Skeptics in the Pub: Louis Constandinos December 22, 2005

Louis is a research scientist currently working for a leading pharmaceutical company in Kent. Louis has a BSc(Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Leicester. After his first degree he spent five years in the pharmaceutical industry in a variety of research roles before moving to the University of Nottingham to undertake research for his PhD in synthetic chemistry. Louis is a lifelong skeptic and atheist. He has been captivated by all science from an early age and, myriad adventures along the way aside, now gets paid to do what he loves, if only between meetings.

Science is perhaps the most important human endeavour. After beer, sex and rugby union. Throughout history humankind has sought to understand the very mechanisms of the universe, and has had some modest success. We now have twenty TV channels of gardening and home improvement. Despite the best attempts of modern anti-intellectualism and born again Bronze Age fundamentalism, science still has a certain social cachet. People have sought to borrow the trappings and language of science to cash in on this.

Tonight we'll see fraud, lies, moronic misunderstandings, and refusal to accept reality. And that'll just be from the speaker.