December 11 - Mass Extinction Events and What Causes Them

Presented by Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., Ph.D.

Principal Lecturer, Department of Geology, University of Maryland

Research Associate, Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History

Saturday, December 11, 2021, 1:30 pm
B-CC Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane 2nd Floor (West Room)
Bethesda, MD
Directions: http://tinyurl.com/bcccenter

Mass extinctions are catastrophic overhauls of the diversity of life on land and see. There are five well-attested such events in the history of life, and evidence we could be on the cusp of a sixth. We'll look at the record of past events, and what we know about how they happened and what might have caused them. These environmental crises might serve as warnings for our own future, and what a "sixth extinction" might mean for human society.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is Principal Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, adaptations, and behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs, and especially of tyrannosauroids (Tyrannosaurus rex and its kin). He received his Bachelors in Earth & Planetary Geology at Johns Hopkins in 1987 and his Ph.D. from the Department of Geology & Geophysics at Yale in 1992. He is also a Research Associate of the Department of Paleobiology of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History and serves on the Scientific Council of Maryland Academy of Science (which operates the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)). In addition to his dinosaur research, Holtz has been active in scientific outreach. He has been a consultant on museum exhibits around the world, and on numerous documentaries. He is the author of award-winning popular audience books. He is the current editor of the “Life of the Past” series at Indiana University Press.

This talk will be live streamed.
https://youtu.be/S9QJMpJ9tD0

Note: Effective November 20 at 12:01 a.m.: all persons in Montgomery County over the age of two must wear a face covering in any location accessible to the public.

 

November 6 - Bizarre Psychological Disorders, Part 2

 

Presented by Brian A. Sharpless, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London and Adjunct Professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Saturday, November 6, 2021, 1:30 pm

Note: This is the first Saturday of the month

B-CC Regional Services Center

4805 Edgemoor Lane 2nd Floor (West Room)

Bethesda, MD

Directions: http://tinyurl.com/bcccenter

 

 

People are nothing if not confusingly complex, and some end up thinking, acting, and behaving in unusual, odd, and extreme ways. Some of the strangest psychological disorders that they can acquire are not well-known to the public or even many mental health professionals, despite some – such as isolated sleep paralysis – actually being fairly common in the general population.

Dr. Sharpless will focus on five interesting psychological conditions and phenomena.  Some you may have heard of.  For instance, Fear of Missing Out or "FOMO", though not a recognized disorder, has received a great deal of popular attention in social media circles.  Other conditions, such as Body Identity Integrity Disorder (BIID), are a bit more obscure.  People with BIID wish to intentionally damage healthy body parts (e.g., amputate a limb) and/or become physically disabled.  Needless to say, certain treatment options have raised ethical issues.  Dr. Sharpless will not only describe these and other fascinating conditions, but will also place them in historical and cultural contexts and summarize their respective scientific literature. 

 

This talk will be live streamed.  However, at the request of the speaker, the stream will not be available for viewing after the talk, nor will the talk be posted on YouTube at a later date.  The link to view this talk online will be https://youtu.be/vVNSSWvzO

 

Brian Sharpless is an author and licensed clinical psychologist with a practice in the Washington DC area.  He currently holds academic appointments as a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London and as an adjunct professor at the Washington DC campus of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology . He was formerly on faculty at Pennsylvania State University, Washington State University, and the American School of Professional Psychology.  He received his PhD in clinical psychology and MA in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Sharpless has broad interests in abnormal psychology and psychotherapy.  He has over 50 publications on common and lesser-known disorders, psychodynamic therapy, professional issues, and the history/philosophy of clinical psychology.  His three books, Sleep Paralysis: Historical, Psychological, and Medical Perspectives (co-authored with Dr. Karl Doghramji), Unusual and Rare Psychological Disorders: A Handbook for Clinical Practice and Research, and Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques:  A Guide to Expressive and Supportive Interventions are all available through Oxford University Press.  This research been featured on TV, radio, and in other media outlets, and he is a frequent speaker at conferences and public events in the United States and abroad.

Twitter:       @briansharpless

website       www.briansharpless.com

Due to continuing concerns about covid-19, all attendees, whether vaccinated or not, are required to wear masks or other face covering while attending this talk.

See also https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/face-coverings.html

Shadow of a Doubt - October 2021

 

• Film: Race for the vaccine
  
• Message to current and prospective NCAS members - Extending memberships
• October Phact Lecture
• November NCAS lecture: Psychologist Brian Sharpless will present "Unusual Psychological Disorders, Pt. 2:  From FOMO to Frotteurism,"
• AmazonSmile
• Shadow Light
• Time to renew
  
• Click to read October Shadow

Shadow of a Doubt - September 2021

 

• It came from the Science Fair - presented by Adam Ruben
• Message to current and prospective NCAS members - Extending memberships
• Shermer and Swiss
• September Phact Lecture
  
• AmazonSmile
• Shadow Light
• Time to renew
  
• Click to read September Shadow