Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Religulous Movie Screening! Thurs, April 2, 5:00 pm

It’s that time of the year when exams are approaching, and we are all wrapping up another school year.
As most of the on-campus clubs, we want to take this time and prepare for the upcoming 2009/10 school term. However, we would also like to put on a final event that will be thought provoking and encourage discussion. So, we have decided to hold our AGM and Movie Screening event on the same day. Here are the details of what we have planned for Thursday, April 2, 2009:

1. Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Student Centre - Presentation Room, Lower Level
5:00 - 5:45 pm
The MFA is looking for enthusiastic and committed executives for the 2009/10 school term. If you are interested in being a part of the MFA Executive Committee, and have some exciting new event ideas or initiatives, then feel free to come out and get involved. The following positions are available:

President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Media/Promotions
Community Relations

If you are interested, please send an email with a short blurb about yourself and the position that you are interested in undertaking to freethoughtcanada@gmail.com

We will also do a quick review of this years financial statements and success of our past events, as well as discuss some ideas for next year!

2. Movie Screening - Religulous (Bill Maher)
Student Centre - Presentation Room, Lower Level
5:45 - 7:00 pm (Followed by a discussion on topics relevant to the film).

“A range of views on the various world religions are explored as Bill Maher travels to numerous religious destinations, such as Jerusalem, the Vatican, and Salt Lake City, interviewing believers from a variety of backgrounds and groups, including a former member of Jews for Jesus, Christians, Muslims, former Mormons, and Hasidic Jews. He travels to Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, London and satirically preaches Scientology beliefs.”

This movie is very funny, but does cover some topics that may be controversial to some. We only ask that you come with an open mind, watch the movie, and then discuss the arguments presented in a respectful manner.

Website: http://www.lionsgate.com/religulous/
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815241/

UofT Study: Brain differences between believers and non-believers

A recent study led by UofT’s own Assistant Psychology Professor Michael Inzlicht has shown brain activity differences between believers and non-believers.

Results indicate that believers show markedly less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that helps modify behavior by signaling when attention and control are needed. For instance, a believer will show less stress and anxiety (and brain activity) when making a mistake or error, as compared to a non-believer. An increase in the belief of God was shown to correlate to decreased ACC activity.

Although this calming effect is considered to be beneficial to some, it is a “double edged sword” says Inzlicht. “Obviously, anxiety can be negative because if you have too much, you’re paralyzed with fear. However, it also serves a very useful function in that it alerts us when we’re making mistakes. If you don’t experience anxiety when you make an error, what impetus do you have to change or improve your behaviour so you don’t make the same mistakes again and again?”

Read the full article at Physorg.com.
The study will be published in Psychological Science.

Darwin Day ‘09 Recap

I am pleased to inform everyone that our February 12th Darwin Day event, held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, was a success! More than fifty UTM students, faculty and local supporters came to hear Dr. Vincent Di Norcia give an interesting and enlightening discussion on Darwin’s lesser known views on social ethics. The hour long talk was followed by a lengthy and interesting question and answer period.

I would like to thank everyone who came out to support the event, the MFA, and of course one of science’s greatest minds! We will be putting on one more event before the school year is done, so stay tuned!

- Tom Ulanowski, President