Leeds Skeptics in the Pub was founded by Chris Worfolk in January 2009 and, similar to other of Leeds’ discussion groups, is part of a growing national network of Skeptics (or Sceptics) groups.
Leeds Skeptics describe themselves as ‘a friendly group of free thinkers who get together to discuss issues of science, pseudoscience and philosophy’. ‘Importantly’, as they say, they like to do this “in the Pub”.
1. What are the origins of Leeds Skeptics?
The first Skeptics in the Pub group started in London, in 1999. It was so popular that it soon began to form spin-off groups, and while in London, a friend suggested to me it might work well in Leeds. So I booked a room at Carpe Diem, put together a talk on homoeopathy and announced our first meeting. The group grew from there.
2. Why is it important to be sceptical? And did you have to overcome scepticism to set up Skeptics in the Pub?
Taking a sceptical attitude allows you to make better, evidence-based decisions. This is important at every level of society, whether it is a national one (such as the NHS wasting money on alternative medicine that has been shown not to work), or a personal one (studies show consumers can’t tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine, so now, I buy the cheaper one and tell my friends its expensive).
Sceptical attitudes didn’t get in the way of starting the group though. Unlike when I set up Leeds Atheist Society, where every other question was “what does an atheist society even do?” the straight forward format matched quite well with people’s personal research into whether they enjoy drinking in a pub while listening to an interesting talk (turns out, most people do).
3. Can you be too sceptical? And isn’t there a danger of scepticism turning into cynicism?
I don’t think so. To be a skeptic, you have to take an evidence-based approach – and when the evidence is actually there, it’s all the more exciting!
4. Leeds Skeptics generally follows the format of most other discussion groups, beginning with a short talk by a notable speaker followed by a general discussion. However, one difference is that you start with a news update generally taking the piss out of recent Daily Mail stories, such as all the new things that apparently give you cancer (which is just about everything). But why just focus on the Mail? Is there anything in the ‘liberal’ press we should be sceptical about?
We use the Daily Mail for two reasons. Firstly, they write very bold headlines, which make them an easy target. Secondly, their conservative position means they often write stories that work well for our generally liberal audience. But that doesn’t mean that the Guardian doesn’t also publish a lot of nonsense. It just wouldn’t get the same laughs.
5. Skeptics isn’t just a discussion groups, you’ve also been involved in campaigns such as around homeopathy. Can you tell us more about this and other campaigns you’ve been involved in?
I’ve been campaigning against homoeopathy since I founded Leeds Atheist Society in 2006, so it was only natural Leeds Skeptics got involved in that too. This lead to our participation in the 10:23 “overdose” event (an event at which we each swallowed an entire bottle of homoeopathic arsenic pills; everyone was fine), at which we got the second biggest turn out in the world, beaten only by London.
6. Finally, what are the Skeptics plans for the future?
I think there is a lot of potential in widening the scope of discussions that take place at Skeptics groups. It’s easy to bring a group of people together to talk about how stupid UFOs, alternative medicine, Big Foot and religion are. But I think it’s much more thought provoking to look at topics.
Leeds Skeptics normally meet on the third Saturday of every month at 2pm in the Victoria Hotel. However, the next two Skeptics meetings are on Wednesday 10 October – The New Visibility of Atheism in Europe, and Wednesday 14 November – The Geek Manifesto, both starting at 7pm. Events are free to attend though they do ask for a donation to help cover costs. For further details and to join Leeds Skeptics mailing list, visit their website at www.leedsskeptics.org/.
Paul Thomas is an organiser of The Leeds Salon and writes regularly for its sister-journal Freedom in a Puritan Age and Culture Vulture.
Ah! Weekdays are better for me. I’ll try and get along.