas John whom she calls Grief Vampires. She has recently been featured in the New York Times Magazine for her stings with Mediums called Operation Pizza Roll and Operation Peach Pit.

Mark Edward (www.themarkedward.com) is a professional mentalist who specializes in magic of the mind. He has spent over thirty-five years in world class venues from high-end night clubs and theaters to hundreds of private party and corporate events. He travels internationally as a skeptical activist, using his skills as a mentalist to teach and promote critical thinking.

As one of only five specially chosen and trained “psychic mediums” in the history of Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle, he performed fifteen years of séance performances that helped him perfect the role of spirit medium and psychic entertainer. As a writer he has written books on these subjects and lectures extensively as a teacher of magic, mentalism and psychic fraud.

His latest public exposure of psychic scams can be read in the following New York Times Magazine article: https://nyti.ms/2H6GiAN

Kickoff at 7pm sharp.
This is event is free to attend, although we will be asking for donations at the end of the talk. Participants are under no obligation whatsoever to donate, however please rest assured that the money we collect doesn’t end up in anyone’s pocket – it is used to fund our overhead costs, and travel/accommodation for our speakers who come from further afield.

Accessibility: The talk is on the top floor of the store, however there is however a lift available for customers to use.