Shadow of a Doubt - September 2011

The Monthly Calendar of the National Capital Area Skeptics

• SkeptiCamp DC 2011
• ABC News - "Beyond Belief: Psychic Power"
• October NCAS Lecture: Humans to Mars: How and Why.
• New Board Member Elected, Officers Chosen
• Shadow Light
• Drinking Skeptically

Sept 10 - Why You Should Be Skeptical of the Media's Medical Reporting, Dr. John Cmar

Saturday, September 10, 1:30pm - 4:00pm
Bethesda Regional Library
7400 Arlington Rd
Bethesda, MD [map]

One of the greatest disservices that the current trend of sensationalist, opinion-based media "reporting" does is to misinform the public about medical matters. It's one thing to distinguish evidence-based medicine from science-based medicine, and another that the news media often doesn't seem to care about either. We'll discuss specific examples of how news reporting on medical science can get things both right and wrong, and possible ways the non-medically trained public can skeptically approach medical news stories to tease out the truth.

Bio: John Cmar, MD, has been long enthralled with horrible infections that could spell doom for humankind, as well as sanity and skepticism in the practice of medicine. He is currently an Instructor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the Assistant Director of Infectious Diseases at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. In his role as Associate Program Director for the Johns Hopkins Internal Medicine residency program at Sinai, he teaches an annual course series in Evidence-Based Medicine, among many other duties. He also does Infectious Diseases outreach in Baltimore television and print media. John is a science fiction and fantasy fan, avid gamer, and podcast enthusiast. He currently blogs and podcasts on skeptical, medical, and geeky topics on The Secret Lair.

The Bethesda Regional Library has free parking on Saturdays. It is also located about 2 blocks from the Bethesda Metro.

Refreshments and socializing after the talk.

Facebook event notice.
Meetup event notice.

Lake Boat Night in Falls Church (No Arlington DS this month)

We have a special treat planned in place of our regular Arlington Drinking Skeptically Meetup in Aug. This night we will meet at Curtis Haymore's house for a cruise around Lake Barcroft. You may not have heard, but there is a lake near Bailey's Crossroads with 5 white sand beaches and lifeguards, and the water is swimmable too. The brave at heart should bring swimsuits, everyone else can just the enjoy the breezes and views. It is outside, but the bugs don't stray from shore, so it is a bug-free experience too. Curtis will provide fluid refreshments, and it would be nice of guests to bring some light food items to share. Nothing fancy -- this is very informal (and fun).

This is not on a metro stop, but we will try to work out transportation for all who are interested. Please let Curtis know if you are coming and if you need a ride or could offer a ride! Post a note here and he will be in touch directly.

IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO RSVP IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE DIRECTIONS TO CURTIS' HOUSE.

Link to facebook event notice.
Link to meetup.com event notice.