Profs and Pints Meetup-Metro DC

Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories,” with Brian A. Sharpless, licensed clinical psychologist, former faculty member at Penn State University and Washington State University, and author of Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques: A Guide to Expressive and Supportive Interventions.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-conspiracy .]

What exactly is a conspiracy theory? Are people who believe in conspiracies fundamentally different from those who do not? Are there any ways to protect yourself from buying into false theories? How often do conspiracy theories actually turn out to be true?

These are just a few of the fascinating questions that will be tackled by Brian Sharpless, a favorite of Profs and Pints fans. He will discuss conspiratorial thinking throughout history, define what "conspiracy theory” means to psychologists and psychiatrists, and summarize what the field knows about the people who buy into conspiracy beliefs.

You may be surprised to learn that there are ways to predict who will believe in conspiracy theories, with some very common “cognitive biases” leaving people more accepting of them. Conspiracy theories also can provide short-term psychological benefits to the believer. Furthermore, a number of psychological traits and disorders – both common and rare – have been associated with conspiratorial thinking.

Perhaps most surprising, there are relatively few big differences
between those who are predisposed to believe in conspiracy theories and those who aren't. It's small differences that sometimes have a huge impact in worldview.

The good news is that there are ways to evaluate – and even “inoculate” yourself against – conspiracy theories, and Dr. Sharpless will offer you practical tips on this front. You may walk out with a different perspective on what you read in the news and on the internet, with new knowledge that may help you maintain a more realistic and accurate worldview. ( Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: An Airbus A340 jet emits contrails, the subject of conspiracy beliefs. (Photo by Adrian Pingstone / Wikimedia.)

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Ancient Magic and Witchcraft,” on beliefs in supernatural powers in the Greece and Rome of antiquity, with Barbette Spaeth, professor emerita of classical studies at the College of William & Mary.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-ancient-magic .]

In the Greco-Roman world of the ancient Mediterranean existed people who practiced magic and witchcraft in much the same way that we think of it today. They wrote down and uttered spells—for both themselves and their clients—to curse enemies, force others to fall in love, prophesy the future, heal both physical and mental injuries, and even raise the dead. Belief in their powers was widespread.

Take a scholarly journal back to antiquity to learn who practiced magic, and how they did it, with Professor Barbette Spaeth, an expert on Greek and Roman religion who has extensively researched ancient magic and witchcraft and offered two courses on it.

In a talk that has received rave audience reviews when previously given in Charlottesville and Richmond, Dr. Spaeth will discuss the evidence of ancient magical practices found in ancient Greek and Latin literature, inscriptions, and artifacts uncovered by archaeologists.

You’ll learn how ancient practitioners of magic could supposedly turn themselves into animals, be in two places at once, and force ghosts and demons to do their bidding. The tools they used in their work included plants and herbs, wands, lead tablets, and animal or human body parts.

While both women and men practiced magic, but there appears to have been marked differences in how they approached it. Men were considered "magicians" who learned their craft from books or consultations with divine beings and mainly practiced positive “white magic.” Women were more likely to be depicted practicing evil “black magic” that they learned from other female “witches” or through powers they’d come upon naturally.

Greek witches like Circe and Medea were seen as beautiful young women who did magic most commonly to help others, particularly their lovers. In contrast, Roman witches like Canidia and Erichtho, were portrayed as old ugly hags who used magic to harm others and ultimately to undermine the very foundations of the universe.

The state, particularly under the Roman Empire, tried to control the practice of magic, particularly the “black” form. The sanctions imposed on those convicted of practicing it included exile and execution. ( Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: From the 1892 John William Waterhouse painting “Circe Invidiosa,” which depicts the witch Circe turning the beautiful maiden Scylla into a monster by pouring a magic potion into the waters where Scylla took her bath.

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Role-Playing Games and Mental Health,” with William Nation, adjunct professor of psychology at Texas Woman's University and staff psychologist at Johns Hopkins University.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-d-n-d .]

Role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons used to be the stuff of basement nerd culture. Fast forward a few decades from their 1970s origins and now they’re everywhere, from big-budget movies and television shows to corporate team-building exercises.

Here’s the wild part: Beyond being fun, these games actually are helping people’s mental health in real and measurable ways.

Learn about the fascinating history of role-playing games and their emergence as a tool for mental-health professionals with William Nation, who has spent years using tabletop games in therapeutic settings and educating others how to do so.

He’ll take us through time from the 1980s, when the growing popularity of such games strangely inspired fears that they were a gateway to Satanism, to the modern boom in their popularity, examining how both the games and the culture around them have changed.

Then we’ll explore how role-playing games, storytelling, and collaborative problem-solving have been found to help with things like anxiety, depression, developing social skills, and navigating neurodivergence. You’ll learn what happens in our brains when we tell stories together, how pretending to be a wizard can make you more confident in real life, and why therapists are running Dungeons & Dragons groups.

Whether you’re a die-hard fan of role-playing games or just curious about them, you’ll enjoy venturing into worlds of those who are using them to improve mental health. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: Dungeons & Dragons action as captured by photographer Armitage Armstrong / Creative Commons

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories,” with Brian A. Sharpless, licensed clinical psychologist, former faculty member at Penn State University and Washington State University, and author of Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques: A Guide to Expressive and Supportive Interventions.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-conspiracy .]

What exactly is a conspiracy theory? Are people who believe in conspiracies fundamentally different from those who do not? Are there any ways to protect yourself from buying into false theories? How often do conspiracy theories actually turn out to be true?

These are just a few of the fascinating questions that will be tackled by Brian Sharpless, a favorite of Profs and Pints fans. He will discuss conspiratorial thinking throughout history, define what "conspiracy theory” means to psychologists and psychiatrists, and summarize what the field knows about the people who buy into conspiracy beliefs.

You may be surprised to learn that there are ways to predict who will believe in conspiracy theories, with some very common “cognitive biases” leaving people more accepting of them. Conspiracy theories also can provide short-term psychological benefits to the believer. Furthermore, a number of psychological traits and disorders – both common and rare – have been associated with conspiratorial thinking.

Perhaps most surprising, there are relatively few big differences between those who are predisposed to believe in conspiracy theories and those who aren't. It's small differences that sometimes have a huge impact in worldview.

The good news is that there are ways to evaluate – and even “inoculate” yourself against – conspiracy theories, and Dr. Sharpless will offer you practical tips on this front. You may walk out with a different perspective on what you read in the news and on the internet, with new knowledge that may help you maintain a more realistic and accurate worldview. ( Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: An Airbus A340 jet emits contrails, the subject of conspiracy beliefs. (Photo by Adrian Pingstone / Wikimedia.)