National Capital Area Skeptics

Wed Dec 14th, 7 pm Drinking Skeptically with NCAS in MD & VA

Drinking Skeptically in MD & Now also No. VA !

2d Wednesday Each Month - 7:00 p.m

Jackie’s Restaurant (map)

Join us in the Sidebar

8081 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD

www.jackiesrestaurant.com

Chevy's Fresh Mex

4238 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA (Ballston Common Mall)

www.chevys.com

Just two blocks from the Ballston Metro station.

Visit and Join the NCAS MeetUp.com

Dec 10 - The Brain on Trial: How Neuroscience Challenges the Law as We Know It

Saturday, December 10, 2011, 1:30pm
National Science Foundation
Room 110
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA [map]

Mark Frankel, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Neuroscience has a lot to offer the law. These include, for example, use for determining whether a person is competent to stand trial or sign a contract, whether brain dysfunction is a mitigating factor in applying capital punishment, whether future dangerousness is predictable, and whether an adolescent brain is mature enough to merit certain types of punishment. It also holds out the promise that it may help distinguish false memories from true memories, enhance memory, ascertain truth, detect deception, and reveal lies. So one might reasonably ask, is the law ready for neuroscience? To some extent, that question can be asked of any new research finding in science or technological development. But so much that neuroscience relates to—memory, truth telling, impulse control, empathy, reasoning, consciousness, and behavior—are core concepts that underlie enduring legal principles and play important roles in the administration of justice. This presentation will describe a range of uses, realized and potential, for neuroscience in the law, and assess the challenges such uses pose for the law.

As Director of the Scientific Freedom, Responsibility and Law Program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Frankel has supervised the production of such resources as, Neuroscience and the Law: Brain, Mind, and the Scales of Justice (2004); Human Inheritable Genetic Modifications: Assessing Scientific, Ethical, Religious, and Policy Issues (2000); Stem Cell Research Applications: Monitoring the Frontiers of Biomedical Research (1999). Frankel’s research includes studying the impact of information technology on human subjects; developing a research agenda for the US voting system; efforts to promote research integrity; and the legal implications of advances in genetics and neuroscience. Frankel earned his B.A. in political science from Emory University, and his Ph.D. in political science (concentration in science policy) from George Washington University.

FREE admission – Everyone welcome, members and non-members.
Refreshments and socializing after the talk.

Meetup event notice
Facebook event notice

Shadow of a Doubt - December 2011

The Monthly Calendar of the National Capital Area Skeptics

The Brain on Trial: How Neuroscience Challenges the Law as We Know It
January NCAS Lecture: Lawrence Krauss
Torn From Today's Headlines by Scott Snell - Nowhere to Hide: Looking for an Apollo Moon Landings Hoax-from Inside NASA
From Readers
Shadow Light
Drinking Skeptically

Nov 12 - Fighting Junk Science in the Courts: Deterring Dangerous Therapies

Saturday, November 12, 2011, 1:30pm
National Science Foundation
Room 110
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA [map]

Presented by Brian J. Gorman, M.Sc., J.D. (Towson University)

An alleged miracle cure for autism known as Facilitated Communication (FC) swept the country with great promise and hope in the early 1990’s. Proponents of FC claimed that there was a special technique whereby non-communicative individuals known to have profound mental disabilities could suddenly communicate at surprisingly sophisticated levels. FC spread like wild fire until empirically sound studies repeatedly found that FC was no better than well-meaning self-deception on the part of the facilitators. The FC fad appeared to vanish as the evidence against it piled up, but not before alleged communications from FC led to criminal court proceedings for abuse across the country. Court proceedings based on FC-generated allegations had grave consequences for a number of families and individuals. Despite the tragic history of FC, the technique has been reborn through a defiant and determined social movement. A recent survey found that FC and other scientifically rejected techniques are still widely used in some school districts. With the resurgence of FC and continued use of other dangerous techniques like Holding Therapy, will the courts accept a long disregarded legal claim for educational malpractice against those educators who continue to use dangerous therapies despite the known risks?

Brian J. Gorman, M.Sc., J.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Towson University and the Director of the Biosecurity Commons information project. His research focuses on issues at the intersection of law, science, and policy from junk science to homeland security. Professor Gorman brought to bear his early career experience as a clinician and his expertise in law to address the misuse of junk science in classrooms and courtrooms in articles for Skeptic, Behavioral Science & the Law, and most recently, Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal due to the resurgence of Facilitated Communication in the courts.

FREE admission – Everyone welcome, members and non-members.
Refreshments and socializing after the talk.

Meetup event notice
Facebook event notice

Shadow of a Doubt - November 2011