Shrewsbury Unitarian Church and Hmmm Squad present: The Festival of Ideas
Located in the heart of the town centre, for this year’s Darwin Festival, Shrewsbury Unitarian Church has teamed up with local philosophy and science group “Hmmm Squad’ to launch a ‘Festival of Ideas’ on the evening of Friday 9 February and on Saturday 10 February.
The ‘Festival of Ideas’ will include talks on a range of topics from mathematics, civility, playing board games, psychology and the importance of engaging with nature.
For more information on the church’s and Hmmm Squad’s Facebook pages or email: shrewsburyunitarians@gmail.com
All events and lectures during Friday and Saturday will be FREE to attend and all are welcome.
*The venue will be serving tea, coffee, AND CAKE throughout the day!
See below for further details of all the Friday and Saturday events:
Friday 9th February Festival of Ideas: HMMM SQUAD’S FRIDAY NIGHT TAKEOVER
The Festival of Ideas begins with the HMMM Squad take over! A free evening event located at the church itself. Doors are at 7pm with the talks beginning at 7.30pm.
Alex McKinnon: Angry Megatron – A journey through the fun but mostly useless world of prime numbers.
Math Mega Mind Alex reveals the answer to mathematics oldest question: “when am I ever going to use this in real life?” (Pen and paper NOT needed!)Tom Matthews: Why Board Games are Punk now – Play as an act of defiance!
Learn how in a high-pressure world of screen time, and deadlines, meeting friends and rolling dice is the new anarchy!
Saturday 10h February: The Festival of Ideas
The programme of events is as follows and all lectures are free to attend, and everyone is welcome:
11.00 am Marilyn Miller: Victims of Our Own Propaganda - Cradle life, mother herd, and the pleasure principle
The phenomenon of mindless following in crowds has its human roots in infancy and the unconscious, but is the evolutionary trait “actually” helpful to you?12.30 pm Sam Devine Turner- Reconnecting with Nature
"The Nature Connection"" What is it? Why is it? And why (now more than ever) should we look at renewing our connection with the natural world and learn to be more feral.2.00 pm Ann Howell: And what do you DO? - Finding our passion and effecting positive change
What causes and issues are you most passionate about? Discover ways to make a difference effectively, without getting burnt out!
3.30 pm Dr John-Robert Curtin: Civility - More Restorative Reflections: Where has all the civility gone?
Dr Curtin explores how Civility is a personal, active process and show how our actions and behaviours (now and throughout) history will affect the world.5.00 pm Gillian Castle: Against the Odds - New challenges for children growing up in SW Uganda
Charity projects, eco-tourism and education policies, all aim to enhance the children of a small Ugandan communities’ lives, but do they work? And what can we do to help more.6.00 pm Dr Simon Nightingale: Why Darwin is important to humanists
Darwin’s ideas were, for many, the final nail in the coffin of not only theism but deism, Shropshire Humanists Chair, Dr Simon Nightingale shows why the repercussions of the ideas Darwin raised still echo through religion today.