Thinking is Power: Improve your critical thinking

Our next meeting:
Saturday 1st March 2025 10am Sydney time
(Friday 28th February 6pm New York time)
"Why Facts (usually) Don't Change Our Minds"
First talk: Why Facts (Usually) Don't Change Our Minds
Ever tried changing someone’s mind with facts, only to hit a wall or spark a heated argument? Productive conversations, especially on tough topics, start with understanding how our minds really work. In this talk, you'll discover why facts often don’t change minds and how you can have more effective, meaningful discussions.

Second talk: The Misinformation Trap
Why We Fall for It and How to Recognize It: Why do smart people fall for misinformation? This talk explores the misinformation trap, examining how cognitive biases, social influences, and deeply held beliefs make us vulnerable to science denial, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories. Learn how misinformation works and discover strategies to protect yourself.

Melanie Trecek-King is a speaker, writer, and educator specializing in critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy. She is the creator of Thinking Is Power—a twist on the phrase "knowledge is power"—which empowers individuals with skills to make better decisions and protect themselves from misinformation.

An Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College, she teaches an award-winning general-education science course and works with middle and high school educators to integrate these concepts into their curricula. Trecek-King is the Education Director for the Mental Immunity Project and CIRCE (Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative), and is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

When: Logon after 10:00 am for a chat with others and a 10:20 am seminar start. We end for lunch around 1 pm.
Logon after 6 pm Friday 28th February (New York time), 5 pm Friday (Central time zone). Please check your time zone.

Details (with Zoom link): www.ags.org.au

Where: Join our meeting by Zoom!
Cost: Free for Zoom participants.