Gathering and Discerning Information in the 21st Century
Celebrating over 16 years on the web.
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“Each of us believes himself to live directly within the world that surrounds him, to sense its objects and events precisely, and to live in real and current time. I assert these are perceptual illusions. Sensation is an abstraction, not a replication of the real world.” Vernon Mountcastle

Quote from YouTube Video: Kavli Prize Laureate Lecture – The Restless Brain

The Professional Speaking Guide

Getting Training:

Where does one get trained?

Toastmasters International

Service Clubs

Schoold boards offer starter courses

PS training companies

Speech therapists

Books, tapes & seminars

Volunteer Speaking Opportunities.

The variety of service clubs and nonprofit organizations offer opportunities to contribute your expertise, or speak regarding their material and particular campaign. This is another excellent opportunity for you to learn, gain experience and start to generate contacts as you are building your career. (See this Chapters Tips, Advice & Resource section for a full list of organizations and contact information.)

Toastmasters Speaking Bureaus like D-21 bureau

Rotary Clubs

Service Clubs

Nonprofit Organizations

  • United way

The Red Cross. Below is a message that I receive when this fine organization is providing opportunities for speakers. Here is the message I received along with the local Vancouver contact information.

We are recruiting again!

The Canadian Red Cross RespectED program trains  volunteers  to deliver violence & abuse prevention workshops. The volunteers go through 100 hours of training before going out to secondary schools and the community.

As Toastmasters focus on public speaking, your members may be interested in our program and sign up as volunteers. This training session will be held in Burnaby and the days are Tuesdays 6 to 9 pm and Thursdays 9 to 4pm. Training starts in September and will end in mid November.

I have enclosed a poster on the volunteer position. Please share this information with your members. If you or any of your members  need more information you can call me at (604) 709-6642 or email me at linda.kuan@redcross.ca and I will be pleased to answer any questions.

Regards,

Linda


Science-fact-theory-hypothesis

Definitions key to discussions:

  • Fact: A fact is a statement that is true and can be proved with evidence.
  • Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested by the scientific method. A hypothesis has not been tested.
  • Theory: Scientific theories are distinguished from hypotheses, which are empirically testable conjectures, and from scientific laws, which are descriptive accounts of how nature behaves under certain conditions. Theories have been rigorously tested and widely accepted by the scientific community who agree the theory best explains the observations or phenomenon we experience.
  • Scientific Method: The scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.
  • Empirical Evidence: Empirical evidence is the knowledge received by means of the senses, particularly by observation and experimentation.
  • Reality: Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.
  • Delusion: A delusion is a belief that is held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.
  • Insanity: Insanity, craziness, or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns.