Courses Fall 2010

Click on course title in the table below to link to full details on the course.

- Campus Locations and Maps -

Kwantlen Polytechnic University has recently changed to Building Names (instead of letters) at Surrey Campus.
Both letters and names are referenced below.

Pictures of the buildings and information on the names can be found at the following link:
http://www.kwantlen.ca/about/campus_info/surrey_campus/buildingnames.html

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Topic: Women in the Canadian Military?
Speaker: Lieutenant-Commander Elaine Fisher

Saturday, October 23, 2010
Noon to 3:00 pm

Light Lunch Served at Noon

Kwantlen Surrey Campus, Cedar Building
Conference Centre
12666 72nd Avenue

 $10 Member - $15 Non Member

Please register by October 18 

Search Savvy

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Vancouver Aquarium: Marine Mammals and Conservation

Sessions: 2 plus optional field trip
Date(s): Mon Sep 20, 27 and field trip Oct 4
Time: 2:30-4:30 pm for classes, 10:00 am for field trip
Course Fee: $15.00
Location: Richmond Campus, Room 2150
Facilitator: Penny McFarland, Tel: 604.275.0232
Please Register By: Mon Sep 13
Guest Speaker: Leslie McFarland

Leslie McFarland has been an Interpretation Specialist at the Vancouver Aquarium for 5 years. She also works part time as a Naturalist for Vancouver Whale Watch in Steveston. 

Mon Sep 20 Marine Mammals at the Vancouver Aquarium

Learn about some of the Aquarium’s most charismatic animals. The Vancouver Aquarium has a rich history in displaying, researching and rescuing marine mammals. Did you know that the Vancouver Aquarium was the first aquarium in the world to have a killer whale in human care? We will briefly explore the history of displaying marine mammals at the Vancouver Aquarium and learn about these animals’ natural history. Marine mammals covered include killer whales, beluga whales, pacific white sided dolphins, sea otters and North America’s only harbour porpoise in an Aquarium.

Mon Sep 27 Conservation and Research Programs at the Vancouver Aquarium

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is a self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research, and direct action. We will learn about some of the innovative conservation programs run by the Vancouver Aquarium such as Ocean Wise, a sustainable seafood program, our marine mammal rescue facility and cetacean sightings network. We will also touch on areas of research at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Mon Oct 4 Visit the Vancouver Aquarium – Optional

Visit and tour the Vancouver Aquarium. Group rates apply. Details about times of shows and other activities will be available at the classes Sep 20 and 27.

Group Rate for Aquarium: Adults - $21, Seniors 65+ - $16

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RCMP Pacific Region Training Centre Chilliwack (Bus Trip)

Sessions: 1 day bus trip
Date(s): Tue Sep 28
Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Course Fee: $35.00 (includes bus)
Facilitators: Joanne Cunningham, Tel: 604.541.2432; Al Sabey, Retired RCMP
Please Register By: Tue Sep 21
Guest Speaker: Sergeant Paul Vadik

Class Limit: 20 participants

Come learn about how our senior RCMP officers are trained.

The RCMP Pacific Region Training Centre is a training base for seasoned officers. The recruit training takes place in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Sergeant Vadik will take our group through the Scenario Based Training Annex, the Firing Range, Classrooms, Advanced Driver Training Track and Library. A discussion will be held on the 75 different advanced police courses provided on the base.

On the 75 minute drive out to the facility, Al Sabey will give the group some insight as to the massive project it is to administer a police force of 20,000 members.

Lunch in the Centre cafeteria will be at the individual’s expense at 12 noon.

Bus pick up will be at 9:00 am in the parking lot at the Newton Athletic Park on 128 Street between 72 Avenue and 74 Avenue, Surrey. (This will save you a day’s parking at Kwantlen). Please be there by 8:45 am so the bus can leave at 9:00 am.

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Ease Around Money Problems

Sessions: 2 sessions in one day
Date(s): Fri Oct 1
Time: 10:00 am - noon and 1:00 - 3:00 pm (Full day parking will be required - $5.00)
Course Fee: $15
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room 1364 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: Sandra Carpenter
Please Register By: Thu Sep 23
Guest Speakers: Mialee Jose and Daniel Solomons

Class Limit: 10 participants

This workshop will provide an environment which can facilitate your ability to change from feeling stressed to feeling comfortable around money. It will help you think outside the money boxes you may be trapped in. Typical problem solving strategies assume the right answer or the magic solution. But problem solving is more of an art. We will get into a space to approach the problem in a new way, not go over the same trodden path that didn’t help before. How we look at a problem determines what we achieve.

We will take time to imagine a future different from today’s problems, to understand what it would be like to have a clear sense of what we want, what we need, what would suit us now and in the future. We all know the “aha” moments that lead to discovery. This course makes space to allow you to discover your reactions to money and to change those reactions to achieve what you'd really like to be able to achieve.

Between the two sessions, visit the Kwantlen cafeteria or bring a brown bag lunch.

Mialee Jose is a natural at helping people tap in to information that's just under the surface. Her favourite part of this work is engaging with someone in a problem and watching them light up as they discover their resources to solve it. Her business experience includes being a Project Manager with the City of Seattle. Mialee is well versed in the pressures and politics of large organizations. She has won awards for innovative leadership and valuing and managing diversity. She is also a small business owner and has held staff positions with two non-profit agencies.

Daniel Solomons asks key questions that yield unexpected insights. He has an exceptional mind for troubleshooting, and coming up with new solutions. His favourite part of this work is the little surprises that come out of open, caring, focused conversations with people. His business experience includes being president of a national Internet provider. Daniel is an expert in technology issues and excels at customer service. Daniel also ran a consulting service specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics. Over the years, he solved thousands of problems that had seemed insoluble at the time. He is very thorough and creative in his approach to systems and product design.

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Great Houses of Britain

Sessions: 4
Date(s): Tue Oct 5, 12, 19 and 26
Time: 10 am - noon
Course Fee: $30
Location: Richmond Campus, Room 2520
Facilitator: Priscilla Bollo
Please Register By: Tue Sep 28
Guest Speaker: Deirdre Plomer, MA (Art History)

The English Country House is a unique experience. There are wonderful houses in other countries, but in England, and the rest of Britain, the number, the variety and the survivors is the greatest. These four sessions will give an understanding of four microcosms of the history of Britain in architecture and art, and at times in politics and personalities.

The size and style of these houses (and they are always called ‘houses’) varies greatly, but they do have a number of common elements: each is very much a part of its landscape, each is a result of social, political and economic change, and each is a work of art created by individuals with different personalities and finances. The main provocation for building these houses as such show places has been the rivalry, pride, acquisitiveness and inquisitiveness of the various owners.

Apparently, intense curiosity is a characteristic of the British, and that has made country house visiting something of a national pastime for hundreds of years. Many of these houses have been open to the public since the day they were built. To gain entry, however, it was necessary to be well dressed. We will join these tour(ist)s in four important houses, by looking at a comprehensive collection of slides of the architecture, the interiors, the furnishings, the art and, where possible, the gardens.

Oct 5 Brighton Pavilion

This was one of George the IV’s fantasies, created while he was still Prince of Wales. He had a sophisticated and well developed appreciation of the arts, but he was also proud, willful and extravagant. Both the government and the Prince’s father, King George the III, were annoyed with the outrageous cost of the Prince’s lifestyle. So the Prince decided Brighton would give him a place to hold court well away from his father’s staid court in London. In the Pavilion’s final remodeling of 1815, it became a 19th century English interpretation of a blend of Islamic and Hindu architectural elements. Quite an evolution from the original farmhouse!

Oct 12 Harewood House

This important house is in Yorkshire, and is the home of the Earl and Countess of Harewood, whose family name is Lascelles. His father having made a lot of money in Barbados’ sugar, Edwin Lascelles commissioned the architect John Carr to build this magnificent home in 1759. Adding to the significance of this house are the interiors by Robert Adam and the furniture by Thomas Chippendale. The exterior was altered mid 19th century to give it even more presence. Unfortunately, the interiors were also altered to the Victorian sense of modernity and comfort, but fortunately the late 20th century has seen these rooms returned to their original grandeur.

Oct 19 Holkham Hall

Holkham Hall was begun in 1734 by Thomas Coke, later 1st Earl of Leicester. It was built as a grand “temple to the arts” to display the enormous number of antiquities and arts Coke had acquired on his extensive “Grand Tour” of Europe. Both Coke and his architect, William Kent, were enthusiastic admirers of ancient Rome, therefore the building’s design is based on Andrea Palladio’s interpretations of this tradition. The yellow stone walls and Corinthian portico create an imposing exterior. Thomas Coke died before the work was completed. He left his descendants a magnificent house, specific instructions for placing the great art collection, and a huge amount of debt.

Oct 26 Ham House

Ham House, Surrey, was first built in 1610, during the reign of James the 1st. By 1626, the house belonged to William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart, who altered the house considerably in the late 1630s. Murray, however, was a Royalist, and had to leave England during the Civil War. Unusually, on Murray’s death his title and property passed to his eldest daughter, Elizabeth. Her story makes this important house even more intriguing: Elizabeth was described as “a woman of beauty,” widely read and articulate, but “restless in her ambition, profuse in her expense, and of a most ravenous covetousness.”

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En Pointe

Sessions: 2
Date(s): Wed Oct 6 and 13
Time: 10 am - 12 noon
Course Fee: $20.00
Location: White Rock Leisure Centre, 15154 Russell Avenue
Facilitator: Joanne Cunningham, Tel: 604.541.2432
Please Register By: Wed Sep 29
Guest Speaker: Margot McDermott

Wed Oct 6 En Pointe

From the Palace of Versailles to the opulent theatres of St. Petersburg, explore the evolution of Classical Ballet with Margot McDermott, international dancer/teacher/choreographer. Enjoy visuals of famous dancers from the past, listen to music from the masters, and visit the making of famous classical ballets.

Wed Oct 13 En Pointe in Canada

Enjoy the rich history of classical ballet in Canada from the founding of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to the birth of Vancouver's Ballet BC. Learn how ballet has developed throughout Canada and about the people who have pioneered this exquisite art form.

Directions to White Rock Community Centre, 15154 Russell Avenue:
From Highway 99 take 152 Street Exit south. Travel south on 152 Street to one block past 16 Avenue. Turn right at Russell Avenue. The White Rock Community Centre is on the main floor of the Miramar Village (second high rise apartment building). There is parking for 40 reserved for the Centre in the underground parking. If full, there is street parking and parking in the large parking lot off Foster Street (just north of Russell.) 

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More Opera for Beginners

Sessions: 4
Date(s): Fri Oct 8, 15, 22 and 29
Time: 10 am - 12 noon
Course Fee: $30.00
Location: Langley Campus, Room 2010
Facilitator: Angela Smith, Tel: 604.594.5271, Cell: 778-868-4186
Please Register By: Thu Sep 30
Guest Speakers: Nicolas Krusek, Dr. Wayne Jeffrey, Dr. Elizabeth Lamberton


Oct 8 Vancouver Opera Production of Lillian Alling
Guest Speaker: Nicolas Krusek

In 1927, young Lillian Alling arrives in New York City from Russia in desperate search of her fiancé Jozéf. Penniless, she walks across North America and into the wilds of north-western BC, following Jozéf's elusive path. During her brave trek, she is embraced by a Norwegian farming community in North Dakota, incarcerated in Oakalla Prison Farm near Vancouver, and loved by Scotty, a lineman along BC's "telegraph trail". This is the world premier of a newly commissioned opera by Canada's foremost opera-creation team: composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell. Starring Frédérique Vézina as Lillian and Judith Forst as Irene.

Oct 15 Great Moments in Opera
Guest Speaker: Dr. Wayne Jeffrey, Kwantlen Faculty, is well-known to TALK students

A presentation featuring live music with commentary. 

Oct 22 La Traviata
Guest Speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Lamberton, Kwantlen Faculty, is also well-known to TALK students

La Traviata is to be performed by Vancouver Opera in May 2011 with Erin Wall as Violetta and David Pomeroy as Alfredo. 

Oct 29 Vancouver Opera Production of Lucia di Lammermoor
Guest Speaker: Nicolas Krusek

Ancient clan hatred leads to madness and murder in Donizetti’s thrilling masterpiece of melodic beauty and psychological depth. Lucia loves Edgardo, her family’s enemy. With cruel deception, Lucia’s brother forces her to marry another man to save the family from financial ruin. The consequences are devastating: three innocent people die and the bitter feud lives on. 

Nicolas Krusek is an experienced orchestral musician, conductor and speaker. Though raised in Vancouver, he also spent many years living and working in Europe. After completing a degree in composition at the University of British Columbia, he spent several years studying orchestral and choral conducting at the Janacek Academy of Musical Arts in the Czech Republic. Nicolas has performed with and directed numerous professional, amateur and youth orchestras throughout British Columbia and Central Europe. He has contributed articles to local music publications and is a popular guest speaker on music-related topics. 

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Electromagnetic Radiation: The Hidden Dangers

Sessions: 3
Date(s): Mon Oct 18, 25 and Nov 1
Time: 2:30 - 3:50 pm (Please note 2:30 pm start time)
Course Fee: $22.50
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room 128 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: Phillip Warren, Tel: 604.946.4919
Please Register By: Thu Oct 7
Guest Speaker: Jim Waugh

Jim Waugh has an engineering degree and expertise in a number of technical disciplines. Jim consults for clients who want to reduce their exposure to electromagnetic radiation with on site inspections and low-EMF design recommendations. Through classroom workshops, lectures and magazine articles, he works to raise public awareness of the dangers of electromagnetic radiation. His book, Living Safely with Electromagnetic Radiation, provides background specific recommendations.

Many of the technological advancements we enjoy today have come to us as a result of electromagnetic radiation. However, our eagerness to embrace the latest in wireless technologies like cell phones, BlackBerry, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi has encouraged the wireless industry and our government to focus on widespread proliferation while ignoring the warning signs to our collective health. Decades of scientific studies reveal that the explosive proliferation of wireless technology (electropollution and electrosmog) produces alarming effects on human health and places our children at great risk. Worst of all, our government doesn’t seem to care.

"...All communication in the body eventually takes place via very subtle electromagnetic signaling between cells that is now being disrupted by artificial electropollution we have not had time to adapt to... The adverse effects of electrosmog may take decades to be appreciated, although some, like carcinogenicity, are already starting to surface. The gigantic experiment on our children and grandchildren could result in massive damage to mind and body with the potential to produce a disaster of unprecedented proportions, unless proper precautions are immediately implemented."

Paul J. Rosch, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, New York Medical College

In this three-part series of discussions you will learn:

• What electromagnetic radiation is, where it comes from and what the concerns are. You will learn about the natural geomagnetic energy of the Earth and its mysteries
• What effects electromagnetic radiation is having on humans and the long term, widespread effects it is having on the plants and animals we share the Earth with
• What we can do to protect ourselves and the health of our family, grandchildren and friends

It will be a most enjoyable series with much to learn and talk about.

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Applying Innovation and Creativity in Your Life

Sessions: 2
Date(s): Wed Oct 20 and 27
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Course Fee: $15.00
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room D132 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: Linda Coyle
Please Register By: Wed Oct 13
Guest Speaker: Panteli Tritchew

Panteli Tritchew has a background in professional communications, including report writing, project planning, consulting in change management and information systems implementation and has taught numerous communications related courses including creativity and screenplay writing. He has taught at the University of Waterloo, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, British Columbia Institute of Technology and has been at Kwantlen since 1993, and has been department chair from 1995-2000, and from 2007-2010. Interests include systems theory and creativity theory.

When trying to reach a breakthrough on a project, the tensions and challenges we face may deter us. If you are able to change the image you have of yourself as an innovator and creator, you can change your life. We will discuss creative visualization and look at a variety of checks and tensions that block or impede creative breakthroughs, some built-in and some learned.

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Don Rathborne has lectured on digital camera technology and taught Adobe Photoshop Elements classes for several years. Using a combination of Power Point and live demonstration of Photoshop Elements, participants will be exposed to basic camera techniques, learn how to download images from the camera to the computer, and learn how to enhance digital images using their computer. Handout material will be available at each session. Whether you have just purchased a digital camera or have been using one for awhile, this course will help you to take pictures more effectively.

Tue Nov 2

Digital cameras: how they differ from film cameras; common photography terms.

• Digital camera technology
• Digital versus optical zoom
• Camera features and settings
• Focus
• Exposure and light
• Aperture and depth of field
• Shutter speeds
• Exposure value (EV)
• Using flash effectively
• White balance
• Image composition tips

Downloading images from the camera to the computer and organizing images. The live downloading demonstration will use Windows 7 but handouts for XP and Windows Vista procedures will be also available.

• Naming and renaming images
• Rotating images and deleting unwanted images
• Viewing images
• Printing strategies
• File hierarchy – cataloguing and backing up images

Tue Nov 9

Basic techniques of computer enhancement using the industry leading photo editing software, Adobe Photoshop Elements. Version 8.0 will be used by the instructor but it is not necessary that participants own any version of Elements. The presentation will include live manipulation of actual images using some of the basic enhancement tools.

• Discussion of image file formats: JPEG, TIFF, RAW, and GIF
• Introduction to Adobe Photoshop Elements
• Resizing images
• Image enhancement – adjusting lighting using Shadows/Highlights; Brightness/Contrast; Levels
• Image sharpening
• Introduction to five tools: Zoom, Hand, Straighten, Crop, and Red Eye Brush
• A demonstration of Palettes and their uses

Tue Nov 16

More advanced methods of enhancing and manipulating images

• Concept of layers in image editing
• Creating layers using three more tools: Lasso, Selection Brush, and Eraser
• Importing layers for special effects
• Healing Brush/Spot Healing Brush tools
• Clone stamp tool for removing unwanted objects from an image
• Use of filters for special effects

Tue Nov 23

Introduction of a ten-step workflow model which promotes an organized approach to image enhancement. The instructor will follow the workflow model in applied situations using actual digital photographs. The workflow model offers a review of several Photoshop Elements tools while exploring some tools in more detail.

Specific topics include:

• Non-destructive editing
• Colour cast correction
• Hue/saturation adjustments
• Burn/Dodge tool
• Archiving images
• Considerations for selecting image format

Participants will be introduced to three specialized tools from recent Photoshop Elements versions through a live demonstration of actual images. The specific tools/techniques covered are:

• Smart Brush
• Scene Cleaner
• Group shots/faces

An Introduction to shooting in RAW image format with a live demonstration of adjustments available in Photoshop Elements.

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Astronomy

Sessions: 2
Date(s): Wed Nov 3 and 10
Time: 10 am - 12 Noon
Course Fee: $15.00
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room 3414 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: George Davies, Tel: 604.535.7182
Please Register By: Wed Oct 27
Guest Speaker: Jana Kolac 

Jana Kolac received her Master's degree in 1974 from Charles University in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her thesis was in Astrophysics. She came to Canada in 1988 and, after learning English, taught at various institutions, mostly Physics and some Mathematics. She started teaching at Kwantlen in 2000 and taught her first Astronomy course in 2002. She has given several entertaining courses for TALK in the past.

Nov 3, Extrasolar Planets

Twenty years ago not a single planet orbiting a star other than our own Sun was known. How many such planets are known today? What are the methods used for discoveries of exoplanets, their advantages and disadvantages? Can we determine the planet’s mass, size, density and what kind of atmosphere it has, if any? How? What types of planets have been discovered so far? Have we found an Earthlike planet or how close are we to finding one? Are the recently discovered planetary systems similar to our Solar system? Is this what astronomers expected? Answers to these questions will be discussed.

Nov 10, Evolution of Stars

Stars’ development from “cradle” to “grave” will be the topic of this session. How are stars “born”, how do they create energy and maintain balance through their “adulthood” and how will they “die”? Some of them depart quietly; some go with a big boom. What is a property that has the biggest influence on the length of a star’s life and its final end? In what stage of its “life” is our Sun? How many more years does it have? Will it go supernova? End up as a black hole? What will happen to the Earth in the process?

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Technology: Change and Challenges 

Sessions: 2 sessions in one afternoon
Date(s): Fri Nov 5
Time: 12 Noon - 4:00 pm
Course Fee: $15
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room D124 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: Karen Jensen, Tel: 604.531.2803
Please Register By: Thu Oct 28
Guest Speaker: Dr. Ross Laird

Ross Laird, Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary scholar, consultant, teacher, and creative artist. He is a best-selling author, university professor, addictions and trauma specialist, and consultant in the psychology of leadership. Some TALK members may remember Ross from the Literary Lunches program last Spring.

Technology: Change, and the Challenges of Modern Mentorship

This presentation will explore the emerging cultures of technology and their impact on childhood development, families, and education.

Technology has already become an essential feature of the landscape of childhood and adolescence (gaming, blogging, social networking, cell phone bullying, etc.) and is now the central means by which adolescents manage the challenges of their development. Issues such as anxiety, depression, isolation, anger, and addiction are increasingly finding niches in the online worlds. Parents, grandparents, and educators must be able to respond to this groundswell of change with new skills and strategies. Elders and grandparents are particularly well-positioned to guide young people through the labyrinth of adolescent development; and yet, the gap between the generations is widening. How do we bridge that gap?

This presentation explores the cultural and social changes brought by technology and considers the perspectives, skills and strategies needed to help young people find a way forward.

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Introduction to Genealogy

Sessions: 1
Date(s): Fri Nov 26
Time: 10 am – noon
Course Fee: $7.50
Location: Cloverdale Campus Library, Room 1310
Facilitator: Eileen Fuller, Tel: 604.541.1870
Please Register By: Tue Apr 27
Guest Speaker: Laurie J. Cooke, Genealogy Librarian, Surrey Public Library

Class Limit: 17 participants

Discover Your Past, Discover Yourself: Family History Research at the Cloverdale Library

Anyone who has worked on their family history will tell you they have made some amazing discoveries about their identity and heritage.

The Cloverdale Branch of the Surrey Public Library holds the largest Canadian genealogy collection in Western Canada. Genealogy librarian Laurie Cooke will come to the Kwantlen Cloverdale Campus Library to show you how to get started on this intriguing research path, and will teach you about the records and services at Cloverdale Library that can help you along the way.

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The Trouble with Northern Ireland

Sessions: 1
Date(s): Fri Nov 19
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Course Fee: $7.50
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room 124 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: Trevor Phillips, Tel: 604.536.1627
Please Register By: Wed Nov 10
Guest Speaker: Peter Henderson

Peter Henderson taught at Douglas College for 25 years, having been a founding member of the College Faculty. On leaving Douglas at mandatory retirement age, he taught Accounting every fall for eleven years at two institutions in Hungary.

The popular romanticized view of Ireland ranging from the “Land of Saints and Scholars,” to the drinking of green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, often obscures its turbulent history, not only in connection with England, but also within the island itself. There are fundamental divisions, not only political and religious, but also of that influence of which it is not currently politically correct to speak, that of race. In Ireland there are not only the truly Irish, Celtic like their cousins in Scotland and Wales, but also the Scotch-Irish in the north-east corner of the island.

Peter Henderson’s heritage comes from that disputed corner, being a product of a mixed Catholic/Protestant marriage, whose upbringing took place largely in England.

The Northern Irish have left their mark in many places outside Ireland, notably in the days when the Orange Protestants held sway in Toronto, just as Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States. Bill Clinton’s ancestry was much the same.

The course will examine the “Plantation” of the province of Ulster by English and Scots settlers, resulting in that nation whose passports today proclaim citizenship of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” The extent to which the violence endemic since the mid 1960’s has been brought to an end is still under question, and the course will examine the prospects of the current settlement.

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Sessions: 2
Date(s): Fri Dec 3 and 10
Time: 10:00 am – 12 noon
Course Fee: $15.00
Location: Surrey Campus, Fir Building, Room 1364 (formerly Building D)
Facilitator: Sandra Carpenter
Please Register By: Thu Nov 25
Guest Speaker: Peter Robbins

Peter's first degree was in geology, and he has a keen interest in astronomy. This combination of thinking about "deep time" and "deep space" leads to his taking news of the end of the world with a very large grain of salt. After all, the world has suffered catastrophes before (the comet impact that killed the dinosaurs, multiple ice ages, reality TV shows), but has somehow survived!

How many end of the world scenarios have you heard? How many have occurred? Yet many have been willing to give their lives for their beliefs, sure they're going to end up somewhere better. The believers have influenced life even of the non-believers, and not usually for the better.

Dec 3

Apocalyptic predictions of the end of the world (emphasis on the 2012 date and the Mayan calendar cycle) and how everyone (so far!) has conveniently forgotten their forecasts of doom.

Dec 10

How the world might really end: killer plagues, climate change, asteroid impacts, giant volcanic eruptions, the Sun going nova, and nuclear war.

Peter Robbins has given several previous TALK courses, including Planets and Solar Systems, Darwin, and Lower Mainland Geology.

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If you have any questions regarding the programs, please contact
Jean Garnett, Program Chair
Tel: 604.277.1130

 

Life-long Learning - TALK provides those over 50
with creative and stimulating educational activities.