I Dream of Utopia

Through Our Eyes Minister David Nájera Embassy of Mexico, United Kingdom BRLSI 19 th July 2016 7:30pm Notes by William Gaskell Talk chaired by Dick Bateman and introduced by Steve Walter. Strong links with UK as Mexicans often thought of as “that Western guy”. They are Central American by ethnicity. UK first country to recognise independent Mexico. 450,000 illegal immigrants move to Mexico each year from central and south America, mostly on their way to the USA. Mexico is linked to the Philippines as both territories were managed from Mexico City by the Spanish. Also share culture with the Carribean. Trade partners are Brazil, Argentina, China, biggest partner is USA. Iconic cultural Mexican Mariachi music is also loved and just as popular in Columbia. El Chavo – little boy, an orphan living in a home is a well known and loved cultural figure by many people in Mexico. 400,000 US citizens staying illegally in Mexico, 5 times as many as in Canada. T...

Stoicism and the Art of Self-Mastery Dr Kurt Lampe, University of Bristol, BRLSI, 5 th July 2016 Notes by William Gaskell Dr Kurt Lampe has a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. Image of Eris Dippis who dumps his fortune overboard during a journey by ship as his shipmates seemed unsavoury, his idea was that he would rather destroy his wealth than for it to fall into the hands of the unsavoury shipmates – Zero Sum Game – Stoicism . Period of classical philosophy C280BC to 250AD. Stoa Poikile “Painted Colonnade” in Athens. Epicurean philosophers dissipate from their usual haunts and classical stoicism comes to an end. Modern Anglo-American neo stoicism B. Continental This is now a philosophic/therapeutic movement. It was considered to be pilfering ideas from Plato and Aristotle but since 1970 has come into its own. Stoic philosophy is full of metaphor: “freedom as opposite of slavery.” The internal conflict of decision making: “shouldn’t do it”...

Why should we be interested in glass? Dr Anita Zeidler, Physics Department, University of Bath at BRLSI on 30 th June 2016. Convenor science group, John Davies. Notes by William Gaskell. Glass’ properties include: ·          Good heat shock resistance ·          Insulation of heat and electricity Making it good for cooking hobs. Glass formation: Slow cooling -> ordered pattern formation -> crystal Fast cooling (quenching) -> amorphous liquid structure frozen -> glass Glass is a solid with structure that resembles a liquid. Flint is actually a glass, which is why it could be chiselled into very sharp points for stone age arrowheads and blades. Glass is composed of silicon and oxygen: Si + O also perhaps B or P, Al, K, Ca, depending on the use. For example, in the nuclear industry glass with a high proportion of lead is used to improve the shielding effect from ...

Bath City Conference 2016 Notes by William Gaskell at the Guildhall Bath on 1st of July. Speakers: Kate Rigby new Human Sustainability lecturer at Bath Spa. Jess organised the Green University Group lectures. Cheryl talked about mindset when approaching environment as PhD Student, I mentioned film Planetary to her. Fairness and Physics – Recarbonising the Environment Peter Harper, University of Bath. People now seriously want to live in the Utopian fashion. Ozone situation is improving whereas other macro-environmental aspects are deteriorating such as biosphere pollution and ocean acidity. Peter Harper thinks a rapid transition is going to happen soon unless there is a major transformation in how we do things as he assumes that developing countries in Asia will become as polluting as the West is currently. Zero Carbon Britain In this scenario Britain can control its emissions without changing the way we live. ·        ...

Philosophy: The Evolution of Religion: Is It Adaptive to Believe that God Is On Your Side? Dr Michael E Pryce of Brunel University London, Senior Lecturer in Psychology also School of Culture BRLSI 7 th June 2016 Notes by William Gaskell Religiosity more psychological, some sort of belief in a natural order. Adaption is a biological device that is Darwinian, natural selection etc. but not all traits we see in nature are adaptions for survival. Recommended texts: Darwin’s Cathedral God is Watching You - cultural views. Artist’s image: Jean D’Arc by Odilon Redon Over attributing agency to Universe – schizophrenia as people may think government out to get them personally or are personally communicating with extra-terrestrial beings. The question: “How would we do that?” may be a by-product. Link between religiosity and survival , massive correlation becomes apparent in older women. ·          Public social benefits ...

I think the problem with this type of communication is that it relies on the out crowd being popular when in fact I felt convinced to vote to leave to EU because "they don't get it" and that is called abuse in Bristol and could get you arrested. Most Europeans have a poor education compared to the leading British schools as a result of their limited capacity to live well meaning that it is a technical form of slavery if they succeed in any way when someone from a more privileged backgrounds competes with them if the competition is not fair and equal. For example when it comes to sexual relations with their women. In sports referees have to enforce the rules of the game as well as the relative standing of the different teams in order for there to be a fair competition. Unfortunately, in Europe this does not happen so we should leave, but in the interests of world peace and investing in the future we should stay in the EU as it will get better for...

Rabindranath Tagore Dr Kalyan Kundu BRLSI 9 th May 2016 Notes by William Gaskell Yesterday was Rabindranath’s 155 th birthday. He was from an aristocratic and progressive family in Bengal, the 14 th child of an incredibly gifted and creative household which including many leading members of their fields. At 17 he came to England in 1878 to study law but left with no professional qualification and no English wife! He had been tutored at home until that time. In 1915 Tagore was knighted by King George V but five years later he renounced his award in response to the British treatment of Indians, killings in Haryana and Punjab. Rabinosangeth is Tagore’s gift to his people, his poetry and music – he failed to make an impact with Western audiences. He was a champion of feminism and social justice. He propagated his views through art, poetry and plays – notably The Postman play was also performed in Germany and Czechoslovakia and in the Jewish ghetto in Poland. He...