Les Johnson

November 13, 2011
An eclectic evening of discussing The Fermi Paradox, what makes a civilized society "civilized," and the nature of the Baby Boomer Generation (are they really a selfish generation?).

10/30/2011
The group discussed the Occupy Wall Street movement - what is it all about?

September 11, 2011
The group discussed OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell.  "The lives of outliers -- people whose achievements fall outside normal experience -- follow a peculiar and unexpected logic, and in uncovering that logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and provocative blueprint for making the most of human potential."

June 12, 2011

Biomedical expert Dan Carter will present an overview of albumin, the major protein of the circulatory system.   An emphasis will be placed on his company’s work over the past several years in establishing its role in drug design (drug-binding/delivery at the atomic level) and how this work translated to new applications in cancer chemotherapy and a new class of anti-aging cosmeceuticals.  He plans to bring some product samples and promises to keep the technical jargon to a minimum.

May 15, 2011
The group watched and then discussed the CNN documentary "Education in America: Don't Fail Me." "If we don't generate the next group of innovators, scientists, engineers, and problem solvers," inventor Dean Kamen warns, "our standard of living, our quality of life, our security, will plummet!" American students rank 17th in science and 25th in math when compared to other industrialized nations. They don't have the skills to take on the high tech jobs of the future. This is because of how and what we teach American kids. It is also because of a culture that values sports and celebrities above all. The United States needs to change the way students are taught math and science, and children need to be encouraged and inspired to take the toughest classes in those subjects.

January 30, 2011

This week's topic will be "Things In Science That Don't Make Sense."  Les will be leading the discussion and he hopes others will jump in as we discuss Dark Matter, Dark Energy, The Pioneer Anomaly, The Expansion Rate of the Universe, The Changing Universal Constants, The Mars Viking Lander's Positive Test for Life on Mars, and the Wow! Signal received by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

January 23, 2011
“Demographic Winter” -- a dramatic new documentary -- is the first to explore the most overlooked crisis of our times: the rapid, worldwide decline in birth rates.

The Emergent Church, with Guest Speaker Houston Hodges

Homeschooling in America: Why More and More Families are Opting Out of Public Education, with Guest Speaker Larry Bond

The History of the Conflict Between Science & Religion

Book Report Nights

Green Energy, with Guest Speaker Robert Kennedy

Understanding the Financial Crisis of 2008

Civil Liberties Issues in Alabama, with a Guest Speaker from the ACLU

The Obama Presidency

Heaven on Earth - The Rise, Fall and Possible Rebirth of Socialism

Health Care Reform

The Tea Party Movement, with Guest Speaker Christie Carden

Men's Brains, Women's Brains

Greenways

The Future of Food

Eyewitness Testimony, with Guest Speaker Jeffrey Neuschatz