Mensa AG & Los Angeles RG Talks
Talks delivered by Perry Lanaro at the 2014 American Gathering (AG) in Boston and the 2014 Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa (GLAAM) Regional Gathering (RG) can be accessed at this website for a limited time.
The topics cover challenging and sometimes controversial subjects. I’ve heard lectures for and against the existence of God that were not competent. An indicator of the caliber of such a talk is whether the presenter is confident enough to stick around for questions afterward, particularly in front of a group like Mensa. In both my presentations I arranged for an hour Q&A session immediately following the lecture. These sessions were recorded as were the lectures and are available here.
Each description below has a link to an MP3 recording. Left-clicking on the link will cause it to play on your computer. Right-clicking should give the option to download the MP3 file to transfer to a smart phone, iPod or MP3 player. Hopefully that is how it will work!
Perry Lanaro is a Mensa member, holds a B.S. in physics and an MBA, both degrees from UCLA. He currently works in the entertainment industry. He combines an understanding of science with aspects of story-telling to present sophisticated scientific concepts in an understandable and entertaining manner.
Is there a God? What does science really tell us? Here is a detailed, informative and thought provoking talk on this question that touches on several areas of science. The talk starts with Big Bang cosmology and the creation of our universe and goes through the appearance of man. It finishes with a look into the future. The digital audio recorder was placed on the speaker podium and unfortunately picked up my voice directly as well as the amplification from the audio system. This dual signal blurred the sound a little bit.
Scientific Evidence for God - Talk
The Q&A session went over two hours so this is a 100 meg file. Since the audio recorder was on the podium, the volume of the questions from the audience will be much lower than that of my voice answering them.
Scientific Evidence for God - Q&AIf anyone would like to give this presentation, below are links to my notes on the talk and the presentation slides. I only use minimal notes when I talk so the attached Word document contains a rough outline and not a polished script. The presentation slides were made last minute and are functional but of average quality. Below you will find links to an Apply Keynote and MS PowerPoint version, each saved as a zip file. If anyone is more skilled with Keynote or PowerPoint and would like to improve upon my presentation, please send me an updated version at awakenedbyscience@gmail.com.
Presentation Slides - Apple Keynote Format
Presentation Slides - MS PowerPoint Format
We will look at the philosophical implications of the existence of our universe. Did it always exist? Did a god create it or did it appear from a non-theistic process? The topic will cover Big Bang cosmology, the likelihood our universe arose from nothing and the possibility of other universes. Be ready to hear some fascinating and mind-stretching concepts in cosmology - illuminating the intersection of science, philosophy and theology. A science background is not needed.
Based on some of the questions I felt it best to slightly revise the talk. Here is the revision recorded a few days after the RG.
This question came up in the “Where did our universe come from” Q&A session. I gave an hour-long talk in the past and am including it here for the benefit of the person who raised the issue and others that might be interested. This talk was given to a diverse group including Christians, atheists and those of spiritual perspectives. The audience also included some Mensa members and at least one scientist.
Who made God – Talk
Who made God – Q&A
I am working on a large website project that will feature a whole series of talks dealing with science and theology. That domain is www.AwakenedByScience.com. The site is available now but still being revised.
awakenedbyscience@gmail.com
I give live talks on a regular basis, so please email me if you would like to hear about the next time I start a weekly series.